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May 24, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hale Pa‘i

“Perhaps never since the invention of printing was a printing press employed so extensively as that has been at the Sandwich islands, with so little expense, and so great a certainty that every page of its productions would be read with attention and profit.”

“The language of the islands has been reduced to writing, and in a form so precise, that five vowels and seven consonants, or twelve letters in the whole, represent all the sounds which have yet been discovered in the native tongue.”

“And as each of these letters has a fixed and certain sound, the art of reading, spelling, and writing the language is made far easier than it is with us.” (Barber, 1834)

“On the 7th of January, 1822, a year and eight months from the time of our receiving the governmental permission to enter the field and teach the people, we commenced printing the language in order to give them letters, libraries, and the living oracles in their own tongue, that the nation might read and understand the wonderful works of God.”

“The opening to them of this source of light never known to their ancestors remote or near, occurred while many thousands of the friends of the heathen were on the monthly concert, unitedly praying that the Gospel might have free course and he glorified.”

“It was like laying a corner stone of an important edifice for the nation.” (Bingham)

“A considerable number was present, and among those particularly interested was Ke‘eaumoku, who, after a little instruction from Mr. Loomis, applied the strength of his athletic arm to the lever of a Ramage press, pleased thus to assist in working off a few impressions of the first lessons.”

“These lessons were caught at with eagerness by those who had learned to read by manuscript. Liholiho, Kalanimōku, Boki and other chiefs, and numbers of the people, called to see the new engine, the printing-press, to them a great curiosity.”

“Several were easily induced to undertake to learn the art of printing, and in time succeeded. Most of the printing done at the islands has been done by native hands.” (Bingham)

“Liho-liho was glad to have the chiefs instructed and took 100 copies of the first primer for his friends and attendants. Ka-ahu-manu took 40 for her friends. These probably came from this printing of 500 copies. In the latter part of September, another printing of 2,000 copies was made from the same type.”

“Liho-liho felt a little like the foreigners who did not want the natives instructed. He wanted the education reserved for the chiefs because, according to Mr. Bingham, ‘he would not have the instruction of the people in general come in the way of their cutting sandalwood to pay his debts.’”

“Nevertheless, the flood could not be held back and the privilege of reading and writing rapidly spread among the people.” (Westervelt)

“… until March 20, 1830, scarcely ten years after the mission was commenced, twenty-two distinct books had been printed in the native language, averaging thirty-six small pages, and amounting to three hundred and eighty-seven thousand copies, and ten million two hundred and eighty-seven thousand and eight hundred pages.”

“This printing was executed at Honolulu, where there are two presses (in Hale Pa‘i, the printing house (across King Street from Mission Houses – and later at Hale Pa‘i at Lahainaluna.) But besides this, three-million three-hundred-and-forty-five-thousand pages in the Hawaiian language have been printed in the United States (viz. a large edition of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John) …”

“… which swells the whole amount of printing in this time, for the use of the islanders, to thirteen-millions six-hundred-and-thirty-two-thousand eight-hundred pages.”

“Reckoning the twenty-two distinct works in a continuous series, the number of pages in the series is eight hundred and thirty-two. Of these, forty are elementary, and the rest are portions of Scripture, or else strictly evangelical and most important matter, the best adapted to the condition and wants of the people that could be selected under existing circumstances.” (Barber, 1834)

The mission press printed 10,000-copies of Ka Palapala Hemolele (The Holy Scriptures.) It was 2,331-pages long printed front and back.

Mission Press also printed newspaper, hymnals, schoolbooks, broadsides, fliers, laws, and proclamations. The Mission Presses printed over 113,000,000-sheets of paper in 20-years.

A replica Ramage printing press is at Mission Houses in Honolulu (it was built by students at Honolulu Community College in 1966.) Likewise, Hale Pa‘i in Lahainaluna has early Hawaiian printing displays. (Lots of information here is from Mission Houses, and Barber.)

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Mission Houses Hale Pai Sign
Mission Houses Hale Pai Sign
Ramage Press replica at Mission Houses
Ramage Press replica at Mission Houses
ENTRANCE, INSIDE PORCH - Mission Printing Office-(LOC)
ENTRANCE, INSIDE PORCH – Mission Printing Office-(LOC)
GENERAL VIEW, NORTH (FRONT) ELEVATION FROM NORTHEAST - Mission Printing Office-(LOC)
GENERAL VIEW, NORTH (FRONT) ELEVATION FROM NORTHEAST – Mission Printing Office-(LOC)
INTERIOR, LOOKING TO REAR - Mission Printing Office-(LOC)
INTERIOR, LOOKING TO REAR – Mission Printing Office-(LOC)
Lahainaluna Hale Pa'i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058643pv
Lahainaluna Hale Pa’i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058643pv
Lahainaluna Hale Pa'i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058642pv
Lahainaluna Hale Pa’i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058642pv
Lahainaluna Hale Pa'i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058644pv
Lahainaluna Hale Pa’i (Printing Shop)-LOC-058644pv

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Lahainaluna, Hale Pai, Printing, Hawaii, Missionaries, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives

May 20, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pele and the Missionaries

“Had Vulcan employed ten thousand giant Cyclops, each with a steam engine of one thousand horse-power, blowing anthracite coal for smelting mountain minerals, or heaving up and hammering to pieces rocks and hills, their united efforts would but begin to compare with the work of Pele here.”

“Though our mission had now been in the islands nearly four years, yet some of the people of Puna and Hilo were as much afraid of the palapala, as they had been of Pele. Some retained their superstitious regard to the volcanic deities.”

“Some, in their self-complacency, questioned or doubted whether any benefit equal to the trouble, could be obtained by attention to missionary instruction.” (Hiram Bingham)

“Tho’ we do not dispair of benefiting the adults, many of whom are susceptible of religious and moral impressions, & some of whom we hope have already been brought into the kingdom of our Lord, yet generally speaking …”

“… this class of persons are so inveterately addicted to their ancient customs, and so deeply immersed in low and vicious habits, that it is to the rising generation we principally look for the subjects of the transforming grace of God.” (Thurston & Bishop, 1825)

“So far from renouncing their belief in the former Gods of Hawai‘i, it is supposed that more than two thirds adhere to them in some measure, and sacrifice unto them in private.”

“This is more especially the case in the remote parts of the island, where Pele, the god of Volcanoes, has a great number of votaries. Such in brief is the present condition of this people among whom we dwell.” (Thurston & Bishop, 1825)

“Many of the natives still believe that a deity exists in the volcano by the name of Pele. Some tried to dissuade Kapiʻolani from going up to the volcano. They told her that Pele would kill her & eat her up if she went there. She replied that she would go, & if Pele killed & ate her up, they might continue to worship Pele; but if not, i.e., if she returned unhurt, then they must turn to the worship of the true God.”

“Nothing very material occurred during the remainder of the way, except that at every place where they encamped for the night, Kapiʻolani’s first request would be to unite in prayer, to express her gratitude to the Most High for his loving kindness to her through the day. (Goodrich & Ruggles, 1825)

“Taking my field as a whole it has not differed much the past year in its general characteristics from previous years. Perhaps the long spell of warm & pleasant weather may be an exception. For this some believe, right or wrong, we are indebted to Madame Pele who has been most lavish even to prodigality of her warming & burning influences.” (Lyons, 1857)

“The volcano of Kīlauea is always in action. Its lake of lava and brimstone rolls and surges from age to age. Sometimes these fires are sluggish, and one might feel safe in pitching his tent upon the floor of the crater.”

“Again the ponderous masses of hardened lava, in appearance like vast coal-beds, are broken up by the surging floods below, and tossed hither and thither, while the great bellows of Jehovah blows upon these hills and cones and ridges of solidified rocks, and melts them down into seas and lakes and streams of liquid fire.” (Titus Coan)

“There is a remarkable variety in the volcanic productions of Hawaii, – a variety as to texture, form and size, from the vast mountain and extended plain, to the fine drawn and most delicate vitreous fibre, the rough clinker, the smooth stream, the basaltic rock, and masses compact and hard as granite or flint, and the pumice or porous scoria, or cinders, which, when hot, probably formed a scum or foam on the surface of the denser molten mass.” (Hiram Bingham)

“Steam and gases are constantly issuing from a thousand holes and fissures over the crater, but scarcely a spark of fire is to be seen by day or night. In fact Mother Pele has buried her fires, stopped her forges, extinguished her lamps and retired within the deep recesses of her infernal caverns.”

“Is she dead? Does she sleep? or has she only closed her adamantine doors, and with Pluto and Vulcan descended to the fiery bowels of the earth to prepare with deeper secrecy her magazines of wrath which shall one day burst forth with more desolating terror?”

“To us it is a lonely idea that the volcano should become extinct; for we confess that her mutterings, her thunderings, her flashings, the smoke of her nostrils and the shaking of her rocky ribs are music, beauty, sublimity and grandeur to us. They seem so like the voice of Almighty God, so like the footsteps of Deity.” (Lydia Bingham Coan)

“A mighty current instantly overflowed, and they ran for their lives before the molten flood, and ascended from the surface of the abyss to the lofty rim with heartfelt thanksgiving to their great Deliverer. This proves the real danger of meddling with Pele’s palace and trifling with her power.”

“Had this occurred in the days of unbroken superstition, it would doubtless have been ascribed to the anger of that false deity, and multiplied her worshippers.”

“But now such a deliverance was justly ascribed to the care and power of Jehovah, the knowledge of whose attributes displayed in the works of creation, providence, and grace, has introduced the Hawaiian race into a new life.” (Hiram Bingham)

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'Kilauea_Volcano',_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_William_Pinkney_Toler,_c._1860s
‘Kilauea_Volcano’,_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_William_Pinkney_Toler,_c._1860s

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Pele, Kilauea, Missionaries

May 6, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Entourage

On November 27, 1823, L’Aigle, an English whaling ship under the command of Captain Valentine Starbuck, on which Kamehameha II (Liholiho), Kamāmalu, and their entourage traveled to England to gain firsthand experience in European ways.

The king and his chiefs agreed that Liholiho needed a competent interpreter to travel with him, and they asked Starbuck to permit the Englishman William Ellis and his family to join the royal suite. Starbuck adamantly and persistently refused. Frenchman John Rives went as interpreter.

Liholiho’s chosen party were Governor Boki and his wife, Liliha, Kapihe, Chief Kekuanaoa, steward Manuia, Naukana (Noukana), Kauluhaimalama, servant Na‘aiweuweu, and James Kanehoa Young. (Corley)

Boki was the son of Kekuamanoha, a chief of Maui (but it was rumored that he was the son of Kahekili II.) His original name was Kamaʻuleʻule; his nickname came from a variation on Boss, the name of the favorite dog of Kamehameha I.

His older brother, Kalanimōkū, was prime minister and formerly Kamehameha’s most influential advisor. His aunt was the powerful Kaʻahumanu, queen regent and Kamehameha’s favorite wife.

King Kamehameha II appointed Boki as governor of Oʻahu and chief of the Waiʻanae district. John Dominis Holt III said Boki was “a man of great charisma who left his mark everywhere he went.”

Boki married Chiefess Kuini Liliha; Liliha was the daughter of Kalaniulumoku II (some say Koakanu was her father) and Loeau, who were themselves full blooded brother and sister (children of Kalaniulumoku I and his own mother the venerable kapu chiefess Kalanikuiokikilo.)

This makes Liliha a niaupio child, a chiefess of the highest possible princely rank in the system of Hawaiian chiefs. She was hānai (adopted) daughter of Ulumāheihei (Hoapili). (Kekoolani)

Ulumāheihei’s father, High Chief Kameʻeiamoku, was one of the “royal twins” who helped Kamehameha I come to power – the twins are on the Islands’ coat of arms – Kameʻeiamoku is on the right (bearing a kahili,) his brother, Kamanawa is on the left, holding a spear.

Kapihe (Naihekukui) “was very intelligent, had an excellent memory, and spoke English tolerably. He was remarkably skillful in the game of draughts (Kōnane,) which he played with uniform success.” (Byron)

He was son of the chief Hanakāhi and also known as Jack the Pilot or Captain Jack. He had been the pilot for the Russian explorer Golovnin in 1818 and piloted Freycinet from Kailua Bay to Kawaihae in August 1819. (Birkett) Lord Byron referred to him as ‘Admiral.’

Kekūanāoʻa’s name (literally, the standing projections) is said to refer to ships’ masts seen in the harbor when Kekūanāoʻa was born. (Pukui) (Some claim Kekūanāoʻa to be the son of Ki‘ilaweau, the grandson of Alapaʻi, King of Hawai‘i, and the Chiefess Kaho‘owaha of Moana. (Kapi‘ikauinamoku))

“As a young man he was a favorite and attendant of the declining years of Kamehameha I. With Liholiho he was a punahele, or intimate attendant and friend, and in that capacity accompanied the Royal party to England”.

Kekūanāoʻa married Pauahi, formerly a wife of Liholiho. They had a daughter, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. In 1827, Kīnaʻu, daughter of Kamehameha, became Kekūanāoʻa’s wife. Kīnaʻu and Kekūanāoʻa had five children: Prince David Kamehameha (who died as a child;) Prince Moses Kekūāiwa (who died in 1848;) Prince Lot Kapuāiwa (Kamehameha V); Prince Alexander Liholiho (Kamehamhea IV) and Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.

Boki’s younger cousin, Manuia, was in command of Fort Kekuanohu, of the fortified hill of Punchbowl and the harbor of Kou, and Boki made him Chief Marshall with power over life and death. He an Boki later set up grog shops at Honolulu.

Naukana (Noukana) was son of Kamanawa (one of the twins on the Islands’ coat of arms – and one of Kamehameha’s four Kona Uncles who helped him rise to control all of the Islands.)

Kauluhaimalama was son of Kekūhaupiʻo. Hawai‘i Island ruling chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu instructed Kekūhaupiʻo to teach Kamehameha the ancient martial arts of the land. Kekūhaupiʻo was determined to give all his knowledge to his chiefly pupil, and he indeed did so. This brought about the firm bond between Kekūhaupiʻo and the young Kamehameha.

Kekūhaupiʻo is arguably the one man most closely connected to Kamehameha I during Kamehameha’s formative years, while he developed his skills as a warrior, and through the early period of Kamehameha’s conquests.

“Kanehoa Young, the second son of John Young, was about the same age as Liholiho, had traveled widely throughout the world, and spoke English.” (Corley)

John Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, was stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790. Kamehameha brought Young to Kawaihae, where he was building the massive temple, Pu’ukoholā Heiau.

For the next several years, John Young, and another British sailor, Isaac Davis, went on to assist Kamehameha in his unification of the Hawaiian Islands.

Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons. In addition, both Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his many battles.

With these powerful new weapons and associated war strategy, Kamehameha eventually brought all of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.

In London, Liholiho and Kamāmalu became ill. It is believed they probably contracted the measles on their visit to the Royal Military Asylum (now the Duke of York’s Royal Military School.) Virtually the entire royal party developed measles within weeks of arrival, 7 to 10 days after visiting the Royal Military Asylum housing hundreds of soldiers’ children.

Kamāmalu (aged 22) died on July 8, 1824. The grief-stricken Kamehameha II (age 27) died six days later, on July 14, 1824. Prior to his death he asked to return and be buried in Hawai‘i.

Kapihe was the only one of the followers who had suffered from the disorder in a degree at all equal to the king and queen. Boki and Kekūanāoʻa rapidly recovered; and Kapihe soon grew better.

Shortly thereafter, the British Government dispatched HMS Blonde to convey the bodies of Liholiho and Kamāmalu back to Hawaii, along with the entourage. The Captain of the Blonde, a newly commissioned 46-gun frigate, was Lord Byron (a cousin of the poet.) The Blonde arrived back in Honolulu on May 6, 1825.

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Their_Majesties_King_Rheo_Rhio,_Queen_Tamehamalu,_Madame_Poke
Their_Majesties_King_Rheo_Rhio,_Queen_Tamehamalu,_Madame_Poke

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Hoapili, Kapihe, Hawaii, Kekuamanoha, Kamamalu, Kalaniopuu, Isaac Davis, Ulumaheihei, Princess Ruth Keelikolani, Kamehameha, Kameeiamoku, Lot Kapuiwa, John Young, Eleanora, Kamanawa, Four Kona Uncles, Kekuanaoa, Pauahi, Victoria Kamamalu, Kekuhaupi, David Kamehameha, Manuia, Alexander Liholiho, Kinau, Naukana, Fort Kekuanohu, Moses Kekuaiwa, Noukana, Kaahumanu, Liliha, Kauluhaimalama, Kalanimoku, Naihekukui, Naaiweuweu, Boki, Liholiho, James Kanehoa Young

May 5, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kapiʻolani Breast Cancer

“Kapiʻolani was born at Hilo, Hawaii, in the year 1781. She came into the world at a time when Kamehameha was engaged in his struggle for the conquest of Hawaii. It was not until she was fourteen years old that, for the first time in Hawaiian history, there ruled over all the islands, except Kauai, one king; and Kauai was soon to fall under the sway of the mighty Kamehameha.”

“Her father was Keawemauhili, one of the very highest chiefs known to the heralds. He was half-brother of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, king of the island of Hawaii.”

“The earliest incident on record of Kapiʻolani is her narrow escape from death, as a baby in arms, at the time of Kamehameha’s contest with the chiefs of Hilo. The little girl’s guardians, fleeing from the battle, in order to hasten their flight, threw her into a clump of bushes.”

“The story of her rescue, by an old native chronicler, tells that a certain man, named Ha‘aiawi, “passing that way, heard the voice of a child crying. He stood to listen, and being assured of the child’s voice, he drew near and looked, and behold there was his chiefess in the bushes, deserted by her guardians. His compassion was aroused and he hurriedly grasped the child and fled to the mountains.” (Morris)

“Kapiʻolani was one or the most distinguished of the female chiefs of the Islands. She was the wife of Naihe, a high chief on the island of Hawaii, who was an early convert, and became one of the most influential Christian chiefs, and one of the ablest counsellors of the missionaries.”

“The conversion of Kapiʻolani, and her elevation in character, is perhaps one of the most delightful instances of the results of missionary labour.” (Lucy Thurston)

“She told the missionaries she had come to strengthen their hearts and help them in their work. They rejoiced in the salutary influence which she exerted in favor of education and reform, an influence felt at once and happily continued when she had returned home.” (Bingham)

“Kapiʻolani was early converted to the truth, – applied herself to study, – readily adopted the manners and usages of civilized life, – and soon became distinguished for devoted piety, for intelligence, and for dignity of manners.”

“She took a bold stand against the vices and superstitions of her people, and exerted a decided influence in favour of Christianity.” (Thurston)

She won the cause of Christianity by openly defying the priests of the fire goddess Pele in 1825. In spite of their threats of vengeance she ascended the volcano Mauna-Loa, then clambered down to the great lake of fire – Kilauea – the home of the goddess, and flung into the boiling lava the consecrated ohelo berries which it was sacrilege for a woman to handle. (Tennyson)

Kapiʻolani, for more than a year before her death, suffered from breast cancer. “She came to Honolulu about the 20th of March by the advice of Dr. Andrews her Physician to be operated on”.

“It lasted about half an hour, and the ordeal was endured by this heroic woman without a tremor. During the course of the operation, Dr. Judd asked her if it pained. She replied, ‘It does pain, but I have fixed my mind on Christ, thinking of his pain on the Cross for me, and I am thereby enabled to endure.’” (Morris, Thrum)

“She bore the operation, which was severe, without manifesting the least symptom of pain. Her breast as she afterwards expressed it was with Jesus …”

“… and so vivid was her sense of the Divine presence that she seemed to be almost unconscious of what she was suffering. She was ready to die, and equally ready to live if that were the will of God.” (Judd, Report to Sandwich Islands Mission, 1840-1841)

“Both Dr Woodd & Dr Fox surgeon of the Vincennes united in opinion with me that the disease was removed & we might expect a perfect cure.”

“The wound healed kindly & at the end of a fortnight was really closed. She attended meetings & at the Poalima was very animated in her arguments with her sisters on the subject of their old superstitions about ghosts and pule ana‘ana which she had determined to refute as long as her life should be spared her.”

“About six weeks after the operation deeming my attendance no longer necessary I gave her permission to visit Maui as soon as she could procure a passage, and in preparation for leaving she took a long walk in the heat of the day which brought on a pain in the side.”

“The next day Apl 29th she visited each of the missionaries at their houses including those from other islands. Erysipelous now made its appearance which after two or three days by Metastasis affected the brain and she sunk away into palsy (paralysis with involuntary tremors)”. (Judd, Report to Sandwich Islands Mission, 1840-1841)

“The day before her death, those around the bed asked her, ‘To whom shall we attach ourselves if you die?’ meaning what chief should they follow. She replied, ‘Follow Jesus Christ.’”

“Thinking she had misunderstood, the question was repeated, but she again made the same answer. Kapiʻolani died about 11 am on May 5, 1841.” (Morris; Thrum) In communicating the intelligence, Mr. Forbes writes: ‘The nation has lost one of its brightest ornaments.’”

“’She was confessedly the most decided Christian, the most civilized in her manners, and the most thoroughly read in her Bible, of all the chiefs this nation ever had, and her equal in those respects is not left in the nation. Her last end was one of peace, and gave decided evidence that your missionaries have not laboured in vain.” (Thurston)

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Cheifess_Kapiolani
Cheifess_Kapiolani

Filed Under: Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Prominent People, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Hawaii, Kapiolani, Missionaries, Keawemauhili, Christianity, Naihe

May 4, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Initial Homes for the Missionaries

“The Hawaiian mode of building habitations was, in a measure, ingenious, and when their work was carefully executed, it was adapted to the taste of a dark, rude tribe, subsisting on roots, fish, and fruits, but by no means sufficient to meet their necessities, even in their mild climate.”

“Round posts, a few inches in diameter, are set in the ground about a yard apart, rising from three to five feet from the surface. On a shoulder, near the top, is laid a horizontal pole, two or three inches in diameter, as a plate; on this, directly over the posts, rest the rafters.”

“A point of the post, called a finger, rises on the outside of the plate, and passes between two points of the rafter projecting over the plate and below the main shoulder.”

“The joint thus constructed is held together partly by the natural pressure of the roof, and partly by lashings of bark, vines, or grassy fibres beaten, and by hand twisted and doubled into a coarse twine, and put on manifold, so as to act as four braces – two from the post, and two from rafter, extending to the plate, all being attached six to twelve inches from the joint.”

“Three poles or posts, about three times the length of the side posts, are set in the ground, one in the centre of the building, and the others at the ends, on which rests the nether ridge pole, supporting the head of the rafters.”

“These crossing each other, the angle above receives the upper ridge pole, which is lashed to the nether and to the head of the rafters.”

“Posts of unequal length are set at the ends of the building, sloping a little inward and reaching to the end rafters, to which their tops are tied. A door-frame, from three to six feet high, is placed between two end or side posts. Thatch-poles are bed horizontally to the posts and rafters, from an inch to three inches apart, all around and from the ground to the top ridge pole.”

“At this stage the building assumes the appearance of a huge, rude bird cage. It is then covered with the leaf of the ki, pandanus, sugarcane, or more commonly (as in the case of the habitations for us) with grass bound on in small bundles, side by side, one tier overlapping another, like shingles.”

“A house thus thatched assumes the appearance of a long hay stack without, and a cage in a hay mow within. The area or ground within, is raised a little with earth, to prevent the influx of water, and spread with grass and mats, answering usually instead of floors, tables, chairs, sofas, and beds.”

“Air can pass through the thatching, and often there is one small opening through the thatch besides the door, for ventilation and light.”

“Such was the habitation of the Hawaiian, – the monarch, chief, and landlord, the farmer, fisherman, and cloth-beating widow, – a tent of poles and thatch-a rude attic, of one apartment on the ground-a shelter for the father, mother, larger and smaller children, friends and servants.” (Hiram Bingham)

When the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries arrived in the islands (April, 1820,) through the kindness of some of the traders living in Honolulu three grass houses were offered to the five families. It is believed that these houses stood near the site of the McCandless building, at the corner of King and Bethel Streets.

The Binghams occupied one of these, which consisted of a single room, one corner being partitioned off by mats, providing a little privacy. (Restarick, Sybil Bingham Journal)

“April 23rd, (1820) Sabbath. With what interest would our friends in America look upon us to-day, could they cast an eye over the wide waters and behold I The season is truly an interesting one. Probably the first sabbath in which the worship of Jehovah was ever observed in these pagan Isles.”

“We have had divine service to-day in our own dwelling—our straw-thatched cottage—the congregation composed of white residents and Commanders of vessels now lying at the harbour, with many of the natives seated on the mats and surrounding the door.” (Sybil Bingham Journal)

About 3-months after their arrival, Boki began building hale pili for the missionaries. There were three hale connected by a long covered lanai with a fourth hale used as a storage room, separated from the rest.

One part of the Bingham’s hale was to be used as a schoolroom and meetinghouse for Church. The Bingham’s lived at one end of the three connected ones, the Loomises in the middle one, and Daniel Chamberlain and his family in the last one. The missionaries quickly set about preparing the hale pili for their use:

“Mr. (Ruggles) and Capt. (Chamberlain) fitted up the schoolroom for school and meetings (church services,) hanging the walls and covering the ground with mats and making commodious seats …We felt the need of lumber, an article most difficult to be obtained here.”

“It would hardly be possible, at any price to purchase a sufficient quantity of plank for seats in this public room. Some of the timber brought with us will answer very well for temporary seats, placed around the room double and covered with hay and mats.” (Thaddeus Journal, September 16, 1820; Mission Houses)

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Missionary Row-Chamberlain-Oct 11, 1820-TheFriend Oct 1925
Bingham's_Thatched_Home-(Damon)-1820
Bingham’s_Thatched_Home-(Damon)-1820
L2R Ellis, Richards & Stewart-Stockton; Frame House-Kawaiahao
L2R Ellis, Richards & Stewart-Stockton; Frame House-Kawaiahao
MISSION HOUSE AND CHAPEL-from 'Eveleth's History of the Sandwich Islands,' Philadelphia-(LOC)-1831
MISSION HOUSE AND CHAPEL-from ‘Eveleth’s History of the Sandwich Islands,’ Philadelphia-(LOC)-1831
MISSION HOUSE AND CHAPEL-from 'Eveleth's History of the Sandwich Islands,'-1831-400
MISSION HOUSE AND CHAPEL-from ‘Eveleth’s History of the Sandwich Islands,’-1831-400

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Missionaries, Hale Pili

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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