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THE TYING WITH ROPES

It was the middle of the 19th century in Hawaii. Protestant missionaries had a major foothold by the time the first official Catholic priest arrived in 1846 in Lahaina. He quickly found a large following on the island, it is said, despite fierce opposition from the missionaries and many of their chiefly converts and supporters. One especially formidable opponent was Queen Regent Kaahumanu.

Two early native converts to Catholicism in those years were brothers named Helio and Petero. Helio was baptized in Honolulu and returned to Maui as an itinerant preacher, traveling from place to place talking to people. So successful were his efforts in East Maui that he became known as "The Apostle of Maui."

They say that a judge in Wailuku ordered a round-up of the Catholics who continued to suffer persecution for their faith. He must have been prodded by some powerful people. In 1939, long before the first priest set foot on Maui, King Kamehameha III had signed The Edict of Toleration, giving religious freedom to his people.

Men were deputized to arrest the miscreants and bring them in for trial in Wailuku. These men spent more than a month tracking down and gathering in all of the known, professed Catholics. To keep track of their prisoners, the deputies tied them together with ropes and marched them along the Piilani Highway through all the districts of Kahikinui, Kaupo, Hana and Nahiko, Keanae, Kailua, Haiku and Paia, all the way to the government seat in Wailuku. Helio and Petero were at the head of the line, which became known as the Paakaula ("the tying with ropes").

A funny thing happened as the parade of prisoners walked along. Friends and family of the men joined in and marched with them, even though they were not Catholics themselves. By the time the line arrived at their destination in Wailuku, there were several hundred marchers. The judge took one look at them and dismissed the case. There were too many heretics to sort out, put on trial, and sentence.

Helio and Petero led their people home, preaching as they went. The result of that fiasco was a tripling of the number of converts to Catholicism on Maui.

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Standard English: Jeffrey, it could be that you're overdoing it
Braddah-Nics: What, Jeffrey...tryin'?

Standard English: Her self-confidence is a bit overwhelming.
Braddah-Nics: Wow...shet'ink she all dat, no?

Standard English: We've decided to rent this house together.
Braddah-Nics: Us guys goin' compang dis house.

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Chicken Katsu
Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 lb Boneless chicken; slice into bite size pieces
• Ajinomoto to taste
• 3 cups Panko Flakes
• 1 ea Beaten egg
• Oil for frying
• 1 ea Fresh lemon
• 1/4 cup Ketchup

Instructions:

Season chicken with ajinomoto and salt/pepper if desired. Dip in beaten egg. Option: add water or milk to egg. Dip in Panko and fry until golden brown. Mix juice from lemon and ketchup to make dipping sauce. From: Pupus To Da Max Orgin:Dennis Fujitake

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KULA -

Think million-dollar panoramic views. Think of rich, red soil so fine that your feet send up puffs of dry dust as you walk in the bare dirt. Think of world-famous sweet Kula onions, and fascinating, magical-looking protea flowers. Think of tree-lined roads wending their way over the mountain slopes -- the smell of eucalyptus as you drive along the upper highway, the beauty of the blooming jacarandas and silk oak trees along the lower one. Think wide expanses of pasture land dotted with stands of opuntia cacti. (This is dry country, after all, tucked away in the wind-shadow of Haleakala mountain, on the leeward side of the island.

Think of small family farms and ranches with old wooden houses dating from great- grandpa's time. The diversity of crops harvested in this fertile place, trucked down the mountain to the Central Valley below, include a wide variety of flowers, cabbages, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, assorted fruits and even wine grapes.

Once upon a time Kula farms and ranches provisioned whaling ships, and Kula was called "Nu Kaleponi" (New California). Hungry miners during the California Gold Rush created such a demand for Kula's potatoes, onions and other vegetables and caused a major increase in the prices of the crops grown in the area. The population boomed in the area as farmers had their own rush for the gold, shipping off their produce to the Mainland. Population dwindled again when the gold frenzy died down and Californians settled in to farm their own lands.

Nowadays the fastest-growing "crops" are the homes in subdivisions built to accommodate folks looking for a quiet, country way of life.

The Kula area is divided into four communities: Omaopio, Pulehu, Waiakoa and Kula itself (which is sometimes further subdivided into upper and lower Kula). Currently, there are a few small stores in the area, but no real town center.

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