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When Hawaiian scholar and anthropologist Scott Kikiloi asked for an 'awa donation from Hawaiian Kava Center for a Hawaiian ceremony, he received an 'awa mahakea - a singularly unique DNA Hawaiian kava variety - from the nursery.
This video is about five minutes long, 9.3 MB.
http://216.194.95.215/videos/hawaiian%20kava%20harvest%20at%20Hawaiian%20Kava%20Center's%20nursery%20in%20Kahalu'u,%20O'ahu%209-7-02.rm
Plant: Hawaiian kava variety known as 'awa mahakea
Age: About four years
Weight: Root-stump mass guessed at 50 lbs
Time: Prayer-chant, a few minutes (no video was recorded); harvest about 2 and 1/2 hours; cleaning another 1/2 hour.
Place: Hawaiian Kava Center nursery in Kahalu'u, O'ahu
Before the start of the harvest, Kahuna Kamana'opono Crabbe, recited a prayer-chant, oli (not recorded), expressing, as I understand it, thanks and acknowledgment to the many gods, and others. During the oli, it was quite dramatic as either in reality or psychologically that there was dead silence and an entire focus on this special plant which seemed to acknowledge the importance of the occasion and its use.
Then the harvest began. First the clipping of the stalks, and Kamana'o and Scott using 'ö'ö and pick to unearth the root-stump mass. This took about two and 1/2 hours with much care to save the lateral roots of the plant. Even though the video shows much of the soil removed from around the root ball, it was still very much lodged into the ground, thus the continual digging. When sufficiently loosened, Kamana'o lifted the root-stump mass for viewing.
Washing took about a half hour. A high-pressure hose (ordinary garden hose with a sprayer adapter) was used to dislodge and clean the clay like soil of Kahalu'u.
The root-stump speciment turned out to be absolutely perfect - no apparent disease, rot or nematode. I felt the pre-harvest oli and the mystical drama surrounding it had a due part in this success.
Mahalo,
Jonathan
Hawaiian Kava Center, LLC |