Lāʻau lapaʻau: Reclaiming Traditional Practices of Medicine

<p>Native plants play an important role in Hawaiian culture. For example, they are used to make lei, hula implements, and poi-pounding boards; used in ceremony; used for weaving and making cloth; and used for physical and spiritual healing, which is called lāʻau lapaʻau. Lāʻau lapaʻau is the traditional practice of physical and spiritual healing through the use of plants. In Hawaiian culture, spiritual healing is just as important as physical healing.</p> <p>Lāʻau lapaʻau was outlawed in 1820 upon the arrival of missionaries to Hawaiʻi. The arrival of foreigners also meant the introduction of foreign diseases &mdash; diseases Native Hawaiians had no immunity against. These diseases ultimately caused the decline of the Native Hawaiian population, and the people of Hawaiʻi were not allowed to heal physically or spiritually by the practices of their kūpuna (ancestors).</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/usfwspacificislands/l%C4%81%CA%BBau-lapa%CA%BBau-reclaiming-traditional-practices-of-medicine-9d5ebfe281c1"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>