Wahine Aloha Shirt | Kahikikū | Kalo Manauea - lavender

A modern twist on the classic button down aloha shirt, this boxy cut is slightly shorter in front, has small slits at the sides, and is smaller* than our All Aloha version. 

100% cotton | Coconut buttons | Capped sleeve | ʻĀina-friendly dyes & inks | Designed & manufactured in Hawaiʻi

Kalo Manauea
Ke noʻonoʻo ʻia ke kumu o ke kanaka, ka mole kūpaʻa hoʻi o ko kākou moʻokūʻauhau aloha, kau koke aku ka manaʻo iā Hāloa. Kapukapu nō ke ʻano o kona hānau ʻia ʻana mai i ka hopena o ka wā 12 o ke Kumulipo, mai loko mai o nā akua nui nāna mai nā aliʻi a me nā makaʻāinana a pau (he moʻopuna ʻo Hāloa na Papahānaumoku a ʻo Haumea kekahi inoa o ua Papa nei). He mua nō naʻe ko Hāloa, he kaikuaʻana ma kekahi ʻōlelo ʻana, ʻo ia hoʻi ke kalo manauea i puka mai i ka wā mua i kiaʻi no ka limu manauea o ke kai. “He wai ka ʻai a ka lāʻau” no laila ma muli paha o ka wai ʻololī a me ka wai ʻololā ka hānau ʻia ʻana o ke kalo manauea (a me nā lāʻau like ʻole o ia wā). ʻO ka hā nō ia o nā kōkoʻolua o ia māhele a ma muli o kēia puka mua ʻana mai ona, ua pālua ke kūlana kupuna o ke kalo no kākou kānaka a pēlā pū kona hānai ʻana mai i ke ao Hawaiʻi mai kinohi loa mai. ʻO ka manauea kekahi o nā ʻano kalo i kanu ʻia i loko o ka nāhelehele a waiho wale ʻia i laila i ʻai no ka wā wī. He hana akamai loa kēia na nā mahiʻai o mua, nā mea hoʻi i ʻimi i ka maluhia lako ʻai, ka “food security” hoʻi, wahi a ka poʻe o kēia mau lā. ʻO ia kekahi o nā ʻano he nui a lehulehu i pili ai ke ola o ka nāhelehele i ke ola o ke kanaka. ʻO ka hehi ʻole aku i ia mau pilina kekahi kumu o ka pono o ka nohona o nā kūpuna a he aʻo nui ko laila no kākou mamo o kēia au e holo nei. He mea hoʻomaopopo nō hoʻi, ua pālua nō ko kākou kūlana kaikaina no ua poʻe kalo nei a pēlā hoʻi nā mea ola a pau i puka mua mai, mai ka pō mai, a i hoʻokahua i ke ao. 

In the first wā of the Kumulipo, the limu manauea (Gracilaria coronopifolia) is born in the ocean and the kalo manauea becomes its kiaʻi (guardian) on land. This wise coupling contains the two elements that made up a complete meal in traditional times: ʻai and iʻa. ʻAi is kalo, poi, or other vegetable foods. Iʻa are fleshy or savory accompaniments to ʻai: meat, fish, seaweed, salt, or anything from the land or sea that can serve as a an ʻīnaʻi (something to add flavor to your main staple). At the end of the 12th wā, Hāloanakalaukapalili, the son of Wākea and Hoʻohokukalani is born. A keiki ʻalu (stillborn child), he is buried and the kalo springs from his grave, providing kanaka with one of the most nutritious foods on earth. Propagated by slips rather than seeds, kalo must be in constant cultivation and has been carefully tended by folks in every generation. Manauea, however, like ʻāweu, may have been planted and left mostly untended in forested areas, which became like active storehouses that could be drawn upon in times of famine or when there were problems with cultivated crops. It’s characterized by a dusky red hā (leaf stalk) and long and narrow lau (leaf) with slight yellow shading. When seen in hard to reach places where kanaka cannot plant, it can be assumed that it fell from the kōkō (net) of Makaliʻi. In an act of unkindness, this chief gathered up all the food plants and suspended them high in the heavens, bringing hunger upon the people. Thanks to the ʻiole (rat) that ascended the rainbow and chewed a hole in the net, our precious food plants fell back down to earth.