Akamu and the Revenge of the Matu
Chapter 5 Questions
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Limu kohu is a reddish-gray seaweed that is tremendously nutritious. The spores that allow this seaweed to flourish are found on the outside of the leaves and, if rubbed free before being harvested, can allow the seaweed to grow back faster. How would the ancient Hawaiians know about the spores of the limu kohu?
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A lauhala collection pouch was a purse like bag used to carry things. Lau means leaf while hala is the name of a tree that the thin long leaves come from. Can you name anything else that is made from hala leaves?
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The word umi´umi means two things, whiskers or the thick interlacing branches of a tree and to strangle. This shows the importance of context. If I said the cat is in a box that means one thing while I said the two fighters wanted to box means something entirely different. What does it mean that my makuakāne has an umi´umi?
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In chapter 5 it is said that the wahine were called by the sound of a conch horn. Can you think of two other ways that people were assembled in ancient Hawaii?
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The Hawaiian name for the monk seal is lio holo i ka uana. What does lio mean?
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Today the lio holo i ka uana is nearly extinct. Why would there be so few monk seals presently in present day Hawaii?
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Where else do the Hawaiian monk seals live?
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In the book, Akamu and the Revenge of the Matu, the lio holo i ka uana is named Umiʹumi. Do all names in Hawaiian have meaning? What is the significance of your name?
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In the book, Akamu and the Revenge of the Matu, Dr. Wright writes “Without hesitation the wahine ran.” Shouldn’t that have been “wahines ran,” if written properly? Why did the author use the singular wahine?
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What could people do to help save the lio holo i ka uana?