IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jgeogr/v1y2021i3p12-216d658641.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Silent Forest: Impact of Bird Hunting by Prehistoric Polynesians on the Decline and Disappearance of Native Avifauna in Hawai’i

Author

Listed:
  • Francisco L. Pérez

    (Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-1098, USA)

Abstract

This research focuses on the historical demise of Hawaiian avifauna due to hunting by ancient Polynesians. Numerous documents, published since the early 1800s, were scrutinized and evaluated; these provided information on bird hunting and traditional Hawaiian practices. Hawaiians used birds as sources of feathers and food. Feathers were important symbols of power for Polynesians; in Hawai’i, feathers were more highly prized than other types of property. Feathers used for crafts were obtained from at least 24 bird species, however, the golden feathers of ‘ ō ‘ ō and mamo birds made them primary targets for birdhunters; both birds became extinct by the late 1800s. Feathers were utilized for many items, including ‘ a hu ‘ ula [cloaks], mahiole [war helmets], and k ā hili [standards]. Most garments utilized a considerable number of feathers; a cloak for Kamehameha consumed the golden feathers of 80,000 mamo birds. Bird meat was an important food item for native Hawaiians. It is believed that most birds were killed after being plucked; historical sources mention ~30 bird species were consumed. The ‘ ua ‘ u ( Pterodroma sandwichensis ), a currently endangered seabird, was ruthlessly hunted and avidly eaten. Its current geographical range is just a minute fraction of its former one; now, ‘ ua ‘ us are largely restricted to inaccessible cliffs at Haleakalā Crater (Maui).

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco L. Pérez, 2021. "The Silent Forest: Impact of Bird Hunting by Prehistoric Polynesians on the Decline and Disappearance of Native Avifauna in Hawai’i," Geographies, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-25, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jgeogr:v:1:y:2021:i:3:p:12-216:d:658641
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/1/3/12/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/1/3/12/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ellen Woodley, 1991. "Indigenous ecological knowledge systems and development," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 8(1), pages 173-178, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Goodlet Owusu Ansah & Lawrencia Pokuah Siaw & Reverend John Manu, 2018. "One plus One is More Than Two? Reaping From the Synergy between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge to Climate Adaptation in Ghana," Current Investigations in Agriculture and Current Research, Lupine Publishers, LLC, vol. 3(2), pages 329-333, June.
    2. Mutambara, Solomon & Darkoh, Michael B.K. & Atlhopheng, Julius R., 2016. "A comparative review of water management sustainability challenges in smallholder irrigation schemes in Africa and Asia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 63-72.
    3. Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed & Shah Md. Atiqul Haq, 2019. "Indigenous people’s perceptions about climate change, forest resource management, and coping strategies: a comparative study in Bangladesh," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 679-708, April.
    4. Alois Mandondo, 1997. "Trees and spaces as emotion and norm laden components of local ecosystems in Nyamaropa communal land, Nyanga District, Zimbabwe," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 14(4), pages 353-372, December.
    5. Al Mamun, Md Abdullah & Al Pavel, Muha Abdullah, 2014. "Climate Change Adaptation Strategies through Indigenous Knowledge System: Aspect on Agro-Crop Production in the Flood Prone Areas of Bangladesh," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society (AESS), vol. 4(01), pages 1-17, January.
    6. John Reid & Matthew Rout, 2018. "Can sustainability auditing be indigenized?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 283-294, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jgeogr:v:1:y:2021:i:3:p:12-216:d:658641. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.