La`au Lapa`au: Traditional Hawaiian Herbal Healthcare

Video 29 in the Introduction to Ethnobotany series. Presented by Levon Ohai. Ancient Polynesian immigrants to Hawai'i brought a number of plant species with them, most of which were primarily intended for use as medicines. More importantly they brought a wealth of knowledge about healthy lifestyles and medicinal uses of plants that are widely found (indigenous) across the central Pacific region. Over time they also learned to use the native (endemic) species found only in the Hawaiian Islands. Throughout all of this a set of guiding philosophical principles, beliefs, and understandings of the ways that the world works are used to direct both the development and application of a complex health care system. This episode presents a brief sample of the philosophies and plants used by one Hawaiian health care practitioner, Levon Ohai.