Kalopa Makai Farms Kalopa Makai Farms
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Shop
    • Account
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • What’s on the Farm
    • Coffee
    • Dragonfruit
    • White Pineapple
    • Starfruit
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Contact

Mele Haloa

October 29, 2016October 7, 2018in Around the Farm


I recently completed my second ipu heke for hula. I asked my hula sister Edie to help me name her.  In case you’re wondering, some hawaiian instruments are male and some are female. The ipu heke is female. I sent her a photo and explained I had burned the images of two taro leaves on the outside of my ipu. Both the top and bottom of the ipu heke were grown in my garden . If you look back in my February blog the largest gourd in the picture is the bottom of this ipu heke. A few days later she sent me the following email:

The name of your ipu came last night and before you learn it, you have some homework to prepare for it.  Because there is kalo on the ipu, you will need to read about Haloa:

“Root of Life” – Taro (Kalo) – Legend of Native Hawaiian Creation

Updated about 4 years ago

Taro plant (Kalo in Hawaiian) is linked to one of many mythological versions on creation of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Legend joins the two siblings – Earth Mother (Papahanaumoku) and Sky Father (Wakea) – together they create the Islands of Hawaii and a beautful woman The Stars (Ho’ohokuokalanii – for “The Heavenly One Who Made of Stars”). Waikea desired his “daughter’s beauty” and came together with her to create a child who came stillborn and alu’alu (deformed). Their son was named Haloanaka (Haloa – for “Long Breath” or “Eternal Life”) and buried in earth’s soil. After Ho’ohokuokalani’s grieving watery tears over her son’s grave, out sprang a fragile, strong and healthy plant—Kalo (Taro): “The stems were slender and when the wind blew they swayed and bent as though paying homage, their heart shaped leaves shivering gracefully as in hula. And in the center of each leaf water gathered, like a mother’s teardrop.” The second child born of this union was named Haloa, after his older brother. The younger Haloa, first-born man, was to respect and to look after his older brother for ever more. In return, the elder Haloa, the root of life, would always sustain and nourish him and his descendants. And so the Kalo (Taro) of the earth became the sacred crop of Native Hawaiian people and principal food for the generations to come. Still today, in remote valleys, such as Waipio on the Big Island of Hawaii, taro is a way of life. Knowledge of its cultivation and its qualities has been passed down from generation to generation. Taro farmers often spend the day in knee high water, planting new keikis, harvesting mature corms, and weeding the abundant tropical growth around the invaluable food source. Taro in Hawaii is mostly used for poi (pounded taro), table taro, taro chips, and luau (green taro tops).


 After I read the story I called her. She had named my ipu heke Mele Haloa, song of Haloa.  I’ve come to really love Hula and my hula sisters and I’m very blessed that she named my ipu heke.

Follow my blog

    Share this:

    • Facebook

    Comments (2)

    1. ReplyNovember 12, 2016

      kendall66

      What is a hula sister?

      • ReplyNovember 14, 2016

        bellechai

        Hula sisters are members of your halau or group you dance with. It’s a family so everyone calls each other hula sisters because it’s because of hula we are family.

    Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    Recipe Rating




    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

    Kalopa Makai Farms Kalopa Makai Farms
    © 2021 Kalopa Makai Farms | All Rights Reserved
    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT