The story of Haloa

The early Polynesian settlers had a special relationship with kalo, as the plant’s origin story was related to the origin story of the Hawaiian people. As the story goes, Wakea (Sky Father) and Papa (Mother Earth) had a daughter named Hoohokukalani (The making of stars in heaven).Hoohokukalani grew and later conceived a child with Wakea, but it was stillborn. They named him Haloa (Eternal breath), and from the soil in which he was buried grew the first kalo plant. Later, Hoohokukalani had another son for whom they named Haloa, after the son they’d lost. This second child grew to be a healthy child and was the first Hawaiian.

It is said that the connection between Hawaiians and Haloa is sacred. To be without kalo as a source of sustenance is to suffer a spiritual death. The story of Haloa reminds us of our ties to the natural world.