Canoe Plants and Ohe
Bamboo was one of the most useful and practical plants for early Hawaiians, providing vessels to store water, irrigation channels, tools, and musical instruments. ‘Ohe is one of the plants brought to Hawai`i by early Polynesian settlers in their voyaging canoes. This vigorous and fertile plant flourishes in warm moist forests, and is able to grow so rapidly that after two months of growth it is the size it will remain for its lifetime.
‘Ohe is the hawaiian word referring to all types of bamboo. ‘Ohe Hawai‘i refers specifically to Schizostachyum glaucifolium. Growing in clumps and small groves, ‘Ohe Hawai‘i may reach a height of around 35 to 45 feet tall, with a base diameter of around 2 to 3 inches, hollow walls, and thick hard nodes joining them. It is found in shady valley habitats, often near streams, at elevations from 200 to 900 feet.
People of ancient Hawai`i used ‘ohe in many ways. They used lengths of ‘ohe with closed ends as water carriers. They hollowed out bamboo tubes and blew air through it to ignite embers into fire (this tool was called ‘ohe puhi ahi). They hollowed out tubes to irrigate their crops, allowing water to flow through these irrigation troughs from the stream into the different levels of the taro pond fields. Knives or cutters (pahi) were fashioned for various purposes including cutting the umbilical cord of a newborn. The leaves, which have rough undersides, were used to polish wooden bowls. A torch was made by boring holes in the side of a section of bamboo and using kukui nuts for fuel. It was used in the making of games like darts and spinning tops (hū) and sleds. Bamboo stamps (‘ohe kapala) were used to apply dye onto their kapa in intricate geometric patterns.
Other uses for the bamboo stems were for building, posts, floats, masts, furniture, utensils, agricultural tools, ladders, and fishing poles. Split bamboo can be made into mats, hats, screens, baskets, fans, brushes, roofing tiles. Musical instruments were made, such as nose flutes (‘ohe hano ihu), split-bamboo rattles (pu`ili), and percussion instruments `ohe ka `eke`eke and pahupahu.
