Ai Noa | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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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October 18, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Lūʻau

To the Hawaiians, the ‘āina (land,) wai (water,) kai (ocean) and lewa (sky) were the foundation of life and the source of the spiritual relationship between people and their environs. (Maly)

It is not surprising, then, that ʻāina – the land; that which sustains the people – is the root to the Hawaiian reference to feast – ʻahaʻaina (literally, meal gathering.)

In ancient Hawaiʻi, men and woman ate their meals apart. Commoners and women of all ranks were also forbidden by the ancient tradition to eat certain foods.

This changed in 1819, when King Kamehameha II is best remembered for the ‘Ai Noa, the breaking of the ancient kapu (tabu) system of religious laws, six months into his reign, when he sat down with Kaʻahumanu and his mother Keōpūolani and ate a meal together.

Up to about 160-years ago, the ʻahaʻaina or pāʻina were the calls to feast and party together. These feasts marked special occasions — such as reaching a significant life milestone, victory at war, the launching of a new canoe or a great endeavor. They believed in celebrating these occasions with their friends and families.

Later, a new term was used – Lūʻau – to refer to these festive events; however, it’s not clear when. It’s interesting how a word that is associated as one of the most Hawaiian of activities (a feast,) is actually a relatively new term. The name came from the name of the young tender kalo (taro) leaves.

In an April 1, 1850 story in ‘The Friend,’ the term luau is used (possibly for the first time – in a translation of ‘Visit of the French sloop of war Bonite, to the Sandwich Islands, in 1836,’) stating, “At the King’s order the luau was served up. A gastronomic feast is called luau at the Sandwich Islands.”

“It takes its name from an indispensable dish of young taro leaves boiled, or cooked in fat. In an instant, the cloth was covered with young pigs, fowl, sweet potatoes, luau, etc – all these having been enveloped in leaves and cooked in the earth by the means of red hot stones.” (The Friend, April 1, 1850)

Since ‘The Friend’ article was a translation of French, it is not clear if the ‘luau’ term was used in 1836 (the time of the party,) or in 1850 (or before – when the translation was printed.) A word search of the French text did not note the use of the word ‘luau.’

It’s also not clear if this is the first reference to “lūʻau;” but it predates what Pukui notes as the first use of the term ‘luau,’ where she says it goes back at least to 1856, when it was used in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser.

The term “lūʻau” is mentioned again in references to the wedding celebration on Alexander ʻIolani Liholiho Keawenui and Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke, when on June 19, 1856 they became known as King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. (This may be the reference Pukui was referring to.)

The happy couple was wed in the “Stone Church” (Kawaiahaʻo.) “At half-past eleven o’clock the procession from the palace entered the church, led by the bride, Miss Emma Rooke, who was accompanied by Dr. Rooke, her father, and three bridesmaids, consisting of HRH Victoria (Kuhina Nui, Kaʻahumanu IV,) Miss Lydia Paki (later to become Queen Liliʻuokalani,) and Miss Mary Pitman (“Belle of Hilo Bay”.)”

“(The groomsmen were Prince Lot (later Kamehameha V), Prince William and David Kalākaua (later King Kalākaua.)) Immediately following, came his Majesty accompanied by his father, the Governor of Oʻahu, and numerous attendants, bearing some twenty Kahilis, the ancient insignia of royalty.”

The Sacramento Daily Union ran a repeat of a July 2, 1856 Pacific Commercial Advertiser story of the nuptial and subsequent celebration. In part, it stated …

“On the following day the palace grounds were thrown open to the native population, large numbers of whom visited the King and Queen, and partook of a luau (or native feast), prepared for them. A luau was also served up at the residence of Dr. Rooke.”

Some have suggested “luau” was used to describe the anniversary celebration party for the Ka La Ho‘iho‘i Ea – Sovereignty Restoration Day Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) had in 1847 – with 10,000 guests. While no newspaper accounts have been found describing it, the minutes of the Privy Council note that they “voted that the King make a large feast at Luakaha on the 31st day,” in their July 1, 1847 meeting.

The minutes further note, “At the hour of 10, the King and Premier together with their wives shall drive out on a carriage to be drawn by four horses accompanied by all the Chiefs on horses and carriages, followed by the foreigners and natives.”

“The fort shall fire a salute, and at the arrival of the company at its destination another salute is to be fired from the small brass field pieces, to be followed by spear thrusting; after which, the company is to sit down to the feast. At the conclusion of the feast the company is to return to town.” (The term “lūʻau” was not noted.)

The use of the name grew.

“In the year 1869 the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred of England, arrived in the harbor of Honolulu, being in command of Her Britannic Majesty’s ship-of-war Galatea. As soon as the king learned of the duke’s presence he made special preparations for his reception”. (Liliʻuokalani)

“I gave a grand luau at my Waikiki residence, to which were invited all those connected with the government, indeed, all the first families of the city, whether of native or foreign birth. …”

“The sailor-prince mounted the driver’s box of the carriage, and taking the reins from that official, showed himself an expert in the management of horses. … Kalama, widow of Kamehameha III., drove out to Waikiki in her own carriage of state”. (Liliʻuokalani)

“When the prince entered, he was met by two very pretty Hawaiian ladies, who advanced and, according to the custom of our country, decorated him with leis or long pliable wreaths of flowers suspended from the neck.” (Liliʻuokalani)

A guest at King Kalākaua’s coronation celebration in 1883 noted, “Shortly after the coronation ball had taken place and we were wondering ‘what next,’ we received invitations to a large “Luau” or feast, to be held at Iolani Palace.” (Grant)

“Tables were draped with white, but the entire tops were covered with ferns and leaves massed together so as almost to form a tablecloth of themselves; quantities of flowers were placed about mingling with the ferns … The natives had turned out in great numbers, and the scent of their leis of flowers and maile leaves was almost overpowering.” (Grant)

While it’s not clear when the reference was first made, today, people still get together with family and friends at a lūʻau to celebrate special events.

Of course, in addition to the lei and entertainment (formal and informal,) now, you can also expect lots of the “typical” lūʻau food including kālua pig, poi, sweet potatoes, rice, lomilomi salmon (also a relative newcomer) and much more.

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October 29, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kūmākena

Leina a Kauhane was where the spirits of the dead could be reunited with their ancestors. The path of the spirits of dead kinsmen led westward.

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

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 Kauhane. (DLNR)

The Aha‘aina Makena (death feast or feast of lamentation) was a gathering of relatives and friends to mourn the passing of the ‘uhane (spirit.) It was not a festival; rather, a time of grief. (The feasting was simply feeding the people.)

The cries from the family within and from the mourner approaching from without, were an expression of genuine emotion. …

The another mourner would approach and again the cry of welcome from within and the responding cry without are called the kaukau. (Handy & Pukui)

Kanikau is a general term for all forms of mourning. Loud wailing was called kūmākena (ku-make-ana.) (Handy & Pukui)

Kūmākena was a period of mourning that followed the death of a very high chief during which people wailed, knocked out their teeth, lacerated their bodies, and at last fell into universal prostration.

Also ‘ai kapu (foods that were kapu throughout the year) were ‘ai noa (foods free of kapu.) In the past, when kūmākena ended, the new ruling chief would place the land under a new kapu following old lines.

It was believed that if the new ruling chief did not put a kapu on ‘ai noa, he would not have a long rule. He would be looked upon as one who did not believe the god, Kūkaʻilimoku.

It was further believed that should the ruling chief keep up the ancient kapu and be known to worship the god, he would live long, protected by Kū and Lono, a ward of Kāne and Kanaloa, sheltered within the kapu.

‘Ai kapu was a fixed law for chiefs and commoners, to keep a distinction between things permissible to commoners and those dedicated to the gods. ‘Ai kapu belonged to the kapu of the god; it was forbidden by the god and held sacred by all.

In the old days kūmākena, at the death of a ruling chief who had been greatly loved, was a time of license. ‘Ai noa became an established fact and it was the ruling chiefs who established that custom. (Mookini)

it was with the iwi (bones) that the ʻuhane remained identified, and therefore the bones that must be kept safe from molestation, the usual practice was not burial.

Instead, a relative tended the corpse, removing the decaying flesh and organs by hand, to clean completely (hoʻokele) the bones. This was a labour of love, for a devoted relative. The fleshly refuse (pela) was thrown into the sea.

Through a purloined bone, an enemy or a kahuna, even a mere fisherman, could enslave the ʻuhane and make it serve him, as the kahu of an ʻunihipili used a spirit of that type to help in his work, good or evil. (For example, a fishhook made of a high chiefʻs shinbone would have great mana.) Hence the necessity of disposing of the bones secretly, in a safe hiding place.

The cleaned bones were made into a light compact bundle tied with sennit cords, and borne to the place of concealment. It was easily carried on the back by the kahu (guardian), who went alone in the night so that no one but he would know where they were placed.

Sometimes the bundle of bones was buried under the dwelling house; for aliʻi it was a cave that was known only to his kahu. But generally the bones were taken to a place identified with the ʻaumakua of the family, because the ʻuhane is with its ʻaumakua.

It was usually the daughterʻs or granddaughterʻs duty to attend to the body of a woman; and the wifeʻs, sonʻs or grandsonʻs, of a man.

The body of the dead was washed by the nearest of kin, the wife, mother or the children, especially the eldest, and then clothed in a fresh garment. Salt was placed in thin kapa (later, thin cloth) and placed over the navel. This was believed to slow down decomposition.

Other relatives brought in banana stalks trimmed flat on two sides. These were laid on the floor side by side, then a second layer was put on these, then a mat was placed on top. On this bier the body was laid. The banana stalks kept the body cool. They were changed several times a day.

It was the duty of a very near relative to hide the body away in the family burial cave. The hiding away was always done in secret. Then for years, the wife, husband or children went to the cave to keep the place where the corpse was laid neat and tidy.

The various belongings he loved in life were put in the cave with him. Even food was placed near the dead soon after the burial, in order that the spirit might have food on its long journey to the spirit world, or if the body should be restored to life, there would be something to eat before he sought his way out.

The bones, finger nails, hair or some such relic, were kept in a gourd calabash, wooden calabash, or in a bundle or in a box or trunk.

Sometimes the relics were kept in the dwelling houses of their keepers; but sometimes they were put in a separate house built for the spirit. Some-times the body or relics were hidden away, while the spirit was constantly called upon (hea) by worshipping (hoʻomana) and feeding.

Such an ʻunihipili might return and “sit on” a haka, thereby helping its keeper (kahu) by showing what remedy to use for healing and how to prepare it. Such an ʻunihipili was evil only when the kahu who fed it was evil.

If the kahu was a “filth eating” sorcerer (ʻai hamu) so the ʻunihipili became, in consequence of being sent here and there on deeds of evil. But if the kahu was good, the ʻunihipili was also good. (Handy & Pukui)

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November 22, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1810s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1810s – Kamehameha and Kaumualiʻi negotiations, death of Kamehameha and the fall of the Kapu. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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October 23, 2014 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Hewahewa

“Kailua Harbor, April 5, 1820. In the dawn of the day, as we passed near shore, several chiefs were spending their idle hours in gambling, we were favored with an interview with Hewahewa, the late High Priest. He received us kindly and on his introduction to Brother Bingham he expressed much satisfaction in meeting with a brother priest from America, still pleasantly claiming that distinction for himself.” (Loomis)

“He assures us that he will be our friend. Who could have expected that such would have been our first interview with the man whose influence we had been accustomed to dread more than any other in the islands; whom we had regarded and could now hardly help regarding as a deceiver of his fellow men. But he seemed much pleased in speaking of the destruction of the heiau and idols.”

“About five months ago the young king consulted him with respect to the expediency of breaking taboo and asked him to tell him frankly and plainly whether it would be good or bad, assuring him at the same time that he would be guided by his view. Hewahewa speedily replied, maikai it would be good, adding that he knew there is but one “Akoohah” (Akua) who is in heaven, and that their wooden gods could not save them nor do them any good.” (Loomis)

“Hewahewa, the high priest, had ceased to believe in the power of the ancient deities, and his highest chiefs, especially the state queen Kaahumanu, resolved to abolish the oppressive “kapu” system. The king, ʻIolani Liholiho, had been carefully trained in the traditions of his ancestors and it was not an easy matter to foresake the beliefs of his fathers. He was slow to yield to the sentiments of the chiefs.” (Honolulu Star-bulletin, February 1, 1915)

“The ancient system consisted in the many tabus, restrictions or prohibitions, by which the high chiefs contrived, to throw about their persons a kind of sacredness, and to instil into the minds of the people a superstitious awe and peculiar dread.”

“If the shadow of a common man fell on a chief, it was death; if he put on a kapa or a malo of a chief, it was death; if he went into the chief’s yard, it was death; if he wore the chief’s consecrated mat, it was death; if he went upon the house of the chief, it was death.”

“If a man stood on those occasions when he should prostrate himself, (such as) when the king’s bathing water… (was) carried along, it was death. If a man walked in the shade of the house of a chief with his head besmeared with clay, or with a wreath around it, or with his head wet… it was death.”

“There were many other offenses of the people which were made capital by the chiefs, who magnified and exalted themselves over their subjects.” (Dibble)

Shortly after 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.

“When the ruling aliʻi of the realm renounced the old religion in 1819, with the collaboration of no less a person than Hewahewa, the high priest of the whole kingdom, the foundation upon which the validity of the kahuna had for so long rested crumbled and fell away.” (Kanahele)

“By the time Liholiho made his fateful decision, many others, including the high priest Hewahewa, whose position in the religious hierarchy could be compared to that of a pope, evidently had concluded that the old gods were not competent to meet the challenges that were being hurled at them by the cannons, gadgets and ideas of the modern world.” (Kanahele)

“(Hewahewa) publicly renounced idolatry and with his own hand set fire to the heiau. The king no more observed their superstitious taboos. Thus the heads of the civil and religious departments of the nation agreed in demolishing that forbidding and tottering taboo system”. (Loomis)

“I knew the wooden images of deities, carved by our own hands, could not supply our wants, but worshiped them because it was a custom of our fathers. My thoughts has always been, there is only one great God, dwelling in the heavens.” Hewahewa also prophesied that a new God was coming and he went to Kawaihae to wait for the new God, at the very spot were the missionaries first landed.

This changed the course of the civilization and ended the kapu system, and effectively weakened the belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them.

The end of the kapu system by Liholiho (Kamehameha II) happened before the arrival of the missionaries; it made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.

“The tradition of the ships with white wings may have been the progenitor of the Hawaiians’ symbol for Lono during the Makahiki. … With so many ships with white sails coming to Hawaii at that time, how would he know which ship would bring the knowledge of the true God of Peace?”

“He could not have known that, although the missionaries set sail on October 23rd, one day before the Makahiki began, they would take six months to arrive. Therefore, it was quite prophetic that, when he saw the missionaries’ ship off in the distance, he announced ‘The new God is coming.’ One must wonder how Hewahewa knew that this was the ship.” (Kikawa)

“Hewahewa knew the prophesy given by Kalaikuahulu a generation before. This prophesy said that a communication would be made from heaven (the residence of Ke Akua Maoli, the God of the Hawaiians) by the real God. This communication would be entirely different from anything they had known. The prophecy also said that the kapus of the country would be overthrown.”

“Hewahewa also knew the prophesy of the prophet Kapihe, who announced near the end of Kamehameha’s conquests, ‘The islands will be united, the kapu of the gods will be brought low, and those of the earth (the common people) will be raised up.’ Kamehameha had already unified the islands, therefore, when the kapus were overthrown, Hewahewa knew a communication from God was imminent.” (Kikawa)

After the overthrow of the kapu system, Hewahewa retired to Kawaihae, to wait confidently for the coming of a “new and greater God.” (Kikawa)

“Hewahewa departed for Kailua Bay (formally Kaiakeakua—Seaside of God) ahead of the missionaries to await their arrival with the King. After Hewahewa’s departure, the missionaries’ ship entered Kawaihae. Hewahewa’s household told the Hawaiians accompanying the missionaries the astounding news that the kapus had been overthrown! The missionaries ship was then directed to Kailua Bay were the King was in residence.”

At Kailua, Hewahewa gave an even more astounding prophecy, he pointed to a rock on the shore and said to the new king, ‘O king, here the true God will come.’ When the missionaries arrived at Kailua, they landed their skiff on that very rock! This rock is commonly known as the ‘Plymouth Rock of Hawaiʻi.

In 1820, Hewahewa, the highest religious expert of the kingdom, participated in the first discussions between missionaries and chiefs. He welcomed the new god as a hopeful solution to the current problems of Hawaiians and understood the Christian message largely in traditional terms. He envisioned a Hawaiian Christian community led by the land’s own religious experts. (Charlot)

“Hewahewa … expressed most unexpectedly his gratification on meeting us … On our being introduced to (Liholiho,) he, with a smile, gave us the customary ‘Aloha.’”

“As ambassadors of the King of Heaven … we made to him the offer of the Gospel of eternal life, and proposed to teach him and his people the written, life-giving Word of the God of Heaven. … and asked permission to settle in his country, for the purpose of teaching the nation Christianity, literature and the arts.” (Bingham)

Hewahewa later retired to Oʻahu and became one of the first members of the church established there. This church is located in Haleiwa and is called the Liliʻuokalani Protestant Church. (Kikawa) “He lived in the valley of Waimea, a faithful, consistent follower of the new light.” (The Friend, March 1, 1914)

The image shows Hewahewa and the destruction of the heiau. (Artwork done by Brook Kapukuniahi Parker.)

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