E Nā Hālau Hula, Nana Kākou Iā Laka (Look to the Source): Finding Balance Between the Practice of Hula Forest Gathering and the Ecological Realities of Hawaii's Native Forests

MA University of Hawaii at Manoa 2002Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72–77).This thesis contends that the impact halau hula are having on Hawaii's native forests is born from many different social, cultural, and ecological factors. This thesis goes on to argue that it is hula's intimate link to the forests of Hawaiʻi, through Laka—the ancestor, that makes the problem of damaging gathering practices so antithetical and, also, so readily resolved. The thesis concludes by offering that the answer to regaining balance between cultural practice and modern ecological realities lies in the ancestor Laka. In the attributes and values of Laka is where halau hula can look for inspiration and proper behavior while in her realm, the beautiful and mysterious forests of Hawaiʻi