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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Hawaiian Salt Makers2 Aim to Protect Tradition
Last summer on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, Tina Taniguchi was working close to the ground. Her coconut3 leaf hat covered most of her thick brown hair. Wet soil had gotten on her clothes and her smiling face.
Taniguchi smiles a lot while working on the Hanapepe salt patch on the west side of Kauai. It is a piece of land about half a hectare in size with pools of salty water. The salt becomes crystals as the water dries.
"It's hard work, but for me it's also play," Taniguchi said with a laugh.
Spiritual tradition
Taniguchi's family is one of 22 families who make "paakai," the Hawaiian word for salt, following a cultural and spiritual tradition. Hanapepe is one of the last remaining salt patches in Hawaii. Its holy salt can be traded or given away but must never be sold. Hawaiians use it in cooking, healing, rituals and as protection.
Taniguchi drives a car for about an hour to get to the salt patch. For her, it is like religion and play at the same time. It is the time when she makes a spiritual connection to the land.
"This would be a religious practice of mine for sure," Taniguchi said. "My dad raised us saying that these mountains are his church, and the ocean is where you get cleansed5."
Malia Nobrega-Olivera is another salt maker1. She is also an educator and activist6 who leads efforts to preserve this old tradition. Her grandfather helped form the group of salt-making families called Hui Hana Paakai. The organization's goal, she said, is to communicate with the landowner, the state of Hawaii, whenever problems arise. Nobrega-Olivera said the salt patch is part of the lands taken away from Native Hawaiians after the U.S.-supported overthrow7 of Hawaii's monarchy8 in 1893.
Native claims to the land
"Regardless of what a piece of paper might say, we are stewards10 of the area," she said.
Over the past 10 years there have been several threats to this field. They include development, pollution from a neighboring airfield11, damage to the sand from vehicle traffic and waste left by visitors to the nearby beach. In addition, rising sea levels and weather might stop the practice.
Nobrega-Olivera believes Western science and native knowledge can combine to combat the effects of climate change and save the salt patch. The steps she takes include building up the wells' edges, so water won't cover the salt beds. Another step is to prevent damage to the beach from vehicle traffic.
"Some ask us why we can't move this practice to a different location," she said. "That's impossible because our cultural practice is particular to this land. There are elements here that make this place special for making this type of salt. You cannot find that anywhere else."
The process of making salt
The process of turning sea water into salt can be slow. The season begins once the rain stops, and water starts to disappear from the salt beds. Ocean water travels underground and enters the wells. Each family has their own well. As water enters the well, so do tiny, red brine shrimp12. These small ocean animals give Hanapepe salt its unusual, sweet taste, said Nobrega-Olivera.
The families first clean the salt beds and line them with black clay. Then they move water from the wells into the beds. There, salt crystals form. The top level, or layer, is the whitest. It is used for table salt. The middle layer is pinkish and is used in cooking, while the bottom layer, which is a deep red color, is used in blessings14 and rituals.
Fires on the island of Maui in August claimed 100 lives. After the fires, salt makers began sending their salt to survivors15, so they can "make their food delicious and bring some of that joy into their lives," Nobrega-Olivera said.
Keeping traditions alive
Interest in Hawaiian culture and language has recently grown on the islands, Nobrega-Olivera said. She now thinks about how to teach her knowledge to younger generations.
One way she honors the Hanapepe salt patch is by writing Hawaiian songs and chants. She recently taught some school children one of those chants using the words aloha aina, which means "love of the land."
"Aloha aina captures our philosophy, the reason we do this," Nobrega-Olivera said. "You take care of the land, and the land takes care of you."
Words in This Story
patch – n. a small area of land where a particular plant or crop grows or is produced
crystal – n. a small piece of a substance that has formed naturally into a regular symmetrical shape.
ritual - n. a religious service or other ceremony which involves a series of actions performed in a fixed16 order
cleanse4 – v. to make clean, pure
steward9 – n. someone who has the responsibility for looking after property
preserve – v. to save or protect something from damage or decay
clay – n. a kind of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is dry
blessing13 – n. a prayer asking God to look kindly17 upon the people who are present or the event that is taking place
chant –n. to sing a word or phrase repeatedly usually in connection with prayers or a religious ceremony
philosophy –n. a system of ideas about truth and meaning
1 maker | |
n.制造者,制造商 | |
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2 makers | |
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式) | |
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3 coconut | |
n.椰子 | |
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4 cleanse | |
vt.使清洁,使纯洁,清洗 | |
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5 cleansed | |
弄干净,清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 activist | |
n.活动分子,积极分子 | |
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7 overthrow | |
v.推翻,打倒,颠覆;n.推翻,瓦解,颠覆 | |
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8 monarchy | |
n.君主,最高统治者;君主政体,君主国 | |
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9 steward | |
n.乘务员,服务员;看管人;膳食管理员 | |
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10 stewards | |
(轮船、飞机等的)乘务员( steward的名词复数 ); (俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的)管理员; (大型活动的)组织者; (私人家中的)管家 | |
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11 airfield | |
n.飞机场 | |
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12 shrimp | |
n.虾,小虾;矮小的人 | |
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13 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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14 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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15 survivors | |
幸存者,残存者,生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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16 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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17 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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