Born to the Land

Native Molokaians mix easily with former mainlanders like Franklin, most of whom are from California and have set up shop as fishermen, scuba instructors, tradesmen and craftswomen. For these migrants the island’s unique, old-fashioned priorities appeal to them. Visiting the shops in town, for example, it’s apparent that conversations about family issues can take precedence over serving customers. And it’s not for lack of trying that the cruise ships don’t make stops at Molokai—the islanders steadfastly refuse them, and almost any other attempt at large-scale development is opposed.

The wharf remains the island’s primary lifeline, and the fact that almost everything—except for some meat and fish—arrives by twice-weekly bargedefines the way things happen on Molokai. If you need something that’s not in stock, whether a nail or a frying pan, you’ll have to wait for the barge to bring it. Nonetheless, it’s a reliable system, even if it doesn’t work with the swiftness one would expect on the mainland or even on the more populated Hawaiian Islands.

Wandering down Ala Malama there is a mélange of enticing aromas, ranging from the mahogany scent of coffee to the sweet dough of freshly baked bread and cakes wafting out of the Kane-mitsu Bakery. The bakery is the center of the town’s nightlife when the local burghers gather at its backdoor around 10pm to get slices of bread with melted butter and jam.

Standing under an intense mid-day sun, Jonathan and I order from Cory’s Lunch Wagon, a Hawaiian take-out which operates out of an old metal camping trailer with a couple of picnic tables under a canvas canopy. We both dig into a plate of Kau Yuk, a Hawaiian dish of pork, red plum sauce and long rice noodles. Although both picnic tables are packed with locals, everyone pushes over, enabling us to squeeze in. The local cuisine tastes as good as it smells. “People come back to get island food,” says Tasha Kaholoaa, one of our fellow diners and a life-long Kaunakakai resident. “My brothers live in Utah, but they always come back here to visit. They miss the food and the way of life it represents. It draws many islanders back home. Even Cory himself moved back here from Arizona.”

Cash is king on Molokai as many businesses do not accept credit cards or travellers cheques. Of the major amenities, everything is represented in twos: two banks, two gas stations, two internet cafes. Retaining their traditional culture is taken seriously on Molokai, even if it means accepting a lower standard of living than that enjoyed on neighbouring islands. It’s even taken in stride. There’s a popular T-shirt that locals here like to wear: “Molokai Status Symbol: Any 4WD vehicle that runs.”

Route 450 may be the most scenic road in Molokai, but it also boasts some of the most intriguing archeological finds of all the islands. Lacing together the villages and beaches of the eastern half of the island’s south shore, the road passes numerous stone fishponds, a testament to ancient Hawaiians’ highly developed aquaculture methods.

These pens were created by building enclosures in the shallow ocean, usually stone walls that could stand a metre above the high tide (natural formations such as reefs would also be used). Openings in the pond were sealed inside with wooden lattices, which allow small fish to get in, but after growing to adult size, they are unable to leave. One of the reasons Molokai was so coveted by Hawaiian chieftains was this source of pistine wealth. In a mere 20-mile stretch it’s been estimated there were more than 50 pens, some of them as large as 500 acres. Many of these pens have been submerged by sediment that washed down from the hills, but attempts are now being made to preserve some of them for educational purposes.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 20th, 2005 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Add to del.icio.us.