‘Ohe
Bamboo is
a giant grass
that grows very rapidly and is known in all parts of
the world. Mankind knows about 50 genera and 700
species. It needs full sun, moist rich soil
and large amounts
of nitrogen and is propagated by division (new shoots)
and is generally a fast grower.‘Ohe
is the Hawaiian bamboo. There are two types of ‘Ohe.
One is schizostachyum glaucifolium. Introduced bamboo
sprouts are planted in moist areas where the plants
grow to heights of 15 to 50 ft. The hollow stems, sometimes
as much as four inches in diameter are used for a variety
of purposes. Nodes or joints divide the stems into
sections.
The other type of ‘ohe is bambusa vulgaris. It grows
to 50 feet or more. Some can be up to 100 feet tall.
This is the only bamboo that does not flower in mass
but instead individual clumps flower and die independently.
There
are many legends and myths in several cultures regarding
the bamboo. One Hawaiian legend is as follows: Maui's grandmother Hina planted
a certain variety of bamboo that she had brought from Tahiti. When Maui
saw it he reached for it and cut his hand on the sharp edges. To prevent
this from happening again, Hina refashioned the bamboo to be round
and smooth on the outside, as it is today.
There
are many uses for bamboo, some of which are still used
in modern times. In the Hawaiian culture bamboo was very
practical and used in the following
ways. As food the seeds and shoots of some varieties are edible. The wood
is hard, strong, elastic, light and easy to split. It was used in building;
whole for posts, split for pipes, furniture and other utensils. Also used
for carrying torches as the handle, and for weaving some articles. Long
bamboo poles are used for fishing rods and for thatching rafters
in the
framework of houses. Short sections are made
into musical instruments: pū‘ili (split rattles)
‘ohe hano ihu (nose flutes) and kā‘eke‘eke
or pahūpahū (stamping
pipes) cut strips of bamboo are made into ‘ohe kāpala
for stamping patterns onto kapa (bark fiber cloth) which act
as guides for drawing decorative straight lines onto kapa.
A sliver of green bamboo makes a very sharp pahi (knife). Pahi
are the traditional knife for cutting a babies umbilical cord
in old Hawai‘i. ‘Ohe was sometimes used as a water
container in old Hawaii. The hollow ‘ohe tubes were used
to kindle fires by blowing are on the embers through the tube. ‘Ohe
was also used to irrigate plants.
|
Bibliography
Canoe
Plants of Old Hawai‘i.Lynton Dowe White, web manager.
1994. Ho‘okela Hawai‘i. 6 Jan. 2007<http://www.canoe
plants.com>
Life
in early Hawai‘i the Ahupua‘a. Honolulu:
Kamehameha schools press, 1994. Nirar,
Shunyam. Hawaiian organic growing Guide. Maui: 1992.
|
