lucy gaceta: cultural sustainability & hawaii’s ahupua’a system

• Unlike the other islands Lanai was not considered a mokupuni but a moku or division that was looked after by Maui.

• Each mokupuni had 7 moku

Ohana

• Kalo is the Hawaiian word for taro and is the basis of the Hawaiian culture.

• The Hawaiians believe that Kalo and the Hawaiian islands are their peoples ohana.

• Ohana means family and in this culture no one is excluded.

• Each ahupuaa started at the top of the mountain and ended at the sea.

• The land was divided like this to ensure that all of it was looked after.

• The people in the ahupuaa had the freedom to move within it and to trade with others as well as the right to use the water.

King Kamehameha

Ali'i Maka'ainana

• All of the land was under the rule of the king.

• Each ahupuaa had an ali'i or chief

• Konohiki or manager.• Maka'aniana or common

people• It was the ali'i and

konohiki's job to map out the ahupuaasystem.

• They also oversaw where individuals would work in an ahupuaa based on a persons talent.

• Lanai is only 140 sq miles and therefore only has 13 aupuaa

• 3 of which connect

• Oahu is 596.7 sq miles and has many ahupuaa

• But during King Kamehamehas quest to conquer Maui he burned Lanai's forest in the process.

• Lanai would then have a harder time capturing and sustaining what little water came its way.

• The people and some of the forest managed to survive and because the ahupuaa system took care of all of the land Lanai was on the right track to restoring its forest.

• Gibson bought the land in 1862

• Gibson introduced ungulates in 1870 to start ranch operation

• Gibson destroyed the island

• 1922 Dole bought the island

• 1950 Dole stopped the ranching operation.

• Dole focused on making Lanai the biggest pineapple plantation in the world.

• Dole is responsible for diversifying Lanai.

• Unlike Gibson he imported foreign workers from asia.

• To keep the workers from striking he divided their

living quarters based on their original nationality.

• The Hawaiian people had a hard time preserving their culture.

• They weren't used to cultivating the land for commercial use.

• The other ethnic groups had less of this problem.

• Murdock is responsible for buying Castle and Cook in 1985.

• Lanai Koele Lodge opened in 1990

• Lanai Manele Four Seasons resort opened in 1991.

• The pineapple plantation shut down in 1992.

• Aside from changing the islands economy much has remained the same.

• There are still old plantation houses that have only gone through some patch work.

• Stores and restaurants from the plantation era still exist.

• The opening and closing hours of the stores correspond with how it was during the plantation days.

• Actual plantation workers still live on the island.

• Churches that were put up are still believed in by the same demographic.

• Hawaiian used to be the majority but is now the minority at 6.5%

• During the plantation era the Japanese were the majority but is now the minority at 7.71%

• The Filipinos are the most recent to come to Lanai and make up 45.3% of the population

• With biracial people making up 20.83% of the population

• Through these programs we revive culture and land.