BY MOON AND TIDE

In olden times, our mañaina did certain things according to the phase of the moon or the rise and fall of the ocean tide.

PLANTING TUBERS

When planting tubers like dågo (yam) or kamute (sweet potato), the old people believed that if you planted when the tide was low and the moon was full, you would get a lot of tubers at harvest time, but their size would be small.

If you planted them when the tide was high and the moon was full, you wouldn't get a huge number at harvest time, but they would be larger in size than average.

CUTTING TIMBER

Old people would cut wood for homes or for tools, cut bamboo or coconut leaves for thatching when it was low tide and during the first quarter of the moon. They believed the wood was drier in these times and would thus last longer.

If you cut them when the tide was high and the moon was full, the wood would be wet and decay faster and get infested with insects.

CASTRATING ANIMALS

Our mañaina believed that blood would flow less, when castrating animals, if it were low tide and the moon dark or in the last days of its final quarter. If a person accidentally cut himself, blood would also flow less in these times.

MAKING COCONUT OIL

Our older people would make coconut oil when it was high tide, believing that one produced more oil during that time than at low tide. The coconut meat would be squeezed to get the juices out, then the drippings would be boiled and the oil would rise to the top of the pot, where it would be skimmed off.