Lahaina’s banyan tree: A symbol of resilience or a reminder of colonialism?
LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) - In the year since the Maui wildfires, Lahaina’s famous banyan tree has been portrayed as a sign of the town’s resilience and strength.
But also, during that time, sentiment grew against the tree as a symbol of Lahaina.
The 151-year-old banyan tree, once 60 feet high and spanning nearly an acre, is now noticeably smaller. A large section of the northwest corner was too damaged by flames last year and could not be saved. But what’s left is flourishing.
“Some of the growth in here you’ll see is almost seven feet long,” said Maui County Arborist Tim Griffith. “Some of the new growth has even started to fruit. It puts on a small berry, which does take a lot of energy, so that’s just a positive indicator that the tree does have the energy to put on.”
Trees grow at their own pace, and this is a restoration effort that could take decades.
“We did take a lot of cuttings, so we do have a lot of the keiki in pots. And hope is to plant them in the area where we removed this section and get those starting to grow up, so minimum 20-year plan of just pruning every year, every couple years, depending on how fast the tree is growing,” Griffith said.
But there’s rising community sentiment that the tree shouldn’t receive so much attention.
Some see it as a symbol of colonialism and the loss of Native Hawaiian rights. William Owen Smith planted the banyan in 1873 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant missionaries in Lahaina. Two years later, he played a role in overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy.
“This is a constant reminder of what happened to us and how we lost our nation and our land. And so, no, there’s a pretty good contingency in Lahaina that we wouldn’t mind seeing that tree be cut down or disappear,” said Kekai Keahi, a Native Hawaiian activist who lives on Maui.
He said many were triggered by seeing the banyan on posters, T-shirts, and stickers after the fires.
“What should have been on the shirts was the ulu trees,” Keahi told Hawaii News Now.
“If Lahaina is Ka Malu ʻUlu o Lele, you know, it should have been the ulu tree on that shirt. And that would have changed the whole scope of things of the way people think about Lahaina’s resiliency. And what is the ulu? I mean, it is a plant that was brought here that fed people for 1000s of years. You cannot eat nothing from the banyan tree. In fact, it’s an invasive species.”
The county’s arborist said native plants will always be a priority, but the banyan is here to stay.
“It is an iconic part of Lahaina. Every tree in Lahaina that survived right now is getting water, is getting cared for. If it survived, we want it to keep surviving and we definitely want this to still be a part of that,” Griffith said
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