Hawaii Pigs of the Land
Ever wonder what pigs were all about in the past and the present? you wouldn't be alone, because it was an important animal that was not only eaten but seen as important! This is just a few things about pigs to get the discussion going, so lets see how pigs are seen through the Hawaii lens. Hawaiians had many ceremonial uses for pigs that varied from the people who would run and govern the island. In relation to food the pigs came with the first Polynesian voyagers who landed on Hawaii's shores. They were intended as breeding stock for a new settlement along with chickens and dogs as food sources. Pigs also would be known to help in the lo’i or Taro Patch. Pigs would be a symbol, the planter of soil and food crop, the male (kane) erotic function. Pig and The Kapu System Hawaiian law (Kapu System) run by Ali'i, did not allow women to eat Pig because it represented a Male's body part when a pig poked into the ground its snout would be a similar shape. Banana's were also not allowed for eating by women. Eating pig was seen as a celebration and not apart of the Hawaiian diet, because it was given to Ali'i as a tribute from a tenant during Makahiki. Queen Kaahumanu & Liholiho broke the eating kapu in 1819. Hawaiian legend of Kamapua'a the Hog Child, is the super human associated to Lono the god of agriculture. The pig is said to be one of the many forms or Kinolau of Lono. The Pig and the Land The word ahupua'a is composed of the word 'ahu' which is monument or marker. Then there is the connecting word of pua'a, which means pig and refers to the stone marker piles. This made pig an important way to show land organization through what we know as "ahupua'a" that is marked from the mountains to the seas that sustained the canoe builders, farmers, fishermen, net makers, lau hala weavers, or known as the network of "maka'ainana". They were specialists of the land and were some of the ones most close to it in their bond. Hawaiian Pig Farming is important as it is very different from corporate Industrial pig farming. Corporate Pig farming involves CAFOs or Concentrated animal feeding operations the threatens environment through feces that are unkept through polluting air and water with toxic waste particles. Hawaiian Pig Farming treats the pig with compassion being peticide free and minimal impact the environment with lush pastures for a non-concentrated approach. Plantation Times Back in the day, the community would contribute to the slop for the pigs to make them even fatter and bigger. Kamaaina would hang a metal bucket on the fence with food scraps and waste. The pig farmers would pick it up once a week to collect the slop from every household and replace the slop container with an empty one. It was very hard work at that time there was no store bought butcher store for those days. Modern Day Pig Gossip In Modern day, the Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai each have had a chance to re-evaluate pigs. Especially with more and more food, actually majority of pork is coming from the mainland, and threatens self reliance of the islands to feed its own people from its own land. People buy from the mainland cause it’s easier then purchasing from a local farmer. Some residents say greedy land owners want a cycle of consumerism, so they get tax-money, which also is a problem from self sufficiency. Hawaiians had a very strong system that allowed for island self-sufficiency which can be most easily seen from its fish pond systems.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
|