ssrhwnpulleys-universityofhawaii（7页）.docVIP

Pulleys Used in Hawai‘i HUMANS were the 1st PULLEYS at LOKO I‘A Once 1000s of Hawaiians stood lined up from the mountain to the sea to pass on the heavy stones that made up the fishpond (loko i‘a). A loko i‘a could produce over 2000 lbs. of mullet a year. In 1778, 360 loko i‘a across the Islands supplied the needs of 1000s of people. When the wood (ohia or lama) for the mākahā (sluice gate) was ready, the kāhuna set up the first piece of timber. For this important duty, the wise elder offered a hog and a dog to inspire the increase of fish, and he offered prayers The men built the mākahā, binding it together with ie cords. After that they arranged foundation stones around the mākahā grating, and poured in pebbles. The gates were put between the pond and the ocean. The mākahā were raised and lowered, according to the tide, to trap harvest the fish that became too fat to go through the gates. The gates were moved by keepers who slept in small guard houses nearby when tides were high so the fish wouldn’t be stolen or killed. They pulled the gates and the ‘ie cords up by hand, like a human pulley system. By 2003 there were only four fishponds used for aquaculture in the state. Some ponds were destroyed by warring chiefs, but most were destroyed later when traders cut down the trees. This caused dirt to wash away, so they planted mangroves, but these new trees turned the fishponds into mudflats. Now the few remaining loko i‘a in Hawai‘i are being brought back to life by Hawaiians who want to save Hawai‘i’s past and future by fixing them up protecting the ‘āina. WHALING PULLEYS Modern whaling boat When foreigners first came to Hawai‘i, whales were hunted for their oil and meat. It took pulleys of great strength with long ropes to hoist whales onto the platform of whaling boats. Without pulleys, whaling could not have been done. The whales could weigh as much as 5,000 kilograms. After almost all the whales became extin