Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kawaihae – First School?

When the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries first stopped at Kawaihae, an emissary was sent into the village to learn the whereabouts of the king. Lucy G. Thurston, wife of Reverend Asa Thurston, recounted the event …

“Approaching Kawaihae, Hopu went ashore to invite some of the highest chiefs of the nation. Kalanimōku was the first person of distinction that came. In dress and manner he appeared with the dignity of a man of culture.”

Obviously familiar with western customs, the chief gallantly bowed and shook the hands of the ladies. Mrs. Thurston continued, “The effects of that first warm appreciating clasp I feel even now. To be met by such a specimen of heathen humanity on the borders of their land, was to stay us with flagons, and comfort us with apples.”

After sending gifts of hogs and sweet potatoes, Kalanimōku appeared and Bingham comments on ‘his great civility.’ “His appearance was much more interesting than we expected. His dress was a neat dimity jacket, black silk vest, mankin pantaloons, white cotton stockings, and shoes, plaid cravat, and a neat English hat.” (Bingham)

After a brief stop at Kawaihae, where they learned of the death of Kamehameha and the abolition of the old religion, they proceeded down the coast to Kailua with the chiefs on board to meet with the new king and hopefully gain permission to remain in the islands to establish a mission. (Del Piano)

Kamehameha had granted Kawaihae Komohana ahupua‘a (present Kawaihae 1) to Kalanimōku, his ‘prime minister’:

“As his principal executive officer (his kalaimoku according to the traditional scheme of government), Kamehameha appointed a young chief named (in modern writings) Kalanimōku …”

“… in his own lifetime, this chief was usually called Karaimoku by the Hawaiians, sometimes Kalaimoku; foreigners rendered his name Crymoku or Crimoku or gave it some similar form …”

“… he himself adopted the name of his contemporary, the great English prime minister, William Pitt, and he was frequently referred to and addressed by foreigners as Mr. Pitt or Billy Pitt.”

“Kalanimōku was Kamehameha’s prime minister and treasurer, the advisor on whom the king leaned most heavily. He was a man of great natural ability, both in purely governmental and in business matters. He was liked and respected by foreigners, who learned from experience that they could rely on his word.” (Kuykendall)

Kalanimōku maintained a residence at Kawaihae and was there when the first company of Protestant missionaries reached the Hawaiian Islands in 1820. (Cultural Surveys)

At Kawaihae, the missionaries took aboard a number of chiefs who sailed with them south to Kailua, Kona where they anchored on April 4, 1820. (Cultural Surveys)

“Thus to facilitate the diffusion of light over these islands, we were quickly and widely scattered’. (Bingham) They quickly set about establishing mission stations.

Reverend Asa Thurston; Mrs. Lucy Goodale Thurston; Thomas Holman, MD; and Mrs. Lucia Holman, accompanied by Hawaiian converts Thomas Hopu and William Kanui, were sent to Kailua to minister to the people of that district — teaching them literature, the arts, and most importantly, Christianity (“training them for heaven”). (NPS)

“Arrangements were made by the 23d of July, for Messrs. W(hitney) and R(uggles). and their wives to take up their residence at Waimea, on Kauai.”

“On the eve of their departure from Honolulu, eleven of our number united in celebrating the dying love of our exalted Redeemer, for the first time on the shores of the Sandwich Islands, and found the season happy.” (Bingham)

Among their first pupils were the new king and his younger brother, two of his wives, and some other youths. The king was particularly interested in having Holman present to provide medical care for the royal family. (NPS)

“Mr. Loomis hastened to Kawaihae and engaged in teaching Kalanimōku and his wife, and a class of favorite youths whom he wished to have instructed.” (Bingham)

“The first resident missionary at Kawaihae was Elisha Loomis, a 21-year old printer, who was supported by Kalanimōku. In the summer of 1820, Loomis was given two buildings (a schoolhouse and a dwelling place) and 10 youths to educate”. (Marion Kelly)

Kawaihae was the site of one of the first mission stations in the Hawaiian Islands, although it was only briefly looked after by Elisha Loomis beginning in 1821. (NPS)

Though Loomis and his pupils were moved to Honolulu in November, the schoolhouse at Kawaihae may represent the first missionary-run school in the Hawaiian Islands. (Cultural Surveys)

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Kawaihae_Bay_in_1822
Kawaihae_Bay_in_1822

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

500,000 Feathers

In the dawn hours of January 18, 1778, on his third expedition, British explorer Captain James Cook on the HMS Resolution and Captain Charles Clerke of the HMS Discovery first sighted what Cook named the Sandwich Islands (that were later named the Hawaiian Islands.)

Cook continued to sail along the coast searching for a suitable anchorage. His two ships remained offshore, but a few Hawaiians were allowed to come on board on the morning of January 20, before Cook continued on in search of a safe harbor.

On the afternoon of January 20, 1778, Cook anchored his ships near the mouth of the Waimea River on Kauai’s southwestern shore. After a couple of weeks, there, they headed to the west coast of North America.

After the West Coast, Alaska and Bering Strait exploration, on October 24, 1778 the two ships headed back to the islands; they sighted Maui on November 26, circled the Island of Hawaiʻi and eventually anchored at Kealakekua Bay on January 17, 1779.

At the time, the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu was on the island of Maui. Kalaniʻōpuʻu returned to Hawaiʻi and met with Cook on January 26, 1779, exchanging gifts, including an ʻahuʻula (feathered cloak) and mahiole (ceremonial feather helmet.) Cook also received pieces of kapa, feathers, hogs and vegetables.

In return, Cook gave Kalaniʻōpuʻu a linen shirt and a sword; later on, Cook gave other presents to Kalaniʻōpuʻu, among which one of the journals mentions “a complete Tool Chest.”

“For Native Hawaiians, the ʻahuʻula, mahiole, and all other featherwork were reserved exclusively for the use of their ali‘i (royalty), symbolizing their chiefly divinity, rank and power.”

“It embodied the life essence of a thriving abundant environment which are the telltale signs of leadership, as it takes a healthy forest ecosystem to produce enough bird feathers and cordage to make these regal pieces.” (OHA)

The construction of featherwork in ancient Hawai‘i required an incredible amount of labor and craftsmanship. The ‘ahu‘ula of Kalaniʻōpuʻu has 500,000 feathers (lashed one-by-one) from about 20,000 birds.

“Skilled trappers caught the birds by employing various techniques such as snaring their prey midair with nets, or using decoy birds to lure them onto branches coated with a sticky substance.”

“They often harvested only a few feathers from each bird before releasing them back into the wild so they could produce more feathers. Skilled workers belonging to the aliʻi class crafted the olonā cordage backing, a netting used as the foundation for the cloak, onto which the bundles of feathers were attached, creating bold designs.”

“After the ‘ahu‘ula and mahiole left on Cook’s ship, both were taken to England and passed through the hands of various museum owners and collectors.”

“They eventually came under the care of the Lord St Oswald, who unexpectedly presented his entire collection in 1912 to the Dominion Museum in New Zealand, the predecessor of Te Papa Tongarewa. The cloak and helmet have been in the national collection ever since.”

“In 2013, discussions began among the Bishop Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, and OHA to bring these treasures back to Hawai‘i, culminating in this significant homecoming.” (OHA)

In a partnership between the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), The National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the ‘ahu‘ula and mahiole of Kalani‘ōpu‘u came back in March 2016 and are displayed at Bishop Museum on long-term loan.

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Kalaniopuu-Ahuula
Kalaniopuu-Ahuula-Mahiole
Kalaniopuu Mahiole-Ahuula-500000 Feathers-KuProject
Ahuula_from_Kalaniopuu_to_Captain_Cook-Jan_26,_1779

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Belgian Company of Colonization

Peter Allan Brinsmade, 25, accompanied by his wife and child; William Ladd, 26, with his wife and child, and William Hooper, 24, single, arrived on Kauai on July 27, 1833, on the Brig Velocity. Brinsmade and Ladd were from Hallowell, Maine and Hooper from Boston, Massachusetts.

They started the firm Brinsmade, Ladd and Hooper; the name of the firm was changed in 1835 to Ladd & Company. On September 13, 1835, Ladd & Co., began the first major (and successful) Hawaiian sugar plantation.

In 1836, the Koloa Sugar Plantation consisted of 25 acres of sugar cane, 20 houses for laborers, 1 house for a superintendent, carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, mill dam, sugar house, boiling house, and the mill. (Ladd & Co)

They ran a sugar plantation for 12 years. In addition to the enterprise at Kōloa, Kauai, the company ran a profitable mercantile operation in Honolulu.

On November 24, 1841, Ladd and Company signed an agreement with the Hawaiian Kingdom. Then on May 17, 1843, an agreement was signed in the city of Brussels, in the kingdom of Belgium, between the Sandwich Islands Government, the Belgian Company of Colonization, and Ladd and Company.

The ‘Belgian Contract,’ signed in Brussels May 17, 1843, was a tripartite agreement between Kamehameha III (represented by Ha‘alilio and William Richards), Ladd and Company, and the Belgian Company of Colonization.

Ladd and Company transferred all of their properties and rights in the Hawaiian islands to the Belgian Company of Colonization, and the latter company agreed to organize a subsidiary corporation, called the ‘Royal Community of the Sandwich Islands.’

Its intent was “to develop as promptly as possible, the civilization and resources of the Sandwich Islands, by creating agricultural, manufacturing and commercial establishments, and by instituting commercial relations between these Islands and Belgium.” (Kuykendall)

“It was really a gigantic sale of Ladd and Co.’s property, involving all concessions and privileges obtained by them, the price for which, taken in the contract, was $1,067,000, or £42,680.”

“The manner of proceeding was, the transfer by Brinsmade of all property material and immaterial which he had power to pass, together with rights and concessions over which Mr. Richards had power, to the Belgian Company of Colonisation.”

“The contract or treaty was tripartite, the three parties to it being the King of Hawaii, represented by Haalilio and Richards; the house of Ladd and Co., acting by Brinsmade; and the Belgian Company of Colonisation, by its deputies, the Count of Hompesch and M. Joseph Vanderburghen de Binckum.”

“The Colonisation Company was only instrumental in this transaction. Its office was to organise the ‘Royal Community of the Sandwich Islands’ and to transfer to that society, when formed, the property, rights, and titles which it was to possess.”

“The community was, however, on its European side, to remain under ‘the patronage and high administration of the Belgian Company of Colonisation;’ whilst in the scene of its activity, it would he under the patronage and protection of the Hawaiian king.”

“Four interests were to be created in the undertaking, namely, the King of Hawaii; the Belgian Colonisation Company; the Labourers and Employes; and the Stockholders. “

“The property acquired by the Belgian Colonisation Company was to be divided into 500 titles, 100 of which were to be given to the King of Hawaii, so that His Majesty would still possess a share of his own country.” (Hopkins)

“By the 28th article, ‘all persons, of whatever profession in the service of the community, and introduced into the islands under the auspices of the community, with the approbation of the King of the Sandwich Islands, shall receive in fee simple twenty hectares of land.’”

“By the 27th article, 100 titles were set apart to support schools for the children of the labourers, a health establishment, an orphanage, and pensions for impotent and superannuated employes.” (Hopkins)

On April 13, 1844, at Brussels, the “Statutes of the Royal Community of the Sandwich Islands” were signed by Haalilio, Richards, Brinsmade, and the president of the board of directors of the Belgian Company of Colonization. (Kuykendall)

“(T)he effect of which, had it actually become operative, would have been to have destroyed the independence of the islands and to have gradually vested all property in them in the proprietary of the Belgian Company.” (Hopkins)

“Ha‘alilio signed the contract with great reluctance, and the king and chiefs were highly displeased over its execution. This Belgian contract gave a great deal of trouble before it was finally discredited.” (Jarves)

“Fortunately for the people of Hawaii, this new South Sea scheme never went into operation.” (Hopkins)

“The first blow which fell on its promoters was the news of Lord George Paulet’s occupation of the islands; then came delays until October 1844, when some merchants wanted to re-construct the plan ‘as a purely commercial company.’”

Nothing, however, came of the last proposition. (Hopkins)

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Belgium Colonization Ambitions in Central America
Belgium Colonization Ambitions in Central America

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Married Women’s Property Bill

Lorrin A Thurston introduced the Married Women’s Property Bill in the 1886 legislature to reverse what he saw as a grave injustice in early Hawaiian law that gave all of a woman’s property to her husband on marriage. (Twigg-Smith)

The Bill stated, “The real and personal property of a woman shall, upon her marriage, remain her separate property”.

“Mr. Palohau said if the bill passed it would cause domestic trouble.”

Mr. Kaunamano moved the bill be indefinitely postponed. It makes the woman the head of the house, and that was contrary to holy writ. The man would have to take a back seat. The present law was definite, and was well understood. Why not let well enough alone.”

“Mr. Nahinu said he opposed the bill from beginning to end. This law sets aside the law of God. Woman was made for man, and not man for woman. If it got into effect it would break up families. …”

“Third reading of an Act relating to the property of married women. Mr. Kalua moved the bill pass.”

“Mr. Palohau thought the bill should be considered section by section. He did not approve of section 2, as it says that, ‘a married woman may make contracts, oral and written, sealed and unsealed, in the same manner as if she were sole.’”

“The Attorney General seemed to be looking at the speaker with some astonishment, but he did not understand Hawaiian women as well as the speaker did, or the Minister of Finance or the Interpreter.”

“Mr. Thurston said that when he introduced the bill he expected some of the members would be afraid of it, but he never expected that Mr. Palohau, the biggest member in the House, would be one of them. …”

“Mr. Thurston said that if the bill was properly understood there would be no objection. It was for the protection of every woman. It provides that a man going into business cannot use his wife’s property in that business.”

“Mr. Thurston then cited several cases that had come under his own personal notice, to show that this bill would be very effective.”

“Mr. Kauhane spoke in favor of the bill He thought it very good law.”

“Mr. Kaulukou thought perhaps that the members did not understand the bill, therefore he moved it be considered section by section. Agreed to.”

“Section 1. The real and personal property of a woman shall, upon her marriage, remain her separate property, free from the management, control, debts and obligations of her husband …”

“… and a married woman may receive, receipt for, hold, manage and dispose of property, real and personal, in the same manner as if she were sole.”

“On motion of His Excellency Mr. Dare, the section was passed.”

“Section 2. A married woman may make contracts, oral and written, sealed and unsealed, in the same manner as if she were sole, except that she shall not be authorized hereby to make contracts with her husband.”

“Mr. Kaai moved the section pass.”

“Mr. Kaunamano moved it be indefinitely postponed.”

“Mr. Kaai was in favor of the section. In justice to women, they should have some control of their own property.”

“Mr. Palohau moved to insert at the end of the section, ‘if the husband fails to provide for her or her family.’”

“Mr. Nahinu moved to strike out the words ‘in the same manner as if she were sole,’ and inert, ‘with the consent of her husband.’”

“Mr. Richardson moved the section pass as is the bill, he remembered a woman who owned some sugar land. Her husband sold it, and is now living with another woman in a foreign country, enjoying himself on the proceeds. Mr. Richardson also quoted other instances of a similar nature.”

“His Excellency Mr. Dare said it afforded him pleasure to be in accordance with Mr. Thurston. He (the speaker) signed the committee report to pass this bill.”

“He did so, believing the bill was in advance of the state of this community. Any temporary inconvenience that might attend the passage of such a law at this time would be more than compensated for in the future by the beneficent of the law.”

“They did not contemplate a reversal of things by this bill, but they did contemplate that the Hawaiian woman should take her place alongside of her sisters of the United States, England and other countries.”

“It was oftener the man than the woman who squanders the substance. This bill provides that if a man raises a family, and is saving, so as to be able to endow his daughter, and she should marry a spendthrift, the latter could not squander her money.”

“He believed the bill to be a wise one, and on the inarch to civilization, and it should be on the statute books of the Kingdom.”

“The motions to indefinitely postpone the section and the amendments were lost.”

“The section passed as in the bill.”

“Section 3. All work and labor performed or services rendered by a married woman for or to a person other than her husband and children shall, unless there is an express agreement on her part to the contrary, be presumed to be performed or rendered on her separate account.”

“On motion of Mr. Kaai the section passed.”

“Section 4. A married woman may be an executrix, administratrix, guardian or trustee, and may bind herself and the estate she represents without any act or assent on the part of her husband.”

“On motion of Mr. Dickey the section passed.”

“Mr. Kalua said that as the objections were confined to the first three sections, he moved the balance of the bill pass.”

“Mr. Dole said he had an amendment to make to section 7. He moved the words “her property shall immediately descend to her heirs as if she had died sole” be stricken out. The motion prevailed, and the section passed as amended.”

“The bill then passed as amended. (September 9, 1886)” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 10, 1886)

Present law is similar, “§572-25 Separate property. The real and personal property of a spouse, upon marriage, shall remain that spouse’s separate property, free from the management, control, debts, and obligations of the other spouse …”

“… and a spouse may receive, receipt for, hold, manage, and dispose of property, real and personal, in the same manner as if that spouse were sole.” (HRS)

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Hale_Pili-Kalihiwai-(ksbe)

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Mahiole Pōheoheo

“In every day life the ancient Hawaiian trusted to the protection of his thick, coarse hair and wore no hat. When the conch-shell trumpet called to battle, however, the chiefs donned a head-covering both ornamental and useful.”

“While it was firm and thick enough to resist a severe blow, it was remarkable for beauty of form. … It was a custom to cut the hair close at the sides of the head leaving a ridge of stiff, erect hair, like a mane on the top of the scalp), and this mane-like ridge was called mahiole, the same name that was given to a helmet.”

“Originally this personal decoration was a mark of rank, but like all such exclusive tokens was in course of time seized by the aspiring democracy.”

“At the period when feather helmets were in vogue the mahiole was a token of chieftainship, and it covered by any cap, the latter would repeat the token. Hence the skullcap was supplemented by a ridge which often … became an imposing crest.” (Brigham)

The mahiole represented the political status of male chiefs who had various authority.

Mahiole were constructed of the aerial roots of the ʻieʻie vine, woven into a basketry frame. They were perfectly fitted to an individual, and protected the most sacred part of the body, the head.

A net of olonā fibers was laid over the framework, and feathers attached in bundles in the same way as for the cloaks. The featherwork starts from the bottom, so each new row conceals the quills of the feathers below. (Museum of New Zealand)

“It was probably the cherished armor of a king as noble as any of the Hawaiian line. and yet it is not all yellow, as one or two authors claim that the helmet of a king should always be: it is of red, as are the most of those which retain any of their original feathers, and not a single one of all is exclusively yellow.”

“It may seem strange that articles so highly valued should have so little history connected with them … it would add greatly to the interest which must ever attach to these beautiful examples of patient and long-continued work by a primitive people if we knew …”

“… what chief first ordered the construction, how long the hunters collected, how many years the deft fingers of the high chiefesses plaited the precious feathers into the network, what rejoicings at the completion of the long task, in what battle it first was worn, and then the changing ownership when murder, fraud, or theft transferred the garment …” (Brigham)

There are many different kinds of mahiole that can be seen today found in museums around the world from the mahiole haka (short crested helmet,) mahiole pōheoheo (knobbed helmet,) mahiole haka kahakaha (striped short crest helmet,) spoked crescent helmet and others.

The mahiole pōheoheo has mushroom-like ornaments on top, or which were decorated with human hair, were worn by warriors or lesser chiefs. (National Museum of Australia)

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Mahiole Pohoehoe-Arago_–_Guerrier_des_Iles_Sandwich-1817
Mahiole Pohoehoe-Arago_–_Guerrier_des_Iles_Sandwich-1817