Kuikui

Aʻeaʻe mōhala i luna o ke kukui.

Streaks of silvery gray showing on the candlenut tree [said of a graying person].

Kii: Kuialuaopuna

The kukui trees, can reach over 100 feet tall, creating thick dark growths in the lower mountains and damp gulches. The other term used is kuikui or tuitui, as this is from an older time. Tuitui is still a term used on Kauai, Oahu, Niihau and many other islands of Polynesia for this famous tree of Molokai. Tuitui was brought to Hawaii by older migrations from Te Henua Enata, Tahiti and other islands.

The word Kukui symbolizes a light or torch that breaks the bond of darkness. It symbolizes knowledge and enlightenment

Within the art of Lua, there is a title that is "Ka Olohe Kuikui" This Olohe is the head of the Olohe instructors. This person has retained all the 'ike or knowledge of one's art and the cultural history of their practices. and traditions. 'Olohe Lua Richard Kekumuikawaiola Paglinawan of the Lua traditions of Paku'ialua had this title till his passing a few years ago.

The kukui is considered the kinolau (body form) of Lono or Kanepua‘a. Certain kukui varieties have a leaf with three-points that resemble the snout and ears of a pig. There are an estimated 15 different types of kukui in Hawaii. The differences in the leaf variations are seen in shape color and texture. The shapes and design of those younger leaves on the bottom of a tree can vary from the older leaves at the top of the same tree. The size and shapes of the nuts can also vary from tree to tree.

 One old saying is "he aliʻi no ka malu kuikui, a chief of the kuikui tree shade" [chief of uncertain genealogy].

Kukui 'alu'alu

The outer skin surrounding the nuts are soft and wrinkled.

Kii: Ku'ialuaopuna

The meat of the raw nut is a strong cathartic.

Kii: Manoa Heritage Center

At Makawao was a grove named Liliko'i, known for its fragrant inamona. On Molokai’s east-end is the grove Ka Ulu-kukui-o-lanikaula, which was the grove planted to conceal the bones of this chiefly kahuna. Lanikaula asked his sons to dig many trenches criss crossing the land for some miles. He asked that his iwi be placed in these trenches at night and covered over with pohaku and dirt. Thousand of kuikui were planted in these trenches wich covered an area of a few miles. where his iwi were placed upon his death. Near Kīlauea, Kauai grew an ancient grove named Kauhakake.  Kauaʻi chiefs and their people would gather  there for important meetings.  In Kona Hawai‘i there were two famous kukui groves, Kuaukukuila and Kukuiala‘inamona. In Ka'u at Pionaha, there once thrived a large kuikui grove, today only a few kuikui trees remain there at that site.On the east side of Puu Makanau at Kapunakea was a old grove of Kukui trees, with some remnants still there.

There are many uses of this tree, and every part is used, from the roots to the flowers.

Pilali

Kii: Kontovio

The hard gum or resin from the trunk of the tree is chewed like gum. This is resin called Pīlali. The pilali is usually found on a section of the bark that has been damaged from being hit or scarred. The same pīlali, placed in a coconut shell and mixed with wai or water, is used as a natural water seal on kapa and to add oil to the hair.

The wood is soft and will break down quickly if left to lay on the ground.

Kii: C. Elevitch

The older trunks are made into smaller wa'a. The trunk of the kuikui was also carved into the head of a pua'a or pig. This image was smeared with alaea dirt and oil from the kuikui nuts. This image was placed on the ahu of each ahupuaa in ancient times to represent Lono during the makahiki.

The outer bark of the older tree is stripped off, and the bark is  pounded to a fine mash and used as a dye. Salt water is added to this crushed bark, and the mixture is boiled with hot stones. The items to be dyed are placed in the boiled coloring and left to cool. This makes a reddish stain for fish nets, fishing lines and kapa.

 The older leaves have a silvery green color. They can be seen for miles in the deep valleys of our Islands.

Kii: Ku'ialuaopuna

The leaves can be woven into a lei.

The old and green leaves and branches make good compost for plantings of kalo and other crops.

The sap exuding from a green nut at the point where it is broken from the stem is termed kohu or pi’iku. This piiku was rubbed over the tongue and inside of the mouth of anyone suffering from ʻea or thrush.

Kii: Grove Farms

 This kohu or sap from the green nut can also be applied to punctures and cuts on the skin. This kohu forms a sterile seal on the wound.

Kukui lei are made polishing the hard nuts, which are then drilled and strung on a cord.

 Ho ʻoniniu i ka hū / spinning top used by the menehune or first settlers to Hawaii over thousands of years ago.

 Kii: Ku'ialuaopuna

The meat of roasted nuts is pounded to make inamona. Salt is added and this is used as a pupu to eat with other foods lime limu, crab, fish.

Inamona

Kii: Ku'ialuaopuna

Kii:Ku'ialuaopuna

Roasted kernels, chewed by fishermen on the reef or in canoes, are blown out over the surface of the sea, this creates a oily film on the surface which increases visibility under the water. The he’e or i'a (fish) can be seen on the sandy bottom.

 The roasted nuts finely pounded can extract a clean and fragrant oil, which is used to polish wooden bowls and canoes. This forms a waterproof coating. This same oil is used on the skin and hair.

 Ihoiho kuku

 Kii: Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Data Base

Lamaku, or torch

Kii: National Arts Program

Oil that has already been extracted from roasted nuts is poured into a hollowed out bowl of stone (poho kukui), a piece of kapa is used as a wick to give light in the hale at night.  Roasted kernels, strung on a coconut midrib (niʻau) or bamboo splinter, form a type of candle (kōi, kāli, or ihoiho kukui). A torch (lamakū) consisting of a bamboo handle and a bundle of kōi kukui enclosed in a sheaf of ti leaves provides torch light at night for lamalama or lawai’a practices, or for traveling in the dark.

Soot (paʻu) collected from burning roasted kukui shells gives a black dye for tattooing. The hard outer shells are roasted in a fire and the black soot that rises from the burnt shells is collected on smooth flat stones held over the smoking shells. The soot collected on the stone is then scraped into a bowl. This black soot is what is used as ink to tattoo the skin. The soot is also used to color the wooden hulls of the waa or canoes black, as well as some ki'i or idols of old..

If a family wanted a kukui tree near the house it was the belief that a stranger should plant it in the rear of the dwelling, not the homeowner. The kukui tree represented the human spirit. A kukui growing in front of the dwelling suggested that the homeowner was exposing his soul to all who passed by. So it was customary to have a stranger plant the tree, this kept the home owner from exposing his soul to those that came into the hale or the yard.

'Olelo No'eau : Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Puku'i

Here are a few sayings from our kupuna referring to the kukui:

Kaunaʻoa pālaha kukui o Kamehaʻikana.The kaunaʻoa that spreads and fattens the kukui foliage of Kamehaʻikana. [Said of kaunaoa niālolo, which grows so thickly in some places that it covers the leaves of kukui and other trees.]1904

Kukui ʻā mau i ka awakea.Torch that continues to burn in daylight. [A symbol of the family of Iwikauikaua. After his daughter was put to death by one of his wives, this chief made a tour of the island of Hawaiʻi with torches burning day and night. This became a symbol of his descendants, who included Kalākaua and Liliʻuokalani.]2039

Ahu a lālā kukui.The kukui branches lay about in heaps. [Strewn about in every direction. An expression that refers to an untidy place or the strewing of dead bodies after a battle.]539

Aʻeaʻe mōhala i luna o ke kukui.Whiteness unfolds on the kukui trees.

 [Used in reference to a person who grays, comparing him to a blooming kukui tree laden with white flowers.]

Ulu kukui o Lilikoʻi.Kukui grove of Lilikoʻi. [This kukui grove, in Makawao, Maui, was much visited by travelers, for it was a favorite spot of the chiefs. The nuts gathered from the trees produced a fragrant, tasty relish.]

He kanaka no ka malu kukui.A person from the kukui tree shade. [A person of uncertain parentage; one who has in his veins the blood of chiefs as well as commoners. Similar to Kūkae pōpolo (Excreta of the pōpolo berries [that have been eaten]).]695

He kiu ka pua kukui na ka makani.The kukui blossoms are a sign of wind. [When the kukui trees shed their blossoms, a strong wind is blowing.]711

He kumu kukui i heʻe ka pīlali.A kukui tree oozing with gum. [A prosperous person.]712

He aliʻi no ka malu kukui.A chief of the kukui shade. [A chief who has something shady in his genealogy that he doesn’t care to discuss.]668

He kumu kukui palahuli wale i ka makani Kona.A kukui tree, easily toppled over by the Kona wind. [Said of one who is easily vanquished by a stronger opponent.]1474

Ka malu hālau loa o ke kukui.The long shelter of the kukui trees. [A kukui grove shelters like a house.]1624

Ka ulu kukui o Lanikāula.The kukui grove of Lanikāula. [Lanikāula was the kāula (prophet) of Molokaʻi. His fame was so great that it incurred the jealousy of Kawelo, prophet of Lānaʻi, who sought every means of destroying Lanikāula. His efforts were rewarded when he discovered where Lanikāula went to relieve himself. Kawelo made a hole in a sweet potato and filled it with his rival’s excrement. This he took back to Lānaʻi and with it prayed his victim to death. When Lanikāula saw that his end was near, he asked his sons to suggest a burial place. He found each suggestion unsatisfactory except that of his youngest son. So Lanikāula was buried in a kukui grove near his home. In the grave were placed his personal belongings, which, by the power invested in them by a kahuna, would bring harm to anyone who disturbed the remains. So Lanikāula rests in his kukui grove, famed in songs of Molokaʻi.]1631

Māhanalua nā kukui.The lights are doubled. [Said of a drunk person who sees double.]2657

Pio ke kukui, pōʻele ka hale.When the light goes out, the house is dark. [Said of one whose sight is gone — he dwells in darkness. Also said when life goes and the darkness of death possesses.]2662

Pipili no ka pīlali i ke kumu kukui.The pīlali gum sticks to the kukui tree. [Said of one who remains close to a loved one all the time, as a child may cling to the grandparent he loves.]2755

Pupuhi kukui — malino ke kai.Spewed kukui nuts — calm sea. [To calm the water, fishermen chewed kukui nuts and spewed them. It has the same meaning as, “Pour oil on troubled waters.”]2756

Ua lilo i ke koli kukui a maluhi.Gone lamp-trimming until tired. [Said of one who has gone on an all-night spree. When the top kukui nut on a candle was bumed out, it was knocked off and the next nut on the stick allowed to burn.]2850

Ua pio ke kukui.The light is extinguished. [Said of a person who has fallen asleep and is no longer aware of anything.]2868

Pupuhi kukui o Papalaua, he ʻino.Light the candle of Papalaua, the weather is had. [Said of Papalaua, Molokaʻi, where the sun shines for only part of the day. When the weather was bad the valley became dark before the day was gone, and candles had to be lighted. Sometimes said facetiously when a day is gloomy and a light is required to see.]2817

Ulu kukui o kaukaweli.Kukui grove of terror. [Sometimes mentioned in connection with Lahainaluna School, where this grove was found. It was so called because of the short temper of the Reverend John Pogue, an instructor, and because of the skeletons stored in a nearby building for the study of anatomy. It was in this grove that hō’ike, exhibitions of what students had learned, were held.]2869

Ulu kukui o Lilikoʻi.Kukui grove of Lilikoʻi. [This kukui grove, in Makawao, Maui, was much visited by travelers, for it was a favorite spot of the chiefs. The nuts gathered from the trees produced a fragrant, tasty relish.]