02/07/2013
Hey, Did You Know?
Hawaiian Fishing Methods
Noose Shark hunting
Many types of sharks swim in Hawaii's waters. Hawaiians revered some as embodiments of ancestral spirits or `aumakua. They fed and cared for these sharks and spun tales of their protective powers.
Other sharks were hunted to be eaten, caught by hook, net, or noose. To noose a shark, the animals were first tamed by several days of feeding. Fishermen threw bait from a canoe in relatively shallow water, usually baked meat wrapped in ti leaves as well as pounded `awa mixed with water that was lowered into the ocean in gourd vessels. The feeding routine was repeated for three or four days until the sharks met the fishermen regularly and came in close to their boats. Finally, satiated with the food and slightly stupefied by the `awa, the fishermen could slip a noose over the shark's head. The shark was then dragged to shore where it was stranded and killed.
"To the native son, the shark was a horse to be bridled, its fin serving as the pommel of a Mexican saddle. I have seen men skilled in herding sharks riding a shark like a horse, turning the shark to this side and that until carried to shore, where the shark died."
-Kamakau
(mahalo to Hawaiihistory.org for the info & Star Advertiser for the pic.)