Nā Limu O Ke Kai: Inspiring Kānaka Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

Limu, or seaweed, has long been an essential staple of the Pacific Islander diet, especially Native Hawaiians. Its significance as a source of sustenance, health, and healing is deeply embedded in Hawaiian moʻolelo (stories), mele (song), and the traditional food system. Efforts to reclaim traditional foodways and regenerate the abundance and accessibility of limu through sustainable planting and harvesting practices are being led by Kānaka Ōiwi kūpuna (Native Hawaiian elders) within their communities. This paper acknowledges the unique healing nature of a variety of limu species and their uses, along with their deep cultural value and nutritive qualities as food and medicine. The revitalization of limu production, guided by ancestral knowledge and memories, not only aids in efforts to address food insecurity but also aids collective efforts toward achieving food and health sovereignty in Hawai‘i and beyond.

Keywords

health healing limu seaweed biocultural restoration Hawai‘i Pacific Islands food sovereignty

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abbott

I. A.

(1984). Limu: An ethnobotanical study of some Hawaiian seaweeds. Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden.

Abbott

I. A.

(1992). La’au Hawai’i: Traditional Hawaiian uses of plants. Bishop Museum Press.

Aluli-Meyer

(2013). Indigenous and authentic: Hawaiian epistemology and the triangulation of meaning. In Asante

M. K.

Miike

Yin

(Eds.), The global intercultural communication reader (pp. 148–164). Routledge.

Chase

S. E.

(2011). Narrative inquiry. In Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln’s

(Eds.), The sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., p. 421). Sage.

de Silva

R. M.

(2024). The divine feminine: Calling back the treasured moʻolelo from the forbidden past to heal the present. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 24(4), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/15327086231224782

de Silva

R. M.

Hunter

C. A.

(2019). Art and the voices within: Exploring Kanaka women’s storytelling in the visual medium through portraiture and Kānaka ‘Ōiwi methodologies. Te Kaharoa, 12(1).

Fujimoto

(2002, Mar. 20). Celebrating the year of the limu in ʻAliomanu. The Garden Island Newspaper. https://www.thegardenisland.com/2022/03/20/hawaii-news/celebrating-the-year-of-the-limu-in-aliomanu/

Glesne

(2016). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (5th ed., p. 185). Pearson.

Goodyear-Ka’opua

(2013). The seeds we planted: Portraits of a Native Hawaiian charter school. University of Minnesota Press.

10.

Gumantis

(1995). Kahuna Laʻau Lapaʻau: The practice of Hawaiian herbal medicine. Island Heritage.

11.

Johnson

R. K.

(1981). Kumulipo: The Hawaiian hymn of creation (Vol. 1). Topgallant Publishing Co., Ltd.

12.

Josselson

(2011). Narrative research: Constructing, deconstructing, and reconstructing story. In Wertz

F. J.

Charmaz

McMullen

L. M.

Josselson

Anderson

McSpadden

(Eds.), Five ways of doing qualitative analysis: Phenomenological psychology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive inquiry (pp. 224–242). Guilford.

13.

Judd

N. L. K. M.

(1998). Laʻau lapaʻau: Herbal healing among contemporary Hawaiian healers. Pacific Health Dialog, 5(2), 239–245.

14.

Kanahele

G. H. E.

Kanahele

G. S.

(1992). Ku kanaka stand all: A search for Hawaiian values. University of Hawaii Press.

15.

Kanaiaupuni

(Ed.), (2009). Hulili: Multidisciplinary research, 2008 (p. 370). Kamehameha Schools Press.

16.

Kanaka’ole

(1977). Ka uluwehi O ke kai [song]. Don McDairmid, Jr. Presents: Hula records’ hits! (2008) [album]. Hula Records.

17.

Kaulukukui

G. H.

Nāho‘opi‘i

D. K.

(2008). The development of an inventory of exemplary Hawaiian leadership behaviors. Hülili: Multidisciplinary research on Hawaiian well-being, 5, 95–151.

18.

Keli’iholokai

Keaulana

Antonio

M. C. K.

Rogerson

Deitschman

Kamai

J. A.

Albinio

Wilson

Kepa

Makua

K. L.

Vegas

J. K.

Chung-Do

J. J.

Jr. Ho-Lastimosa

H. I.

(2020). Reclaiming ‘aina health in Waimānalo. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), Article 5066. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145066

19.

Kimura

L. K.

(Interviewer) (1973, October 14). Edith Kanakaʻole. [Audio program episode 040]. In Ka Leo Hawaiʻi (program ID: HV24.040). https://ulukau.org/kaniaina/?a=d&d=A-KLH-HV24-040&e=-------en-20--1--txt-tpIN/ctpTI/ctpTA/ctpCO/ctpTY/ctpLA/ctpKE/ctpPR/ctpSG/ctpTO/ctpTG

20.

Lipe

Kanī‘aupi‘o-Crozier

Hind

(2016). Mo ‘olelo for Transformative Leadership: Lessons from Engaged Practice. In Nakoa

K. A. R. K. A.

Wright

E. K.

(Eds.), Kanaka ‘Ōiwi Methodologies: Moolelo and Metaphor (pp. 53–71). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press.

21.

McCubbin

L. D.

Marsella

(2009). Native Hawaiians and psychology: The cultural and historical context of indigenous ways of knowing. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(4), 374–387. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016774

22.

Meyer

M. A.

(2003). Hoʻoulu: Our time of becoming: Collected early writings of Manulani Meyer. Ai Pohaku Press.

23.

Meyer

M. A.

(2013). The context within: My journey into research. In Chilisa

Mertens

D. M.

Cram

(Eds.), Indigenous pathways into social research: Voices of a new generation (pp. 249–260). Routledge.

24.

Meyer

M. A.

(2014). Hoea ea: Land education and food sovereignty in Hawaii. Environmental Education Research Education Research, 20(1), 98–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2013.852656

25.

Oliveira

K. A. R.

(2014). Ancestral places: Understanding kanaka geographies. Oregon State University Press.

26.

Ostraff

(2006). Limu: Edible seaweed in Tonga, an ethnobotanical study. Journal of Ethnobiology, 26(2), 208–227. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771(2006)26[208:lesita]2.0.co;2

27.

Tiitii

Paul

Burkhart

Larson

Swanepoel

(2022). Traditional knowledge and modern motivations for consuming seaweed (limu) in Samoa. Sustainability, 14(10), Article 6212. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106212

28.

Wells

M. L.

Potin

Craigie

J. S.

Raven

J. A.

Merchant

S. S.

Helliwell

K. E.

Smith

A. G.

Camire

M. E.

Brawley

S. H.

(2017). Algae as nutritional and functional food sources: Revisiting our understanding. Journal of Applied Phycology, 29(2), 949–982. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-016-0974-5

29.

Wertz

F. J.

Charmaz

McMullen

L. M.

Josselson

Anderson

Emalindaadden

(2011). Five ways of doing qualitative analysis: Phenomenological psychology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive. Guilford Press.

30.

J. Y.

Tso

Teo

H. S.

Haldar

(2023). The utility of algae as sources of high value nutritional ingredients, particularly for alternative/complementary proteins to improve human health. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1277343