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Wearing a lei of shredded ti leaves,
a kahuna la'au lapa'au prepares an infusion of herbs, some of
which will be ground up in the stone mortar near his knee. Many remedies were
gathered from the sea to the mountain forests, and some were cultivated. Smoke
curls up behind him from a small fire over which noni leaves are being
charred for use in a preparation.
He holds a sprig of popolo, perhaps the most important of all medicinal
plants. The juice of the leaves and the black, sweet berries was used in
teatments for skin disorders, wounds, and digestive problems. In the bowl at
lower right are fruit and leaves of noni, perhaps the second most
important plant in healing. Leaves of kukui, in the basket at right,
were used as a laxative or a purge. A small bowl (lower center) holds red salt
(pa'akai 'alaea) evaporated from sea water steeped in red ocherous
earth. On the platter, right to left, are yellow-blossomed 'ilima, the
seaweed limu kala, and the corns of olena (tumeric). Behind the
platter are stalks of ko (Polynesian sugar cane). At lower left is the
ginger 'awapuhi.
At left, a broken bone is being set. It is said that specialists in bone
setting went through a lengthy apprenticeship form which they graduated only
after breaking and successfully setting a bone in a member of their family. At
right, a physician manipulates the body of a patient with varying pressures
calculated to help him make his diagnosis.
Physicians observed rituals expressing respect toward Lono, patron spirit of
healing, and strived to emulate their ancestral 'aumakua, conducting
their lives in a manner that would make them worthy of receiving mana.
Page 54, Ancient Hawaii
Order Hawaiian green ti leaf
lei.
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Link to mini-tour of Old Hawaii