Olelo No‘eau: ‘The land is the chief, man the servant.’
The artwork on this shirt honors the lo‘i kalo, a corner stone of traditional Hawaiian life, world view, and sustainance. Lo‘i are wetland systems of farming that create ideal growing conditions for kalo (taro) a foundational staple food crop and canoe plant of the Hawaiian people. Kalo is also known as Haloa by Hawaiians. According to the Kumulipo, Haloa is the ancestor and elder brother of the first Hawaiian. As sibling and elder brother, it holds a place of respect. Kalo provides sustinance, while requiring that it be given attention and care.
Lo‘i are fed by auwai: water (wai) that is channeled from a flowing stream. The fresh water spreads out and slowly moves through the lo‘i: a network of man-made wetlands. Each lo‘i has kalo at different growth stages. Small fish and wetland birds feed and live in its sparkling expanse. Water spreads out, seaping into the ground and replentishing the aquifer. Silt settles out of the water and nourishes the soil. When the lo‘i water rejoins the stream before going out to sea, it has been cleaned by its slow journey through the lo‘i kalo.
Pictured in this design are the Aeo (hawaiian stilt) hunting in the shallow water and (milk fish) eating algae and swimming in the shade of the kalo leaves. Water is one of the most mportant resources. It is both wealth (waiwai) and life itself (ola). In this artwork it is rippling and flowing through the lo‘i: wai is the life force connecting everything.
The lo‘i reminds us of where we come from and where we are going. It encourages us to live in harmony with the land; to protect and share water. For where there is water, there is life.
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