PUHI — When the Kaua‘i Community College Hawaiian Studies Club embarked on hosting their first imu service, little did they realize that their efforts would not only help defray their expenses on a planned upcoming trip to Tahiti and Rapanui (Easter Island), but that it would also be part of a prime-time television special on the A & E Network.
Kaleo Stevens, president of the KCC Hawaiian Studies Club, explained that the imu service provides Kauaians with an alternative for roasting their Thanksgiving turkey.
People purchased tickets in advance for a donation, brought their Holiday birds to the college on Wednesday evening for inclusion into the imu, and pick up the cooked turkeys on Thanksgiving morning.
Stevens said this is the first year the college is offering this service, and unlike the Hawaiian language immersion program at Kapa‘a High School that takes in a lot of turkeys, they were interested in seeing if there was an interest while helping to raise funds for their trip.
Promotion of the imu service was primarily through scouring the campus, and Dennis Chun, one of the program’s instructors, was pleased with the response.
As the Thanksgiving turkeys slowly came in, the imu was prepared, a column of white smoke rising in the still evening air.
Chun explained that charcoal from partially wet (fresh) wood creates the smoke that is an essential part of injecting the natural flavoring into the cooking process.
The smoke is part of the process of warming up the imu stones, and during the actual cooking, steam replaces the smoke.
As part of the imu preparation, Kaimi Hermosura went off to harvest a batch of kalo (taro) which would also be included as part of the cooking, Hermosura using the spare time waiting to replant the top portions of the corms which were placed in a wire basket lined with ti and banana stalk.
The waiting is also a time of fellowship and coming together as students, instructors, relatives, and friends gathered to talk of times past, Chun recollecting the days of the imu when they had to spend Thanksgiving on Kaho‘olawe.
Chun remembers them doing the turkeys using a tofu-based stuffing with lots of oyster sauce, the primary stuffing ingredients resulting from their trip to the Forbidden Island coming to a close and the group needing to use up the remaining stores.f
A trio of ladies quietly strummed their ukulele in the background, notes of their mele became part of the quiet evening air that preceded the day of thanksgiving.
The sun was setting in the west, and the combination of the clear skies and cold evening air created a colorful combination that was a subject of research as books dealing with atmospheric conditions were pulled out, and the topic of conversation switched from recollections to one of deciphering the cause and types of clouds that made up the colorful skyscape.
Chun noted that for the past several weekends, the Hawaiian Studies complex has been “weekend homes” for a lot of the students who were involved in the recent concert, and other projects that kept them on campus late, and instead of making their way to homes, asked to spend the night at the complex.
Once the turkeys were put into the imu, more students would be spending the night at the complex, Stevens explained, to make sure that nothing goes wrong.
The essence of the gathering, preparation, and talk-story were being video-ed by local videographer Katie Beer for inclusion as part of the upcoming prime-time Holiday special to be aired by the A & E Network in mid-December.
As the last vestiges of the evening color was replaced by the black of nightfall, it was time to get up and transport the turkeys to the imu so families would have the cooked birds in time to celebrate their Thanksgiving.
