Sandalwood Tree
The sandalwood tree, one of the first economic resources for the Hawaiian people, was also found in Wai‘anae. The Hawaiian People admired the sandalwood for both its beauty and its sweet smelling fragrance which they used to scent tapa.
Information obtained from the author Joseph Morgan shows Ali‘i (Chiefs) were owners of large tracts of land where sandalwood was collected. By the early 1800s the economic importance of sandalwood had grown. This began to take a toll on the health of the commoners who worked for them, as enormous amounts of time and effort were spent harvesting sandalwood. Over time the land owned by the working commoners started to show their neglect.
Reference Cited
Lino, R. 2004. Waianae: Not Just Any Old Town. Harvest Online. http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/harvest/2003spring/article/Waianae/Waianae3.pdf
