In old Hawaii kukui nuts (candle nuts) were used as candles for traveling in the po (night), oils for lamps, medicine for sealing a cut or cure for children's mouth disease, a stain, a polish, and a relish called 'inamona. The kukui is a member of the spurge family. The kukui grows in high or low elevations, in valleys, gulches, and mountain ridges.

Hawaiians would bake the nut, crack it, then get out the meat, put 7-8 pieces on the stiff midrib of the niu (coconut) leaf, put the stick in a stone that has been carved out and light it. One nut would last about 3 minutes.

When fishing for squid Hawaiians would spit chewed kukui kernels into the ocean to calm the water so they could see the octopus better.

The relish was made by roasting then mashing and combining with sea salt.

Once our Hawaiian teacher brought kukui to our class to tell us a story about Maui, using the kukui nut as the source of light.