This charming little bookshop in Hilo opened in 2010 after the closure of the local Borders store (its owner even bought some of the old Borders furniture and book shelves). The bookshop has since been more than filling its shoes with its cozy vibe, small cafe/meeting space and interesting selection of titles.  There is an emphasis on the local with a ‘Keiki’s corner’ full of books in native Hawaiian or about Hawaiian folk stories and legends. It also has a moderate range of new books and series’ too, so with its relaxed atmosphere, comfy sofas and steaming cups of tea, it was the perfect place to while away a rainy afternoon.

Kuleana – means both privilege and responsibility

‘No make big body’ – try to not to act like you own the place

Kane - Life giver or life by Nature

Papa - Earth Mother

Aloha – Most commonly used for hello and goodbye but also encapsulates affection, love and mercy

ʻOhana – the family or community you share with (not necessarily defined by blood)

Kamaʻāina - child of the Soil

and a phrase I particularly like: Holo Holo – to go out for the fun of it, where it’s not the destination but the journey which counts.

Those considered to be native Hawaiians (Kama’āina’s) are descendants of the ancient Polynesians who settled the islands before it was ‘discovered’ by Captain Cook in 1778. In Hawaiian society, children were traditionally raised outdoors and had strong ties with nature, respecting it as the sustainer of life. They grew up to be caretakers of the land on which they lived and this land was traditionally divided into sections known Ahupuaʻa. Every person living on each Ahupuaʻa had access to shared tools in order to work their land and were also entitled to share in all its produce. The concept of land ownership did not exist in Hawaiʻi until the flurried arrival of Westerners (in the form of traders, whalers, missionaries and politicians) who put pressure on King Kamehameha III to introduce a land ownership system similar to the ones they were used to in their home countries. The Great Mahele (land division) took place in 1848. Two years later The Kuleana act of 1850 was brought in, which did grant ‘commoners’ the right to apply for ownership of land they cultivated and had Kuleana over, but for many the concept behind the application was a new and foreign notion and the application itself required the ability to read and write. The majority of islanders were illiterate and so were therefore ultimately cheated out of their land.

Estate development remains a large problem for the native population of Hawaiʻi as foreign investors continue to drive up land prices. Western control of Hawaiʻi also had other consequences in the form of the suppression of native culture, language and history. Teaching the Hawaiian language in schools was banned until the 1980′s and the agricultural system was changed beyond all recognition (to date, a large proportion has been set aside for mono-cropping, mainly consisting of pineapple and sugar cane crops, though both are now in decline as a result of factories moving to cheaper production sites in Asia and South America).

However, by the 1970′s – perhaps in response to the growing Americanised view of Hawaiʻi held by tourists and the wider world – what has been termed as the ‘Second Renaissance of Hawaiʻi’ began to take shape. This centred around a resurgence of Hawaiian culture and tradition, through which people began to trace back their roots and rediscover their language, traditional ceremonies, voyaging techniques, storytelling and other indigenous practices. Today, there are groups whose mission it is to promote Hawaii’s Hawaii through offering alternative travel experiences to visitors and tackling the agricultural problems with an organic/sustainable agricultural programme – see the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation for more details. The island of Moloka’i has also seen success through protest action which was aimed at blocking cruise liners docking at, or near, the island. Back in 2002, a Holland America liner tried to dock and was greeted by over 100 protesters waving banners and wearing t-shirts displaying the slogan – ‘No Cruise Ships on Moloka’i’. The protesters were mainly taking action on environmental grounds but were also keen to show that “if you’re going to do business on Moloka’i, you’re going to have to go through a community process first”, something the cruise line had thus far avoided. Their protest was successful and to this date no liners have docked on the island. The islanders do welcome visitors who journey by ferry from other islands and arrive in smaller numbers, thereby limiting their impact on the natural features of the island and the reefs which surround it.

See our next post for our time in Hilo, Kona and Honolulu…

Apple Banana Bread

Picture taken by lynn.gardner on Flickr

Not to be confused with Apple and Banana Bread, this is a standard banana bread recipe made with locally grown Apple Bananas, which are smaller, tougher and have a stronger flavour than the Caribbean varieties.

Our banana bread came from the Greenwells farm near Kona, and though we haven’t worked out their recipe here is one just like it!

(recipe sourced from 8chocolate.com, available under CC share-alike license)

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 cups of ripe apple bananas, diced and mashed (about 6-7 bananas as apple bananas are small)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces or about ¾ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine the softened butter, sugar and eggs and blend with mixer. Add in vanilla and half of banana mash and mix again. After blended, add in the other half of banana mash and blend again with mixer.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add this flour mixture to the batter in 3 or 4 stages blending with the mixer after each addition. Once completely blended, fold in the sour cream and chocolate chips until well mixed.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, check with a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf to see if it comes out clean. Continue baking if not ready. Cool in the pan slightly before unmolding. Continue cooling on rack and slice when completely cooled. Makes approximately 16 slices.

Saimin

An asian-style noodle soup, filled with dashi (which is Japanese soup stock) or chicken broth and topped off with strips of omelette, onion and fish cake. Served at street stalls and fast-food joints across Honolulu, this is definitely worth trying!

As far as I can tell, the instructions are simple… boil some stock and put the ingredients in!

(recipe and image sourced from travelhawaii – licensed under a CC v3.0 Share-Alike license).

Yields: 3 to 4 servings
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:
4 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 (8-ounce) package dried Japanese soba noodles*
4 cups chicken broth or stock
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Kava

An ancient Polynesian tradition, also referred to as A’va in Samoa and Fiji, this is a heady cocktail made from crushed Kava root (sometimes with added ginger). The drink is traditionally used for greeting ceremonies between villages but is also served up in local cafes. The taste is quite peppery/earthy but you get used to it quickly, and it provides a calming effect not unlike a nice beer.

We had ours in the Kava Cafe in Hilo, while waiting for a burst of torrential rain to subside.