page_title: Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
section_title: Cordia subcordata (beach cordia)
hierarchical_section_title: Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia / Plants / Cordia subcordata (beach cordia)
caption_attribution_description: Cultivated specimen of the indigenous Kou (Cordia subcordata, Boraginaceae) on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii.
context_page_description: One of the major human migration events was the maritime settlement of the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at least 5,500 to 4,000 BP. These migrations were accompanied by a set of domesticated, semi-domesticated, and commensal plants and animals transported via outrigger ships and catamarans that enabled early Austronesians to thrive in the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia, Near Oceania, and Remote Oceania, Madagascar, and the Comoros Islands.
  They include crops and animals believed to have originated from the Hemudu and Majiabang cultures in the hypothetical pre-Austronesian homelands in mainland China, as well as other plants and animals believed to have been first domesticated from within Taiwan, Island Southeast Asia, and New Guinea. Some of these plants are sometimes also known as "canoe plants", especially in the context of the Polynesian migrations. Domesticated animals and plants introduced during historic times are not included.
context_section_description: The beach cordia (Cordia subcordata) is an important timber tree with light, finely textured, and somewhat soft wood ideal for carving. It has no taste and thus was most commonly used for carving utensils, cups, bowls, and other containers; as well as ornamental carvings and musical instruments throughout Austronesia. The wood is flammable and is commonly used in New Guinea as firewood. In some cultures, the wood may also be used to build paddles and the keels of the boats. The seeds can also be eaten, though only as famine food. Other parts can also be used for traditional medicine and for the extraction of dyes. Like Calophyllum inophyllum, beach cordia were commonly planted in marae. They have cultural and religious significance in some cultures like in Kiribati and the Karimunjawa Islands of Indonesia. In Hawaii, it was traditional to plant beach cordia around houses and use their bright orange flowers as leis.
  Beach cordia, like most trees favored by Austronesians, grow well in sandy, clay, and rocky soil and are a common component in coastal forests and mangrove forests. Beach cordia was once thought to be an introduced species, but it is now known to be indigenous to most of the islands and coastlines of the Indo-Pacific, propagated naturally by their buoyant seeds. Nevertheless, they were still deliberately introduced in some islands, with artificial introductions usually found growing with other common trees cultivated by Austronesians. Especially in the atolls of Micronesia.
  Terms for beach cordia is reconstructed to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kanawa, with cognates including Iban kenawa; Makasarese kanawa; Palauan kəláu; Gilbertese kanawa; Tokelau kanava; and Nukuoro ganava.
  Another set of cognates can be reconstructed to Proto-Oceanic *toRu, with cognates including Nehan to-tor; Petats to-tol; Fijian, Tongan, and Rarotongan tou; and Hawaiian kou.
  An older reconstructed term is Proto-Austronesian *qaNuNaŋ, however it is not specific to beach cordia and can refer to other members of the genus with sticky fruits, especially the glue berry (Cordia dichotoma) and the lasura (Cordia myxa). It also did not reach the Oceanic languages. Cognates include Tsou həhngə; Isneg anúnang; Hanunó'o and Cebuano anúnang; Maranao nonang; Manobo enunang; Mansaka anonang; Malay, Minangkabau, Sasak, Manggarai, and Rembong nunang; and Mongondow onunang.
caption: Flowering beach cordia in Oʻahu
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