Hawaiian Traditions | Page 3 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 11, 2020 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Leina a Kaʻuhane – Ka Lae O Kaʻena

Here was where the spirits of the dead could be reunited with their ancestors. The path of the spirits of dead kinsmen always led westward; so as to return to the land of their ancestors.

On every island there existed a prominent bluff pointing westward, bearing the name: “leap of the spirit” (leina-a-ka-uhane). The name marked the jumping-off place where the soul of the dead was believed to depart beyond the land of the living.

Kaʻena or Kaʻena Point (‘the heat’) is the westernmost tip of land on the island of Oʻahu. The point can be reached on foot from both the East (via Oʻahu’s North Shore / Mokuleʻia) and Southeast (via Waiʻanae Coast;) you cannot drive around the point.

When an individual lay on the deathbed, his soul left the body and wandered about; if all earthly obligations had been fulfilled, the soul continued wandering, otherwise it was returned to the body. In its continued wandering it then approached Leina a Kaʻuhane. (DLNR)

“I send you with this a sketch of the west end of the Island of Oahu, showing the position of the Leina-Kauhane as related to that portion of the island. From this you will see that it is on the land near the shore line, about three-quarters of a mile from the western end of the Island of Oahu, known as Ka Lae-o-Kaena, or Kaena Point.”

“The Leina-Kauhane is a large rock on a level plain, overlooking the sea with its sandy shore. On passing it the other day in the steam-cars, I was surprised to see a couple of little straw huts leaning against it.”

“I presume they must have been erected by Japanese fisherman, for it is difficult to believe that any native Hawaiian would think of spending a night there where the spirits are supposed to pass. JE Emerson” (Journal of the Polynesian Society, 1902)

The volcano that created the Waiʻanae Mountain Range last erupted over 3-million years ago. On the narrow western point, the hard volcanic rock shows the mark of millennia of pounding waves – the carved sea cliﬀs of Mokuleʻia that rise above Kaʻena.

Dunes such as these were once found on most of the main Hawaiian Islands, and on them developed ecosystems unique in the world. The intense sunlight, low rainfall, strong winds and salt spray created a challenging environment at Kaʻena. It is the site of one of the last intact dune ecosystems in the main Hawaiian Islands.

Unfortunately, these dunes and the native species that live on them have almost entirely been lost to 1000-years of change (since the humans first came to the Islands.)

The Kaʻena ahupuaʻa was probably the poorest ahupuaʻa in terms of arable land resources on Oʻahu. It is likely that Kaʻena was devoted exclusively to sweet potato, except for about 20 taro patches, terraced with rock facings, on the slopes below Uluhulu Gulch (irrigated from a spring on the hillside west of the gulch.) (Handy, DLNR)

Although very poor in terms of land, Kaʻena faced out onto very rich deep sea fishing grounds. Family groups fished along the shore for sustenance, and Chamberlain, in his journals written between 1822-1849, noted one such group, “… we passed Nenelea, a settlement of fishermen and a convenient place for hauling up their canoes …” (DLNR)

The abundance of fishing koʻa attests to the rich fishing off the coastline: Ponuahua, “a fishing shrine near the point, though it is not known which group of rocks was so designated” and Alauiki fishing shrine, “a group of stones near the edge of the water”. (DLNR)

In modern times (1983,) the State of Hawaiʻi designated Kaʻena Point as a Natural Area Reserve to protect nesting Laysan Albatrosses and wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Hawaiian monk seals and the fragile native strand vegetation that has been restored there.

The reserve provides refuge and a nesting area for the Laysan albatross, and is a potential nesting site for the green sea turtle and Hawaiian monk seal. During the winter breeding season, humpback whales will frequent the waters surrounding the point.

Nearly six feet of sand were lost due to vehicular erosion in less than ﬁve years. In response, motor-vehicles are now prohibited within the Reserve to help the dune ecosystem recover.

Because dogs and rats have killed nesting seabirds, a nearly ½-mile long, 6½-foot high predator-proof fence was constructed following an existing roadbed and encloses the tip of the Kaʻena Point peninsula, a total of 59-acres. Three unlocked double-door gates allow access by people.

After the fence was constructed, project personnel began to remove predatory animals from the reserve by using traps for larger animals and a combination of bait boxes and traps for rodents.

One of the last few remaining and easily-accessible wilderness areas on Oʻahu, Kaʻena Point is also part of the State Park system.

As part of the State Park, the Kaʻena Point Trail follows an old railroad bed and former dirt road that ran around the point. The trail leads to Kaʻena Point Natural Area Reserve.

From the Waiʻanae side, the trailhead is at the end of the paved road in the Keawaʻula Section of Kaʻena Point State Park and follows the dirt roadway for 2.4 miles to Kaʻena Point Natural Area Reserve. From the Mokuleʻia side, the trailhead is at the end of the paved road and follows the dirt roadway for 2.5 miles.

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January 4, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Epidemics

It wasn’t until humans began gathering in larger populations that contagious diseases had the opportunity to spread to epidemic proportions. Infectious diseases have inflicted a great deal of damage throughout the centuries.

An epidemic is a disease “normally absent or infrequent in a population but liable to outbreaks of greatly increased frequency and severity,” or a “temporary but widespread outbreak of a particular disease.” A Pandemic is an epidemic on a very wide geographical scale, perhaps worldwide, or at least affecting a large area of the world. (Hays)

As humans expanded their territory, they came into closer contact with microbes they might otherwise have never encountered. By storing food, humans attracted scavenging creatures such as rats and mice, which brought more microbes. (Discovery)

Human expansion also resulted in the construction of more wells and ditches, which provided more standing water for disease-carrying mosquitoes. As technology allowed for wider travel and trade, new microbes could easily spread from one highly populated area to another. (Discovery)

Throughout recorded history, many towns, cities, countries and regions have been decimated by a particular epidemic – a high prevalence of disease attacking many people in a community at the same time. (Kohn)

In extreme cases, a single disease outbreak can have a signiﬁcant eﬀect on a whole civilization, as with the epidemics started by the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, or the outbreak of bubonic plague that killed 20% of the population of Europe over a seven-year period in the 1300s. (cornell-edu)

While the Hawaiian Islands are the world’s most-isolated, populated-place, exploration and trade in the Pacific – and eventually “contact” – ultimately exposed Hawaiʻi to the ills already circulating around the globe – and added it to the points of contact for the spread of various diseases.

The maʻi ‘ōkuʻu (believed to be cholera) struck the islands in about 1804. Some reports note about one-half the population (175,000) died, however, some feel that is quite likely that close to 5,000 Hawaiians died from it. (Schmitt) It affected Kamehameha and his planned invasion of Kauaʻi.

From 1818 to 1825, Don Francisco de Paula Marin recorded numerous occurrences of colds and flu among the Hawaiians, noting that people had died. 1826 saw an epidemic of coughs, congested lungs, sore throat, bronchitis and influenza. (Van Dyke)

As visits by whalers, traders and others increased, other serious diseases started arriving from Europe, American and Asia.

The measles deaths of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu in London in 1824, likely acquired visiting a large children’s home, was a forerunner of the devastating impact of measles upon Hawaiians 24 years later. (nih-gov)

Before 1848, measles was unknown in Hawaiʻi. Several epidemics struck Hawaiʻi in late-1848, beginning with measles and pertussis, then diarrhea and influenza. Measles arrived at this time from California, spreading from Hilo through all the islands; 10% to 33% of the population died. (nih-gov)

No one knows for certain when, where or how the smallpox virus first appeared on earth; we do know that it has circumnavigated the planet multiple times over many centuries, invading every place of human habitation. By the eighteenth century, smallpox was killing an average of 400,000 people per year in Europe alone. (ucpress)

Smallpox hit Hawaiʻi in 1853; the first case arrived in Honolulu, on the ship Charles Mallory. When the epidemic ended late in January 1854, the estimated number of islands-wide cases was 6,400 – 9,100 and an estimated 2,500 – 5,750 deaths.

A sweeping influenza pandemic passed through Europe in late-1781 and 1782. It was first noticed in Russia; then the disease moved from east to west. Millions of people, perhaps three-fourths of the population of Europe, fell ill in the first eight months of 1782. Deaths in Europe may have numbered in the hundreds of thousands. (Hays)

Influenza struck again in Europe in 1847 and over the next two years spread into worldwide impact. In Paris, between one-fourth and one-half of the population was affected; in Geneva, Switzerland not less than one-third. (Peacock)

At that same time, a succession of deadly epidemics struck the Hawaiian Islands. Measles, whooping cough, dysentery, and influenza raged across the kingdom. An estimated 10,000-persons died from these causes, more than one-tenth of the population. In total mortality, the combined 1848-1849 epidemic toll was one of the most devastating in Island history. (Schmitt-Nordyke)

The bubonic plague (“Black Death”) was first noticed in Hawaiʻi on December 9, 1899. Its presence caused pause in the opening months of 1900 and was on everybody’s mind, with good reason; the same disease had decimated a third of the world’s population during the fourteenth century.

The spread of plague on O‘ahu was traced to the railroad linking Honolulu with the plantation towns of Aiea, Waipahu and Waialua. The Honolulu epidemic was not halted until March 31, 1900, during which time a total of 71 cases of plague were diagnosed, leading to 61 deaths.

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe in the mid-1300s, and killing between 75-million and 200-million people. It was thought to have started in China or central Asia. It then travelled along the Silk Road and was probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships.

Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30 to 60 percent of Europe’s population. All in all, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450-million to a number between 350 and 375-million in the 14th century.

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than World War I, at somewhere between 20 and 40-million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as “Spanish Flu” or “La Grippe” the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster. (stanford-edu)

The influenza pandemic circled the globe. Most of humanity felt the effects of this strain of the influenza virus. Outbreaks swept through North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Brazil and the South Pacific. The average life span in the US was depressed by 10 years. (stanford-edu)

The epidemics of infections diminished Hawaiʻi’s population from approximately 300,000 at the time of Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778 to 135,000 in 1820 and 53,900 in 1876.

Death by disease continues. Today, according to the World Health Organization, across the world, every day 8,000-people die of AIDS-related conditions; about 1.7-million people die each year of tuberculosis; more than 500-million people suffer from acute malaria and each day close to 3,000-children die of this disease. (Kohn)

Every year, the human death toll from infectious diseases around the world far exceeds that from hurricanes, cyclones, floods, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, droughts and other natural disasters. (Kohn)

Influenza, cholera, tuberculosis, dengue, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other epidemic diseases have not gone away. The possible spread of disease epidemics has grown because of the ever-increasing human population, rapid international transportation and travel, disease resistance to medicines, insect resistance to pesticides and, occasionally, complacency. (Kohn)

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December 29, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Did The Early Hawaiians Have Iron?

Hawaiian stone tools came in a variety of shapes and sizes, and likewise served a variety of needs. They were traditionally used to scrape, chop, carve, chisel, gouge, perforate and strip.

Stone tools for food-related uses include the poi pounder (used to crush taro and pounded into poi) and mortars & pestles (mortar bowls and stick-shaped pestles crushed seaweed, nuts, leaves and other products used for food, dyes and medicines.)

Other stone tools eased work, such as adzes (smaller ones to slice like a knife; larger ones to carve wood for canoes or idols, as well as to fell trees, dig, scrape, chip or strip.)

Stone tools also assisted in fishing; stone components were used in lures to catch many types of fish and squid. In addition to use in making weapons, stone tools were shaped into clubs, axes, sling stones and other lethal weapons.

We are generally aware of the extensive use and nature of stone tools that the Hawaiians had and used. But, did they also have and use iron tools – if so, how did they get them?

It turns out iron knives were found in the hands of Hawaiians on Kauaʻi on Captain Cook’s first visit in 1778. Iron, crafted into various shapes, was observed on other islands, as well.

Cook noted that the people he met on Kauaʻi were not “acquainted with our commodities, except iron; which however, it was plain, they had … in some quantity, brought to them at some distant period. … They asked for it by the name of hamaite.”

It is interesting to note that a Spanish word for iron ore is “Hematitas”. … Hmmm.

Journals and other accounts by Cook and his officers aboard the Discovery and Resolution, note they observed five pieces of iron.

Of these, the two iron skewers or daggers seen at Maui are believed to have been ship spike nails that they reshaped.

A third piece was a dagger made from a ship’s bolt which was floated in wreckage to Kauaʻi about October, 1778.

Cook’s vessels were at Kauai only a few days in January 1778. When they returned thirteen months later, Samwell and Edgar observed that the Hawaiians had made a dagger from an iron bolt which had been drifted ashore with wreckage five months before.

Edgar remarked: “It was very well beat out into the form of their own wooden daggers.” The Hawaiian wooden dagger, as then described, was pointed at one end and, at the other, perforated for a cord for attachment to the wrist. (Stokes)

Edgar continued: “we saw a great many daggers beat out of our long spike nails we left here last year.” (Stokes)

Crew journals also note two knives, which have subsequently been identified as Japanese. One was a fish knife, always carried on Japanese sampans; the other was a fish and vegetable knife, generally carried on sampans.

Captain Clerke’s record (Jan. 23, 1778) notes, “This morning one of the midshipmen purchased of the natives a piece of iron lashed into a handle for a cutting instrument; it seems to me a piece of the blade of a cutlass; it has by no means the appearance of a modern acquisition; it looks to have been a good deal used and long in its present state; the midshipman … demanded of the man where he got it; the Indian pointed away to the SE ward, where he says there is an island called Tai, from whence it came.” (Stokes)

On the second visit of the ships (1779), Ms. W Bayly ascertained that all the iron seen in the hands of the Kauaʻi natives had floated ashore in wreckage, a statement which Edgar also made on his second visit after a close enquiry of one of the chiefs.

Referring back to the midshipman’s information, it may be noted that there is no island named Tai to the south-east of Waimea, Kauai, where the matter was discussed, and since tai (kai) is the term for “sea” and the current sweeps up to Waimea from the south-east, it therefore appears that the implement was floated in, from the sea.

It turns out that among practically all the Polynesians, as recorded by the European voyagers, iron was immediately recognized and was by far the most desired commodity which the foreigners could supply.

When Cook returned to Hawaiʻi the ships were supplied with fresh provisions which were paid for mainly with iron, much of it in the form of iron daggers made by the ships’ blacksmiths on the pattern of the wooden pāhoa used by the Hawaiians.

The natives were permitted to watch the ships’ blacksmiths at work and from their observations gained information of practical value about the working of iron. (Kuykendall)

This apparent widespread knowledge of iron might imply a common and ancient Polynesian acquaintance with the metal.

A fair conclusion would be that the Hawaiians (and probably all other Polynesians) were not iron smelters, and their acquaintance with iron was limited to the finished material made by other people.

So, it appears evident, before Cook’s contact with the islands, the Hawaiian already had, used and wanted more iron – to make tools and weapons (principally to shape into knives.)

In answering the obvious follow-up question – Where did it come from? – we need simply recall our existing apprehension of the recent and coming debris from the Japan tsunami, as well as the ongoing volunteer activity by thousands across the State clearing our shorelines of marine debris.

As noted in historic records, examination of the flotsam on the windward beaches of the islands reveals principally logs from the north-west coast of America and floats from Japan.

After comparing and considering the possibilities in 1778, it is probable that floating pieces of shipwrecks and other marine debris, from Japan and elsewhere, were the more likely sources of the iron.

While the early Hawaiians benefitted from iron materials, as part of the marine debris floating onto the Islands, the matter of marine debris, beyond that associated with the Japan tsunami, is an ongoing concern in Hawaiʻi. (Most of the information here is from a report prepared by John FG Stokes – Hawaiian Historical Society.)

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December 28, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani

Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani (‘the observant cover of the heavens’) was a demigod who had come to Hawaiʻi from (Kahiki) Tahiti with the fire goddess Pele and her followers.

When the followers made their home at Kahana, Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani was sent to the ridge as a watchman to protect the valley – he was turned to stone.

While Hi‘iaka the goddess (Pele’s younger sister) was returning to meet with Pele, as she approached Kualoa, she came upon a mo‘o (dragon) who tried to stop her.

Hi‘iaka crushed the evil mo‘o and left a piece of his tail as a landmark – Mokoli‘i at Kualoa (his body became the foothills below the steep Kualoa cliffs (‘long back’.))

Today, because of the obvious shape of the island, many generally refer to Mokoli‘i island as “Chinaman’s Hat.”

Moving up the coast, Hi‘iaka came upon Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani. Ka‘uhi looked down “with eye-sockets moist with the dripping dew from heaven.”

He wished to go with Hi‘iaka. He asked her to free him and when she refused, the tried to tear himself loose and rose to a crouching position.

Today, this rock formation is called “Crouching Lion.”

(Note that ancient Hawaiians never had any Lions, or cats for that matter; the context of what you see is not the same as what they saw – today’s reference is based on modern interpretations of the stone formation.)

Just below the rock formation is the former home of George F. Larsen, a Honolulu contractor who emigrated from Norway; the main structure was a family residence in the mid-1920s.

George and Agnes had six children.

George Jr. became the first Chief of Police on Maui in 1939. Stanley rose to the ranks of 3 star general after attending West Point; he fought in the Pacific during World War II. Young Agnes was well known in the 1930s and 1940s as a ceramicist and sculptor.

The house was at first to be their weekend retreat. Later, they lived there full time and the kids commuted over the Pali to Punahou each day.

Mr. and Mrs. Larsen slept upstairs in a bedroom, while everyone else used the Hawaiian style hikie‘e (a large couch – literally translates to ‘upon your bed’) placed around the great room below.

The construction had 12-by-12 timbers, used for the exterior and interior – the massive logs used in the framework were floated to Kahana Bay (‘cutting or turning point’) – the practice of putting the logs in salt water was used to help discourage termite infestation.

In 1937, the home was sold and in the 1940s it became a Roadside Inn.

In 1952, the landmark property in Ka‘a‘awa (‘the wrasse fish’) opened as a restaurant by John Lind (father to Ka‘a‘awa resident, Ian Lind,) back in 1952.

John Lind was in the hotel and restaurant supply business and saw the building and site as a great round-the-island stopover restaurant.

It changed hands after that.

Like many others, while traveling along the Koʻolauloa coast, we often stopped at the Crouching Lion Inn for a meal – and always paused or looked out the window every time we passed “Crouching Lion” (Ka-uhi-‘īmaka-o-ka-lani) as we drove by.

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The Crouching Lion Inn Kaaawa

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December 20, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Battle of Kuamo‘o

“An extraordinary event marked the period of Liholiho’s rule, in the breaking down of the ancient tabus, the doing away with the power of the kahunas to declare tabus and to offer sacrifices, and the abolition of the tabu which forbade eating with women (ʻAi Noa, or free eating.)” (Kamakau)

“The custom of the tabu upon free eating was kept up because in old days it was believed that the ruler who did not proclaim the tabu had not long to rule….The tabu eating was a fixed law for chiefs and commoners, not because they would die by eating tabu things, but in order to keep a distinction between things permissible to all people and those dedicated to the gods”. (Kamakau)

Following the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system. In a dramatic and highly symbolic event, Kamehameha II ate and drank with women, thereby breaking the important eating kapu.

This changed the course of the Hawaiian civilization and ended the kapu system (and the ancient organized religion), effectively weakened belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them, and made for the transformation.

Forty years had passed since the death of Captain Cook at Kealakekua Bay, during which time the kapu system was breaking down; social behavior was changing rapidly and western actions clearly were immune to the ancient Hawaiian kapu (tabus).

Kamehameha II sent word to the island districts, and to the other islands, that the numerous heiau and their images of the gods be destroyed.

Kekuaokalani (Liholiho’s cousin) and his wife Manono opposed the abolition of the kapu system and assumed the responsibility of leading those who opposed its abolition. These included priests, some courtiers and the traditional territorial chiefs of the middle rank.

Kekuaokalani demanded that Liholiho withdraw his edict on abolition of the kapu system. Kamehameha II refused.

Keōpūolani (Liholiho’s mother,) ali‘i kapu (sacred chief), confronted Kekuaokalani. She tried to negotiate with him so as to prevent a battle that could end with her son’s losing the kingdom.

The two powerful cousins engaged at the battle of Kuamo‘o. The battle was fought about December 20, 1819 (Emerson, Bishop).

The royal army, led by Kalanimōkū, numbered by nearly fifteen-hundred warriors, some of them bearing firearms. Kekuaokalani had fewer men and even fewer weapons than the king’s better-armed forces.

“Kekuaokalani was killed on the field, and Manono, his brave and faithful wife, fighting by his side, fell dead upon the body of her husband with a musket-ball through her temples.” (Kalākaua)

The Journal of William Ellis (1823): Scene of Battle with Supporters of Idolatry – “After traveling about two miles over this barren waste, we reached where, in the autumn of 1819, the decisive battle was fought between the forces of Rihoriho (Liholiho), the present king, and his cousin, Kekuaokalani, in which the latter was slain, his followers completely overthrown, and the cruel system of idolatry, which he took up arms to support, effectually destroyed.” (Ellis)

“The natives pointed out to us the place where the king’s troops, led on by Karaimoku (Kalanimōkū), were first attacked by the idolatrous party. We saw several small heaps of stones, which our guide informed us were the graves of those who, during the conflict, had fallen there.” (Ellis)

“We were then shewn the spot on which the king’s troops formed a line from the seashore towards the mountains, and drove the opposing party before them to a rising ground, where a stone fence, about breast high, enabled the enemy to defend themselves for some time, but from which they were at length driven by a party of Karaimoku’s (Kalanimōkū) warriors.” (Ellis)

“The small tumuli increased in number as we passed along, until we came to a place called Tuamoo (Kuamo‘o)…” (Ellis)

“Thus died the last great defenders of the Hawaiian gods. They died as nobly as they had lived, and were buried together where they fell on the field of Kuamo‘o.” (Kalākaua)

“Small bodies of religious malcontents were subdued at Waimea and one or two other points, but the hopes and struggles of the priesthood virtually ended with the death of Kekuaokalani.” (Kalākaua)

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