© 2024 Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Episode 24: Miloli‘i fishing with Puanani Burgess

The ideals of reciprocity that were inherent in aloha ‘?ina were not restricted to land—they extended to everything in the natural world, including the ocean. Puanani Burgess remembers learning about aloha ‘?ina from Walter Paulo and ‘Anakala Eddie Ka‘an?‘an?, two traditional fisherman from Miloli‘i.

“They taught me by taking me out on the canoe. We would paddle to the ko‘a, and they would pound the side of the canoe, And then they laid their net and then they put the food, the palu, into it. And they thought I’m not trying to throw bait into my net to catch you, I’m throwing food to feed you, my honorable ancestors. I feed you first and then you, will feed me and my family.”

At the ko‘a, the shrine they’d created, Paulo and Ka‘an?‘an? offered palu made from the finest kalo to the fish they sought: ‘?pelu, or scad mackerel. Burgess says when they pulled up the net, it was always full. They would search through it for the oldest fish and return those to the sea.

“They would say, ‘You see that old one? He’s going to bring the next generation to this ko‘a and he’ll tell them, “This is our place.'"

researcher, writter, and narrator of Aloha Aina. She is currently an editor at Hawai‘i’s largest magazine, Hana Hou!, where she has written and edited numerous award-winning articles about Hawai‘i. She was the founding editor of Honolulu Weekly. She holds a BA in Pacific history and journalism from the University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa and a JD from Stanford Law School.
More Episodes