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January 28, 2017 by Peter T Young 6 Comments

Bucket List

Time to take a break from history …

I hear folks talking about making sure they work on their “Bucket List,” typically a list of things they want to do before they die – go to certain places, eat certain foods, do certain things, etc, etc.

Over the past few years I have been working on my own list of things I need to do.

But rather than doing this, or eating that, it turns out that, in addition to my family, there are four people who played a significant part of my life and helped me to learn some important life lessons.

My Bucket List has been focused on contacting each one and thanking each for helping me.

After several decades, it is not always easy to find someone in the mobile society we live in. Fortunately, I was able to made my contacts and expressed my appreciation. Here are the people and lessons they taught me:

I was in Al Harrington’s Punahou summer school ancient history class (BTW, I hated history in school – imagine, ancient history in summer school, ugh.)

Yes, this is the same Al Harrington who went on to play “Detective Ben Kokua” in Hawaii Five-O and also was on stage as “The South Pacific Man” at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

After years of searching for his phone number or e-mail address, I unexpectedly saw him at a UH basketball game and took the opportunity to let him know how much his faith, counsel and advice helped me.

Anyway, without going into details, Al gave me and others an important second chance. Sometimes people do dumb things – it’s important to have faith that others can learn from their mistakes.

Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to thank Jim Taylor for teaching me the important lessons of having integrity and taking personal responsibility for your actions – he died before I could tell him. Somehow, though, I think Jim Taylor knew of the influence he had on young adults.

As headmaster of HPA, Jim Taylor touched the lives of many. While not a father figure, he shepherded a bunch of boys into manhood from the mid-50s through the mid-70s and taught each these important life lessons.

There is a certain ‘something’ about HPA graduates, thanks to Jim Taylor. Integrity and taking personal responsibility are good qualities to have; Jim Taylor taught us that.

Several years ago, out of the blue, I contacted Carle Hunt, a professor I had when I was a student at the University of Denver – 40-years before. Ever since leaving DU, I have thought about some words of kindness and encouragement he gave me.

It was a difficult time; I was in a real estate course (that I loved,) but somehow, we just didn’t get along. I dropped his class and went to talk with him about it – I remember our conversation.

I tracked him down over the internet and found him teaching on the East Coast. When we communicated for the first time after 40-years, he said he didn’t remember me or the talk we had.

I told him that was OK; what was important was that I remembered him and what he said. I thanked him for helping me become the person that I am. We all should give words of encouragement to others.

Some people go through life dreaming of doing something, but never find a way to fulfill that dream.

Ed Van Gorder was headmaster at Parker School and gave me the chance to fulfill my lifelong dream, teaching high school math.  Those were my best years.

He had the faith and took a chance. Over the years, I have had the chance to see Ed, off and on. We used to go out to dinner, play golf and we’d see each other at UH football games.

He moved to Maui, a few years ago, and we have since lost touch (however, I did have a chance get-together with him at the airport, a while back.)

I am forever grateful to these four people who taught me about giving second chances, so people can learn from their mistakes; living life with integrity and taking personal responsibility for your actions; giving words of encouragement to others, so they can succeed in life; and helping someone to fulfill their dreams.

Did you see the pattern here? Each of these people is a teacher. But their teaching went beyond the subject matter; they also taught very important life lessons.

From my perspective they were in the right profession … and I was fortunate to be with them in the right place at the right time.

As I was making contact and thanking these people who helped me, a much-appreciated surprise came my way.

Out of the blue, I received an e-mail with the Subject line, “Former student of yours from Parker”. The text read:

“I doubt you would remember me but I am a former student of yours. You were not at Parker long but in that short time you taught me many things. …”

“The reason I am writing is that I was asked what teacher made an impact on me and I thought you seemed to be the only one who not only taught me a subject that is difficult but really cared about me and the rest of your students.”

“So for that you made an impact in my life. I hope whatever you are doing nowadays is going the best for you and I thank you again.”

A little later, I received a Facebook message from another former student … “Not sure if you remember me. I was at Parker school in the late 80’s early 90’s.”

“Seems like a life time ago! … you were one of those teachers that made such a positive influence on me, and I really do thank you for that … You were the best Math teacher ever!!! Thank you….”

Of course, I remembered them; and, wow, that was nice.

With that part of the List now covered, I have only one more item on my Bucket List.

I look forward to realizing that wish …

Bucket List

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Hawaii, Bucket List

January 26, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Chinese Baseball

Baseball is based on the English game of rounders. Rounders become popular in the United States in the early 19th century, where the game was called “townball”, “base” or “baseball”.

In 1845, Alexander Cartwright organized the New York Knickerbockers team with a constitution and bylaws, and suggested that they could arrange more games and the sport would be more widely-played if it had a single set of agreed-upon rules.

Cartwright went on to teach people in Hawai‘i how to play the game; he also was part of Honolulu’s first Volunteer Fire Brigade, and became Fire Chief.

Cartwright was the executor of Queen Emma’s Last Will & Testament, as well as executor of the estate of King Kalākaua. Alexander Cartwright died at the age of 72 in Honolulu on July 12th, 1892. A large, pink granite monument in Oʻahu Cemetery marks the final resting-place of Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr.

Japan had already adopted the sport during the Meiji era (1870s), when Japan was adopting western customs to establish a more modern national identity. Baseball, to the Japanese, incorporated both western and eastern cultural elements. Baseball had Japanese values of harmony, determination and discipline while also reflecting Western characteristics. (Pang)

The recorded history of Japanese American involvement in baseball in Hawai‘i dates back to 1899, the year Reverend Takie Okumura of the Makiki Christian Church formed a team made up primarily of boys who boarded at his Okumura Home.

He named the team Excelsior, and they captured the youth league championship in 1905. (Chinen) Other ethnic teams formed, including the Chinese.

“Although Chinese baseball players are mighty scarce in this country, over in Honolulu there is a team composed exclusively of Chinese and they play good baseball. The team is called the Chinese Alohas.”

“In a recent game with the players representing the Hawaiian Hotel, the Chinese team won by the score of 9 to 8. The line-up of the Chinese team is as follows:”

“F You, catcher; Chang Yen, pitcher; N. Sheng, first base; Ah Yap, second base; Yuan Chew, third base; Hoi Sing, shortstop: Ho Tong, right field: Ah Sam, center field; Hung Nyam, left field.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, April 17, 1907)

“During the period between 1910 and 1925, (Chinese) baseball teams … ruled supreme in the territory. The aggregations were so successful that they new worlds to conquer.”

“Starting in 1912 and through 1916, Chinese diamond squads annually invaded the mainland, returning each time with impressive records.” (Franks)

“Honolulu had become a hotbed of Chinese American community baseball. In the early 1900s, the Chinese Athletic Club (CAC) team and the Chinese Alohas called on the services of some of the best ballplayers in the city.”

“In 1912, the CAC, with the financial help of Chinatown merchants and haole boosters anxious to promote Honolulu on the mainland, assembled an ‘all-Chinese’ team that journeyed across the Pacific and engaged in over 100 games against college, community, semiprofessional, and professional teams.”

In June 1912, a Chinese in Hawai‘i organized an amateur league with teams such as the Wah Mun, CAU, CYA, Kukuis and Man Lun. (Franks)

A September 1912 game had thousands watching a game between Wah Mun (representing the ‘Chinese revolutionary faction’) against their rival Man Lun team (representing the Chinese Emperor Reform Association, which backed the continued dynastic rule of China.) There were fears of a riot; but there was none.

However, a fight flared in a later CAU – Man Lun game. Apparently, a Filipino Hawaiian fan was trying to compliment a Chinese Hawaiian player using a Chinese phrase. In reality, he uttered an insult. “For his compliment, the Filipino got a beating by from the Chinaman. The police let it go at that.” (Franks)

About this time there had been growing tensions in China and the revolutionary movement grew stronger and stronger, culminating in the October 10, 1911 Wuhan (Wuchang) Uprising which succeeded in overthrowing the Qing (Manchu) dynasty and establishing the Republic of China.

That date is now celebrated annually as the Republic of China’s national day, also known as the “Double Ten Day,” when the Qing Dynasty finally fell. Sun Yat-sen (the Father of Modern China – and who learned the game of baseball when he lived in Hawai‘i in 1883,) who had been on the American mainland, returned to China at the invitation of the successful revolutionaries to be sworn in as China’s first president in 1912.

Sun’s presidency lasted only 45 days. His most powerful rival was Yuan Shikai (Shih-kai,) who had built a strong base of power in northern China in his role as a top Qing military leader. When Yuan began to flex his muscles, Sun decided it would be politically prudent to abdicate in his favor. Sun turned his attention to forming the Guomindang (Nationalist Party.) (Asia Society)

The Republic of China governed mainland China until 1949; in that year, during the Chinese Civil War, the communists captured Beijing and later Nanjing. The communist-party-led People’s Republic of China was proclaimed on October 1, 1949.

Back to baseball … in 1915, “arrangements have been completed for the famous All-Chinese baseball team of Honolulu, which was so successful against the leading American College clubs on its tour of the United States last year, to come to Shanghai and take part in the series for the open baseball championship of the Far East.”

They needed to raise $5,000 for expenses. Chinese President Yuan Shih-kai sent a letter of support, “stating the president’s hearty approval of the effort to popularize baseball in China as a suitable outdoor sport for Chinese youth …”

“… and the president also sent his check for $500 as a personal contribution towards the expenses of bringing out the All-Chinese baseball team from Honolulu, which he believes will do much to stimulate interest in the game among Chinese.” (Star Bulletin, April 8, 1915)

Furthermore, “Under the patronage of the Chinese government and with the personal assistance of Wu Tang-fang, former Chinese minister to the United States, a baseball team of American-born Chinese is on its way to Shanghai on the steamer Mongolia, by way of the Philippines and Japan.”

“Their expenses in China will be met by the Chinese Government. The team will tour the (principal) cities of the interior to introduce American athletics for the physical improvement of the youth of China.” (Columbus Weekly Advocate, April 15, 1915)

“Sixteen games were played in all during the trip to the Philippines and China, and of these 12 were won, three lost and one tied.”

“In Peking the president of China gave us a reception, and talked to us for about five minutes. We received special permission
to visit the old royal residence, and altogether were treated as distinguished guests.” (Star-Bulletin, June 22, 1915)

In Hawai‘i in 1920, an All-Chinese team knocked off a visiting University of Chicago team; they tied University of California, and later in 1922, Honolulu’s All-Chinese team beat a visiting Stanford team. (Franks)

“For several decades thereafter Hawaiian Chinese organized their own leagues, while supporting a team called the Chinese Tigers that competed in the Hawaii Baseball League.” (Jorae; Zhao)

Chinese Americans used baseball as a means of developing and maintaining sense of community. Through baseball, they cross cultural boundaries to play with and against varied racial and ethnic identities. Some American ballplayers of Chinese ancestry have competed effectively at the highest levels of professional baseball. (Jorae; Zhao)

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Chinese_Baseball_Team-Hawaii-LOC
Chinese_Baseball_Team-Hawaii-LOC
Honolulu-CAC-1909
Honolulu-CAC-1909
Chinese-Baseball-Team-Hawaii-LOC
Chinese-Baseball-Team-Hawaii-LOC
Chinese University of Hawaii played Rice Institute-Rice
Chinese University of Hawaii played Rice Institute-Rice
Chinese-Baseball-Team-Tour of US-1913-LOC
Chinese-Baseball-Team-Tour of US-1913-LOC

Filed Under: Economy, General, Prominent People Tagged With: Chinese, Baseball, Hawaii

January 25, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Reading, ‘Riting & ‘Rithmetic

Sir William Curtis (born January 25, 1752,) son of a British baker, became Member of Parliament for the City of London in 1790, holding the seat for 28 years. He was also Lord Mayor of London 1795-6.

Among many other products, the family made ships’ biscuits. After inheriting the business, expanding it and making a whole pile of money, satirists came to call him Sir Billy Biscuit. Sir Billy was nearly illiterate. (BBC)

The famous expression – “the three Rs—reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic”- is credited to Curtis.

He proposed it as a toast at a dinner given by the Board of Education in the days when folks were pleading for increased educational advantages for the poor. It was received with great applause and drunk amid much merriment.

But, though recognized as a jest at the time, it was afterwards taken up in earnest by Curtis’s detractors, who have handed his name down to posterity as a blundering ignoramus. (Walsh, 1893)

He chose the phrase simply as a joke. (Walsh, 1893) However, for decades, the definition of literacy was limited to the acquisition of reading, writing and arithmetic, usually referred to as the 3Rs. (UNESCO)

“(T)he three R’s,’reading, ’riting, ’rithmetic,’… belong to universal culture. They are the foundation of all education. We are speaking of the superstructure.” (Christian Union, September 4, 1878)

Curtis was not just an unexpected forward thinking, yet jokester, toaster; part of his wealth came from operations linked to the quip about his sea biscuit name …

Curtis was one of the principal financiers for the ‘Butterworth Squadron,’ a British commercial fleet of three vessels, the Butterworth, the Jackal, and the Prince Lee Boo.

These ships sailed for the Pacific Ocean from London via Cape Horn in late 1791 on a sealing and whaling expedition, following the Nootka Sound Convention, opening the Pacific Northwest Coast to British traders.

The Butterworth squadron first wintered at the Hawaiian Islands in February 1793, when control of the Islands was divided between Kamehameha who controlled Hawai‘i and much of Maui, and Kahekili who controlled the islands west of Maui including O‘ahu and Kauai.

They traded in weapons with both Kamehameha and Kahekili, but strongly favored the latter. The ship’s captain entered into a contract with Kahekili giving him title to the island of O‘ahu together with four islands to windward in return for weapons and military assistance, suppressing a revolt on Kauai.

It was during this period of alliance with Kahekili that the Butterworth squadron became the first European vessels that entered the inner Honolulu Harbor. (The contract to title to the Islands would have ended upon Kahekili’s death in 1794.) (Payne)

The first European entry of Honolulu Harbor is credited to Captain Brown of the British schooner Jackal, accompanied by Captain Gordon in the sloop tender Prince Lee Boo.

They called the harbor “Fair Haven” which may be a rough translation of the Hawaiian name Honolulu (it was also sometimes called Brown’s Harbor.)

Sir Billy Biscuit was a generous and hospitable man and in later years he became known as the “Father of the City”. When he died on January 18, 1829 every shop in Ramsgate closed in his honour and an immense crowd followed his funeral cortege. He’d had quite an effect on the place. (BBC)

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Sir William Curtis
Sir William Curtis
Sir William Curtis
Sir William Curtis
by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, pencil, 1827
by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, pencil, 1827
by George Cruikshank, published by Edward Knight, hand-coloured etching, published 12 August 1822
by George Cruikshank, published by Edward Knight, hand-coloured etching, published 12 August 1822
Sir William Curtis
Sir William Curtis
Sloop_-Jackal-_c.1792
Sloop_-Jackal-_c.1792
Prince_Lee_Boo-_c.1792
Prince_Lee_Boo-_c.1792
French Frigate comparable to Butterworth
French Frigate comparable to Butterworth

Filed Under: General, Prominent People, Schools, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Kamehameha, Kahekili, Captain Brown, Butterworth, Prince Lee Boo, Jackal, 3Rs, William Curtis, Hawaii, Honolulu

January 23, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Science City

While observing a Haleakala sunrise, Mark Twain was quoted as exclaiming “I felt like the last man, neglected of the judgment, and left pinnacled in mid-heaven, a forgotten relic of a vanished world.”

In 1961, an Executive Order by Governor Quinn set aside land on the summit of Haleakala in a place known as Kolekole, to be under the control and management of the University of Hawaiʻi which established the ‘Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site,’ sometimes referred to as Science City. (IfA)

But, modern interest in the heavens from Kolekole started a decade earlier. In the spring of 1951, Grote Reber was looking for one of the best sites in the world to undertake radio astronomy experiments.

After the discovery of cosmic radio emissions by Karl Jansky in 1931, one of the first to take up the scientific investigation of these emissions was Reber with a radio telescope in his backyard in Wheaton, Illinois.

In 1951 Reber came to Hawaiʻi to take advantage of a unique geophysical condition. By placing his antenna atop 10,000-foot Haleakala on the island of Maui, he hoped to use the ocean as a reflector so that the antenna received both the direct signal from a cosmic radio source and the signal reflected from the ocean, forming a ‘Lloyd’s Mirror’ type of interferometer.

His antenna was built on a circular track so that it could be rotated in any direction. Reber said “Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the island of Hawai`i, each with 4.24 km altitude, are most desirable scientifically. However, Haleakala on the island of Maui is the most practical due to the relatively easy access.” (IfA)

Ultimately, the facility apparently did not function well, because of signal interference. The bulk of the structure was dismantled about 18-months after the facility was completed. (Xamanek)

In 1956, Dr Fred Whipple, director of the Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory sent a letter to Dr CE Kenneth Mees, explaining the need for a satellite tracking station in Hawaii to form a vital link in a 12-station worldwide tracking network.

Mees was the retired vice president for research of the Eastman Kodak Company and the developer of the color film Kodachrome.

He was especially well known among astronomers because of his interest in developing special photographic emulsions suitable for astrophotography, and his insistence that the company provide these materials to the astronomers at cost. Dr. Whipple asked his old friend if he knew of some way a satellite tracking station could be established in Hawai`i.

Mees turned to the University of Hawaiʻi and offered financial assistance if the University would undertake the project. Mees donated some of his Kodak stock to underwrite the cost.

The University sold the Kodak stock and with the proceeds built a small cinderblock building with a sliding roof to house the anticipated Baker-Nunn Super-Schmidt tracking camera, and a small wood-frame building for living accommodations for the observers.

The satellite tracking facility was ready on July 1, 1957, but the camera was not; they first installed Schmidt meteor-tracking cameras. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite to be placed in orbit around Earth (forcibly opening the Space Age.) Later, the Baker-Nunn satellite Tracking Camera was dedicated on August 2, 1958.

As tracking technology gradually improved over the years, the usefulness of the Baker-Nunn cameras gradually declined, and the tracking assignments and staff at Haleakala gradually decreased until 1976, when the facility was shut down.

In 1962, Dr Franklin E. Roach of the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado, who for many years had conducted photometric studies of auroras, airglow, zodiacal light, and the diffuse galactic light, became intrigued by the possibility of studying these phenomena at a low latitude site.

Haleakala appeared to be an ideal site for such studies because of the atmospheric transparency established earlier, the dark skies uncontaminated by artificial light, the large number of clear nights, and the low latitude (20°N).

January 24, 1964, the University of Hawai`i dedicated the Mees Solar Observatory that would help scientists learn the secrets of the sun. (Apparently, that is when the ‘Science City’ moniker started when a reporter for the Maui News made the reference at the time of the dedication.)

In 1965, the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) constructed an observatory to be operated by the University of Michigan.

At that time the 60-inch (1.6 meter) reflector was one of the world’s 10 largest astronomical telescopes. Additionally, two 48-inch (1.2 meter) infrared telescopes were installed in an adjacent dome. One would be used for tracking missiles and the other for basic research.

Observatories are an ‘identified land use’ in the Conservation District pursuant to HAR §13-5-24, Identified Land Uses permitted in the Resource Subzone include, R-3 Astronomy Facilities, (D-1) Astronomy facilities under an approved management plan.

Science City has housed astronomical facilities since the early 1950s. Current observatories include the Mees Solar Observatory, the Zodiacal Observatory, Pan-STARRS, the Advanced Electro-Optical System, the Maui Space Surveillance Site, the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS), the Airglow Facility, the Neutron Monitor Station, and the Faulkes Telescope North. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) (formerly known as Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST)) is under construction.

These facilities observe the sun, provide research time to students and educators worldwide, use lasers to measure the distances to satellites, track and catalogue manmade objects, track asteroids and other potential threats to Earth, and obtain detailed images of spacecraft.

This is the principal site for optical and infrared surveillance, inventory and tracking of space debris, and active laser illumination of objects launched into Earth orbit, all of which are crucial to the nation’s space program. (DLNR) (Lots of information here is from IfA.)

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Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site Aerial Showing Existing Facilities
Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site Aerial Showing Existing Facilities
reber_transit_pedestal1955
reber_transit_pedestal1955
Reber_1st_Radio_Telescope_Maui_1952
Reber_1st_Radio_Telescope_Maui_1952
meteor tracking camera served initially as the satellite tracking camera
meteor tracking camera served initially as the satellite tracking camera
Kolekole_framework-1952
Kolekole_framework-1952
Framework for Reber's antenna, control building to left, Kole Kole on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii-1952
Framework for Reber’s antenna, control building to left, Kole Kole on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii-1952
Baker-Nunn Satellite Tracking Camera was dedicated on August 2, 1958
Baker-Nunn Satellite Tracking Camera was dedicated on August 2, 1958
Zodiacal Light Observatory
Zodiacal Light Observatory
Haleakala-Reber_Steigerphoto1954
Haleakala-Reber_Steigerphoto1954
TLRS-4 Laser Ranging System
TLRS-4 Laser Ranging System
Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS)
Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS)
PAN-STARRS PS 1 and PS 2
PAN-STARRS PS 1 and PS 2
Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS)
Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS)
LCO Faulkes Observatory
LCO Faulkes Observatory
Ground-Based_Electro-Optical_Deep_Space_Surveillance_(GEODSS)
Ground-Based_Electro-Optical_Deep_Space_Surveillance_(GEODSS)
Daniel K Inouye Solar Teselscope (formerly ATST)
Daniel K Inouye Solar Teselscope (formerly ATST)
C.E.K. Mees Solar Observatory
C.E.K. Mees Solar Observatory

Filed Under: Economy, General, Buildings, Place Names Tagged With: Haleakala, Maui, Science City, Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site, Hawaii

January 22, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Makaʻāinana

In the generations that followed initial settlement, the Hawaiians developed a sophisticated system of land use and resource management. In the early 1500s, the island (moku-puni) was divided into districts or moku-o-loko.

The large moku-o-loko were further divided into political regions and manageable units of land. Ahupua‘a, another division of land, were usually marked by altars with images or representations of a pig placed upon them, thus the name ahu-pua‘a or pig altar.

The ahupua‘a were also divided into smaller manageable parcels of land—such as the ‘ili, kō‘ele, mahina ‘ai, māla, and kīhāpa – makaʻāinana lived on kuleana.

In these smaller land parcels the makaʻāinana cultivated crops necessary to sustain their families, and supplied the needs of the chiefly communities they were associated with. (Maly)

“The makaʻāinana were the planters and fishers who lived on (ma) the (ka) lands (‘āina;) the final na is a plural substantive.” (Handy) Or, they may be viewed as maka (eye) ‘āina (land) – ‘the eyes of the land.’ Pukui notes the name literally translates to ‘people that attend the land.’

“They were the commoners who were a class distinct and apart from the aliʻi, or class of chiefs, the temple kahuna or priests, koa or warriors, and konohiki or overseers.” (Handy) The rulers were set apart from the general populace, the makaʻāinana, by an elaborate, strictly enforced series of kapu or restrictions. (Mitchell)

“(T)he reason for this division being that men in the pursuit of their own gratification and pleasure wandered off in one direction and another until they were lost sight of and forgotten.” The makaʻāinana are said to have fallen to their common status because they lost their genealogies. (Malo)

The makaʻāinana made up the largest segment of the population. In addition to their work as the planters and the fishermen they were the craftsmen and the soldiers. They were the major source of manpower. (Mitchell)

The ahupua‘a supplied food and materials to the makaʻāinana who tended the land, as well as to the konohiki (overseers,) who administered the ahupua‘a and the aliʻi nui (chief,) who was responsible for several ahupua‘a.

This responsibility to provide for himself and the aliʻi on a long-term basis generally compelled the konohiki toward sustainable management of both human and natural resources. (Garovoy)

The makaʻāinana lived on the lands assigned to them by the chiefs as long as they worked acceptably and paid adequate taxes.
They could be removed from their lands by the konohiki or any chief with authority in the ahupuaʻa. If they were unhappy under a chief they were free to move to another ahupuaʻa. (Mitchell)

As long as sufficient tribute was offered and kapu (restrictions) were observed, the makaʻāinana who lived in a given ahupua‘a had access to most of the resources from mountain slopes to the ocean.

These access rights were almost uniformly tied to residency on a particular land, and earned as a result of taking responsibility for stewardship of the natural environment and supplying the needs of ones’ ali‘i. (Maly)

The makaʻāinana were allotted a plot of ground by their chief. Here they planted, irrigated, nurtured and harvested taro, sweet potatoes and other crops. They raised pigs, dogs and chickens to supplement their diet, and they had the right to fish in the sea or in protected fish ponds.

The makaʻāinana worked for the chief 6 days each month, fought in the chief’s wars, and paid taxes in the form of goods produced. Order and discipline were maintained through a strict code of laws, known as the kapu system. (UH-CLEAR)

The material necessities and the luxuries of the people of old Hawai’i were produced by these skilled workers. The culture materials which we admire in the museums and private collections today as the unique arts and crafts of Hawai’i are from the hands and minds of these “commoners who were not common.” (Mitchell)

Following the Great Māhele, by 1855, the lands in Hawaii had been distributed: the Konohiki were granted 1.5 million acres (Konohiki Lands;) King Kamehameha was granted approximately 1 million acres (Crown Lands;) and the Hawaiian government was granted 1.5 million acres (Government Lands.)

Deeds executed during the Māhele conveying land contained the phrase “ua koe ke kuleana o na kānaka,” or “reserving the rights of all native tenants,” in continuation of the reserved tenancies which characterized the traditional Hawaiian land tenure system.

The Kuleana Act of 1850 authorized the Land Commission to award fee simple titles to all native tenants who lived and worked on parcels of Crown, Government, or Konohiki Lands. Most makaʻāinana never claimed their kuleana.

Of the 29,221 adult males in Hawaii in 1850 eligible to make land claims, only 8,205 makaʻāinana actually received kuleana awards. Their awards account for a combined 28,600 acres of kuleana lands—less than one percent of the Kingdom’s lands. (Garovoy)

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Hawaiians-grass_house-taro loi-PP-32-2-023
Hawaiians-grass_house-taro loi-PP-32-2-023

Filed Under: General, Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Kuleana Lands, Kuleana Act, Ahupuaa, Makaainana, Alii, Chiefs, Hawaii, Kapu

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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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Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

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