Winner of the 2012 Ka Palapala Po‘okela Award for Excellence in Natural Science
The World of Bananas in Hawai‘i: Then and Now—unique, comprehensive, colorful, authoritative, and readable—culminates nine years of exhaustive library research coupled with painstaking field and agricultural investigations in Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands. It is the first book about bananas in Hawai‘i and a major contribution to Hawaiian culture. It is also the first attempt to trace banana/plantain evolution within the Pacific. Truly a “banana bible,” it is written in highly accessible prose embracing a broad array of topics. Lavishly illustrated, it covers virtually every edible and inedible banana in Hawai‘i, Polynesian introduced and international, including the spectacular ornamentals and fe‘i.
The World of Bananas reflects a deep respect for Hawaiian oral history and esteemed post-contact literature, reviving long-forgotten traditional foods, chants, crafts, and everyday clothing woven from bananas. As a result of Angela Kepler’s 30-year Pacific-wide ecological research, readers will encounter original ideas (e.g., how migrant seabirds likely guided Marquesan seafarers to colonize Hawai‘i) and delight in the multihued tapestry of true-to-life banana tales from the nebulous dawn of Hawaiian history to the present (e.g., the rediscovery of legendary banana groves). The authors shed fascinating new light on Hawai‘i’s little-known “pregnant” banana, mai‘a hāpai, and resurrect a long-forgotten minor goddess, Hina-‘ea, whose curative mai‘a lele banana once healed vitamin A deficiencies in children.
Interweaving extensive original research with judicious gleanings from a tiny worldwide network of banana specialists, this book provides new, dependable, and pictorial descriptions for 140 living varieties and 22 kinship groups, illustrated keys separating similar cultivars, hundreds of name synonyms, and information on pesticide-free care and maintenance, nutritional deficiencies, and troubleshooting pests/diseases. The mouth-watering recipe chapter includes savory dishes such as banana mayonnaise and meat-plantain casseroles.
“Wow. It’s been two days since this book showed up on my doorstep, and my jaw is still hanging in amazement. I have about 1,200 books in my collection, and this one surely ranks among the top 10. In terms of content, quality of writing, research, and production, comprehensiveness, and abundance and quality of photos, this is a book without peer. . . . I am constantly tempted to indulge myself in reading this masterpiece.” —David Karp, University of California, Riverside
“This is an incredible feat. . . . I cannot begin to express my amazement. For many years I have read Pope, Higgins, Handy, old newspaper clippings, Hawai‘i forester reports, and listened to oral stories, trying to educate myself to recognize and appreciate the work of my ancestors. You have put together information on not only Hawaiian bananas but others as well. I can hardly wait to read the book in its entirety.” —Jerry Konanui, a Hawaiian mahi‘ai
Dr. Angela Kay Kepler
is an energetic, old-fashioned naturalist, meticulous researcher, author (of 18 books, including Trees of Hawai‘i
and Hawaiian Heritage Plants: Revised Edition
), and experimental cook. “Retired” from a multifaceted career as an ecologist, ornithologist, conservationist, and environmental consultant, her passion for bananas and plantains propelled her into becoming the principal international authority on Hawaiian/Eastern Pacific bananas and a key player in banana identification. With her co-author, she revolutionized the art of international banana photography. Kepler holds degrees from the University of Canterbury, University of Hawai‘i, Cornell University, and Oxford University. She has received literary and photography awards for excellence in Hawaiian culture, and two of her books have been bestsellers for nearly 20 years.