TRANSCRIPT
MUSIC - "The death toll from wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui has risen sharply with 36 people now confirmed to have been killed as powerful winds from Hurrican Dora, hundreds of miles to the southwest, fan the flames... " FADES
That's SBS reporting in August on the fierce, destructive wildfires which burned much of the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina to the ground.
Dozens of historic buildings were destroyed, and the giant Banyan tree in the town centre was blackened and burned.
To the delight of many, green leaves have started sprouting from the burned tree, bringing hope of recovery.
But to a small, volunteer band of arborists, farmers and landscapers — many native to Hawaii — that attention on the banyan was misplaced.
They've focused on a different set of trees recognized as a centuries-old keystone in Lahaina history: the breadfruit tree.
Neither banyans nor breadfruits are native - but one represents the feeding of people and prosperity that began with Polynesian voyagers introducing the fruit nearly 1,000 years ago.
Professor Noa Kekuewa Lincoln from the University of Hawaii says the background of the Banyan is quite different.
“Seeing the banyan tree lifted up, which is a symbol of colonialism, you know, was planted by an individual who was a key figure in the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom, is a symbol of, you know, tourism and kind of Hawaii as as America's playground, you know, is a symbol of a lot of the things, the mistakes, I guess, that we're hoping are not repeated.”
Professor Lincoln says the Banyan represents colonialism’s bringing of white, Christian missionaries and a word Hawaiians can’t forget: Tourism.
Keani Rawlins-Fernandez is a Maui County Councilmember.
She told a meeting of the council that it was the decision of colonisers to replace the groves of Breadfruit, otherwise known as 'ulu', with sugar cane that eventually led to the destruction of Lahaina.
"The grove of Ulu that provided an abundance of food, free to the people, was replaced with sugarcane, to turn a profit for the coloniser plantations. Plantations that then diverted the streams, that set the stage for this devastating fire."
The British introduced the Breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies in 1793 to provide cheap food for slaves.
It was claimed that three or four mature trees could provide starchy food to support a person throughout the year.
But the seedless fruit landed on the shores of Hawaii much earlier.
Professor Lincoln believes ulu was one of many edible plants transported to Hawaii when Polynesian voyagers colonised there nearly 1,000 years ago.
“As our ancestors spread out across the islands, they were cloning these trees and moving them around. They're sterile, so you can't grow them from seed. So every pre-European Ulu tree in Hawaii is believed to be a clone of itself. So, you know, these trees are not necessarily genetically unique, but they are unique in the sense that they hold the stories of that place. And I think there's something very powerful about that.”
Breadfruit looks like an oversized, scaly lime. When cooked, it has a bland taste ranging between potatoes and bread. It has an extremely short shelf life — rotting within 48 hours of ripening.
Hawaiian ethnobotanist Hokuao Pellegrino says he and his family use breadfruit all the time.
“It’s very versatile. In the ten years we’ve been living here, in our home since we built it, we haven’t had a single potato in the house. If we’re making potato salads, it's breadfruit. If we’re making stew, we’re using breadfruit. If we’re making curries, we’re using the same thing. If we’re making chowder, breadfruit!”
At one time, thousands of ulu trees dotted Lahaina.
The footprint of the burn zone today resembles the same footprint of a place known in Hawaiian history as Malu ’ulu ’o Lele — “the shaded breadfruit grove of Lele," where Lahaina got its name.
Professor Lincoln says the wildfire has destroyed trees dating back hundreds of years, when Lahaina looked very different.
“And so when a disaster like this happens and, you know, potentially wipes out the last remaining trees that date back to pre-contact times that are a reminder that, you know, the Lahaina of today and the Lahaina of the past hundred years is not the Lahaina that was always there. It was quite different in the past. And that's really important to remember because it reminds us that it can be different in the future as well.”
Tommy Hing is the owner of Papa's Fast Fruits, a restaurant based in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i, which has breadfruit on its menu.
He says for centuries, it was extremely important to Hawaiian people.
"In those days there was no, or probably very little rice, due to limited shipping so it was a matter of survival and I think that ulu helped them a lot because, all the people, like I say,they can eat ulu poi three times a day."
Hokuao Pellegrino says they're now working on a project to 're-green' Lahaina and its surrounds.
“The work that we're trying to do is first and foremost to ensure that those historical trees live on and their genealogy lives on throughout the historical footprint of Lahaina.”
The tourism industry may be pleased to see the signs of regrowth in the Banyan
But in Hawaiian culture, destruction and erasure play vital roles in growth and new life, and some Hawaiians are seeing the aftermath of the fires as an opportunity to reclaim the true identity of Lahaina.
