Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings | Page 78

April 15, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Lyman House

The Lyman Museum began as the Lyman Mission House, originally built for New England missionaries David and Sarah Lyman in 1839.

The original Lyman House was a “Cape Cod” type with a high, steep pitched thatched roof with dormers making up the second floor. The second floor was divided into sleeping quarters for some of the Lyman’s eight children.

The house kitchen was a semi-detached building at the rear of the house with an open fireplace and oven constructed out of rough stones, bricks being then unknown to Hawai‘i. The majority of the first floor interior is hand hewn koa (Hawaiian Hardwood).

Major renovations in 1856 added a new wing to be used as a study and library for Rev. Lyman. A new second story was added at this time with an attic. Northwest pine was substituted for koa on the second floor.

Reverend David Belden Lyman and his wife, Sarah Joiner Lyman arrived in Hawai‘i in 1832, members of the fifth company of missionaries sent to the Islands by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

The Lymans lived in a variety of homes, from a Hawaiian style thatched house to a “Cape Cod” prefab, before they built their own house in 1838.

In the late 1830s they built the Lyman House as a family home. The Hilo Boarding School, a school for young Hawaiian men, founded by the Lymans, was built nearby.

Although Rev. Lyman spent the majority of his time working with and for the students of the Hilo Boarding School, he did substitute as pastor for Haili Church when Rev. Titus Coan was on extended tours.

The Rev. and Mrs. Lyman were also founding members of the First Foreign Church, a church established in 1868 for the foreign residents of Hilo.

Over the years, the house became a place to raise their children and host guests, including many of the Hawaiian Ali‘i (royalty) and other notables, such as Mark Twain and Isabella Bird.

The Lymans never returned to their native New England, but lived out their long lives in Hilo.

The Lyman Mission House is the oldest standing wood structure on the Island of Hawai‘i and one of the oldest in the State.

Nearly 100 eventful years later, in 1931, the Museum was established by their descendants. Today, the restored Mission House is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and may be visited by guided tour.

The Lyman Museum building, next door to the Mission House, houses a superb collection of artifacts, fine art, and natural history exhibits, as well as an archives, special exhibitions and a gift shop.

Visitors touring the two facilities can see the old Mission House and life as it was 150 years ago, as well as state-of-the-art exhibits on many aspects of Hawaiian natural history and culture…a rare and well-rounded view of the real Hawai‘i, as it was, as it is today, and where it may be in years to come.

Docent-guided tours of the Mission House convey a sense of what it meant to live 5,000-miles and a 6-month journey away from your original home and family in a house without electricity or running water, as well as the difficulty of a decidedly different language and culture from your own, while being driven by a sense of duty to bring Christianity and Western-style education to the Hawaiian people.

The Museum and Mission House are open Monday-Saturday 10 am – 4:30 pm. House tours at 11 am and 2 pm. Closed Sundays, January 1, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and December 25.

Admission: Lyman Museum members are admitted free. Group rates, special tours and workshops must be arranged in advance. The current fee schedule is $10 Adults, $8 Seniors over 60, $3 Children 6-17, $21 Family (2 adults with children under 17), $5 University Student with current ID. Kama‘āina rates available.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

P-01 Hilo Mission Houses

David_Lyman,_Sarah_Lyman_and_children,_Hilo,_in_1853

David_Belden_Lyman

P-01 Hilo Mission Houses-400

Lyman_House (Lyman Museum and Mission House)

Hilo_Boarding_School,_1836

Ka_Home_O_Nā_Mākua_Laimana-1881

Lyman Mission House

Lyman_House_Museum,_Hilo

Lyman_Museum,_Hilo

Lyman_House_Memorial

April 14, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Arriving at O‘ahu

With the decision to allow some of the missionaries to stay at Kailua-Kona on April 11, 1820 – the 12th was “A busy, trying, joyful and important day. … As the Brig lay about a mile from the shore, the boats were employed all day in transporting their goods &c to the beach, and several of the King’s men with one of the brethren removed them from the beach to the house.” (Thaddeus Journal)

While the Thaddeus had arrived at Kawaihae on March 30 and into Kailua-Kona on April 4, and several on board had gone ashore at sometime – we learn some of the missionaries had not yet set foot on land until April 12.

Mercy Whitney noted in her journal on April 12, 1820, “This morning for the first time, I set foot on heathen ground. After a voyage of five months & a half, you need not wonder if I tell you I found it difficult to walk much on land, without being fatigued.”

“I went to the house (or rather hut) where our brethren are to reside. It is about 20 feet square. It has but one room, and in it are two windows and the door. In one corner of the room was a bedstead, two sides were fastened to the wall, the other two were supported by the stump of the cocoanut tree. Instead of a cord, there were around sticks laid a few inches from each other. These were covered with a thick bed of straw and on the top there was a mat spread. The hut is made of sticks and a kind of flag curiosity worked together. Which renders it a comfortable habitation.”

I saw the ruins of idolatry, four idols standing on the shore near the place where we landed. They are made of carved wood, about eight or ten feet in height. Their heads are nearly as large as a bushel basket, resembling the picture of Satan more than anything else. These I understood are sold for firewood. After tea, we took leave of our brethren and sisters who are to remain behind. Capt Blanchard and Brother B[ingham] accompanied them to land.” (Mercy Partridge Whitney Journal)

On April 12, Samuel Ruggles noted, “We shall sail for Woahoo [O‘ahu] about 10 o’clock tonight.” (Samuel Ruggles)

For some, seasickness returned, April 13, 1820, “Several of the family feel the motion of the Brig so much as to be seasick again, particularly Brother Ruggles and Mrs. Loomis who were often afflicted in a particular manner whenever we had a rough sea during the whole long passage from America.” (Thaddeus Journal)

“Early this morning [April 14, 1820] as we pass Morotoi [Molokai] and Rani [Lāna‘i], the Island of Woahoo [O‘ahu] presented to our view, first its pointed mountains end forests, then in succession its extended plains, its verdant hills and fertile valleys, its pleasant groves and streams, its grazing herds and flocks its thatched cottages and villages, its principal fort and harbor, … interesting inhabitants, far more worthy of our first attention then the inviting salubrity of its climate, the richness of its soil, or the luxurience of its vegetation.”

“We anchored outside of the harbor, and some of the brethren with Capt. B[lanchard] soon went ashore in the boat, called on Mr. Marin, a, Roman Catholic Spanish settler, who is interpreter for the government. He received us kindly. Informed us that Boka, the governor, was gone to another part of the Island, out as soon as he understood our business, he despatched two native servants on horse-back with a message, informing him of our arrival. Meantime paid our respects to the second in command at the fort, dined with Capt. Pigot, an American trader from New York, surveyed this part of the Island and returned highly gratified with this first excursion in this little whitening field where the Lord of the harvest seems evidently to have called us to labor.” (Thaddeus Journal)

“April 14. This morning we saw the island of Woahoo and before noon anchor anchored. Sailing along a little distance from the shore, we passed several beautiful groves of cocoanuts other trees, & saw a herd of cattle grazing on the plains. We are in sight of the village, but the wind is so high it is thought unsafe to enter the harbour today. Some of the brethren have been on shore and brought us a good report of the land. They say there is now on the island, almost all kinds of green sauer and fruit, which we used to have in America.” (Mercy Partridge Whitney Journal)

“April 14, 1820 – Arrived at Woahoo (Oahu) at 11 o’clock this morning and anchored near the village of Hanaroora (Honolulu). Brother B[ingham] & myself immediately went on shore and were received with much apparent friendship by a Capt. Picket, a gentleman who has resided several months in the Island. He invited, us to dine with him and generously offers to assist us in providing houses, and render us every other service in his power.” (Samuel Ruggles)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

April 12, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Catholicism in Hawaiʻi

The first church in Hawaiʻi was built by the New England Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1820. However, Western religious services had been held in the islands prior to that.

Some would suggest that Catholicism started in Hawaiʻi with the arrival of Don Francisco de Paula Marin (Manini) to the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

While Marin was reportedly a Spanish Catholic, he did live a polygamous life while in Hawaiʻi. Never-the-less, there are several reports of him baptizing Hawaiian chiefs and others (over three hundred) into the Catholic religion.

In 1819, Kalanimōkū was the first Hawaiian Chief to be formally baptized a Catholic, aboard the French ship Uranie. “The captain and the clergyman asked Young what Ka-lani-moku’s rank was …”

“… and upon being told that he was the chief counselor (kuhina nui) and a wise, kind, and careful man, they baptized him into the Catholic Church” (Kamakau). Shortly thereafter, Boki, Kalanimoku’s brother (and Governor of Oʻahu) was baptized.

It wasn’t until July 7, 1827, however, when the pioneer French Catholic mission arrived in Honolulu. It consisted of three priests of the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; Father Alexis Bachelot, Abraham Armand and Patrick Short. They were supported by a half dozen other Frenchmen.

Their first mass was celebrated a week later on Bastille Day, July 14, and a baptism was given on November 30, to a child of Marin.

The American Protestant missionaries and the French Catholics did not get along.

The Congregationalists encouraged a policy preventing the establishment of a Catholic presence in Hawaiʻi. Catholic priests were forcibly expelled from the country in 1831. Native Hawaiian Catholics accused King Kamehameha III and his government of imprisoning, beating and torturing them.

Later that year, Commodore John Downes, of the American frigate Potomac, made a plea for freedom of religion, telling the Hawaiian court that civilized nations did not persecute people for their religion.

While his intervention brought about a brief let-up, the king continued to forbid the presence of Catholic priests.

Finally, on September 30, 1836, the captain of the French Navy ship La Bonté persuaded the king to allow a Catholic priest to disembark in Honolulu. The king restricted the priest’s ministry to foreign Catholics, forbidding him to work with Native Hawaiians.

On April 17, 1837, two other Catholic priests arrived. However, the Hawaiian government forced them back onto a ship on April 30. American, British and French officials in Hawaii intervened and persuaded the king to allow the priests to return to shore.

France, historically a Catholic nation, used its government representatives in Hawaiʻi to protest the mistreatment of Catholic Native Hawaiians. Captain Cyrille-Pierre Théodore Laplace, of the French Navy frigate “Artémise”, sailed into Honolulu Harbor in 1839 to convince the Hawaiian leadership to get along with the Catholics – and the French.

King Kamehameha III feared a French attack on his kingdom and on June 17, 1839 issued the Edict of Toleration permitting religious freedom for Catholics in the same way as it had been granted to the Protestants.

The King also donated land where the first permanent Catholic Church would be constructed, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace; the Catholic mission was finally established on May 15, 1840 when the Vicar Apostolic of the Pacific arrived with three other priests – one of whom, Rev. Louis Maigret, had been refused a landing at Honolulu in 1837.

On July 9, 1840, ground was broken for the foundation of the present Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, and schools and churches were erected on other islands to advance the mission.

At the end of the year 1840, Maigret jots down this balance sheet: Vicariate of Oceania: Catholics: 3,000; Heretics: 30,000 and Unbelievers: 100,000. (Charlot)

On August 15, 1843, the newly-finished cathedral of Honolulu was solemnly dedicated and 800 Catholics received Holy Communion.

From the very start, the Catholic mission also established, wherever feasible, independent schools in charge, or under the supervision, of the priest.

Maigret divided Oʻahu into missionary districts. Shortly after, the Windward coast of Oʻahu was dotted with chapels. The Sacred Hearts Father’s College of Ahuimanu was founded by the Catholic mission on the Windward side of Oʻahu in 1846.

“Outside the city, at Ahuimanu, Maigret has now a country retreat that he refers to by the Hawaiian word māla. It is a combination garden, orchard and kitchen garden.”

Nuhou describes it, “The venerable bishop has built his own vineyard and planted his own orchard … His retreat in the mountain, his “garden in the air” as he terms it, is a pleasant and profitable sight … with a small stone-walled cottage about fifteen feet by ten.” When the pressure of events allows it, Maigret takes refuge there.” (Charlot)

Although the College of Ahuimanu flourished, as apparently reported by the Bishop in 1865, “The college and the schools are doing well. But as the number of pupils is continually on the increase, it has become necessary to enlarge the college. First we have added a story and a top floor with an attic; then we have been obliged to construct a new building. And yet we are lacking room.”

One of its students, Damien (born as Jozef de Veuster,) arrived in Hawaiʻi on March 9, 1864, at the time a 24-year-old choirboy. Determined to become a priest, he had the remainder of the schooling at the College of Ahuimanu.

Bishop Maigret ordained Father Damien de Veuster at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, on May 21, 1864; in 1873, Maigret assigned him to Molokaʻi. Damien spent the rest of his life in Hawaiʻi. In 2009, Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.

The College of Ahuimanu changed locations and also changed its name a couple of times. In 1881, it was renamed “College of St. Louis” in honor of Bishop Maigret’s patron Saint, Louis IX. It was the forerunner for Chaminade College and St Louis High School.

In 1859 the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary arrived at Honolulu to take charge of a boarding and day-school for girls. In 1883-84 the Brothers of Mary, from Dayton, Ohio, took charge of three schools for boys: St. Louis’s College at Honolulu, St. Mary’s School at Hilo and St. Anthony’s School at Wailuku.

In 1882, the mission received a considerable increase by the immigration of Portuguese imported from the Azores as laborers for the plantations.

In January 1883, Walter Gibson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and president of the Board of Health, appealed to Hermann Koeckemann, Bishop of Olba, head of the Catholic Mission in Hawai‘i, to obtain Sisters of Charity from one of the many sisterhoods in the US to come and help care for leprous women and girls in the Islands.

On October 23, 1883, Mother Marianne and her companions set off for Hawai’i, arriving on November 9. These were: Sister M Bonaventure Caraher, Sister Crescentia Eilers, Sister Ludovica Gibbons, Sister M Rosalia McLaughlin, Sister Renata Nash and Sister Mary Antonella Murphy.

Father Damien himself succumbed to leprosy on April 15, 1889. Upon the death of Damien, Mother Marianne agreed to also head the Boys Home at Kalawao. The Board of Health had quickly chosen her as Saint Damien’s successor and she was thus enabled to keep her promise to him to look after his boys.

Mother Marianne was canonized on Oct. 21, 2012, making her the first Franciscan woman to be canonized from North America and only the 11th American saint. Forevermore, she will be known as St Marianne Cope, with the title “beloved mother of outcasts.”

By 1911, Hawaiʻi had 85 priests, 30 churches and 55 chapels. The Catholic population was 35,000; there were 4 academies, a college and 9 parochial schools established by the mission, and the total number of pupils was 2,200.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Our Lady of Peace Cathedral, Honolulu, 1843

Portrait Of Monsignor Louis Désiré Maigret SS.CC., (1804 – 1882), The First Apostolic Vicar Of The Apostolic Vicariate Of The Sandwich Islands

First Catholic Church in the Islands-Puna-PP-14-9-014-00001

‘Portrait_of_Father_Damien’,_attributed_to_Edward_Clifford-1868

Father Damien-Pineiro

Father_Damien_the year he went to Kalaupapa-in_1873

Sr. M. Rosalia, Sr. M Martha, Sr M. Leopoldina, Sr. M Charles, Sr. M. Crescentia, and Mother Marianne rear-Walter Murray Gibson-1886

Gibson with the Sisters of St. Francis and daughters of Hansen’s disease patients, at the Kakaako Branch Hospital-1886

Mother_Marianne_Cope_in_her_youth

April 11, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“(I)f we did not do them good they might send us all away.”

Discussions and negotiations to allow the missionaries to stay went on for days. On April 10, 1820, “All the brethren went on shore to make one more united effort to obtain what appeared to all to be truly desirable.”

They sought and received assistance from some of the other foreigners. But, “Before anything decisive could be done, two youths presented themselves on the common near the King’s house, prepared, for a public dance. This drew the attention of all, and probably nearly 2000 people were soon collected”.

“The dancers were fantastically dressed in the manufacture of the country, having on their heads and wrists a small wreath, around the waist a large quantity of spreading tapa, and on the leg a cumbersome kind of gaitar, thickly set with dog’s teeth which rattled together at every step, and answered in time to the musick.”

“After many inquiries with respect to our designs and to the number of arts which we were able to teach, they seemed to be satisfied that our intentions were good, and that we might be of some service to them.”

“To obviate what had seemed to be an objection, the fear of displeasing G. Britain, they concluded that Mr. Young should write to England to inform the people that American missionaries had come to settle here, not to do any harm but to teach the people of these Islands all good things.”

“They added that we must not send for any more missionaries, from fear that we might be burdensome or dangerous to the government. When we had finished our propositions and made all the statements which we thought proper, we left them to have a general consultation tonight, and to give us their result tomorrow. We believe ‘the Lord is on our side’ and that our wishes will be gratified.” (Thaddeus Journal)

Then, the decision was made …

April 11, 1820
April 11 Brother Bingham being somewhat exhausted with the long continued negotiations and seriously indisposed today; brother Thurston and Dr. H went on shore to hear the result. A result highly creditable to the government and satisfactory to us, and we believe honorable to the great Lord of missions, and we thank God and take courage. Our joy is mingled however with the painful thought of so speedy a separation.
The decision of the government is, that two of the brethren with their wives, and two of the native youths should remain here and be furnished at the public expense with lodgings, water and fuel, and with fresh provisions end allowed to commence their work with the promise of protection; – and that the rest of our number should be allowed to proceed, to Woahoo and there be accommodated with convenient houses. The government were told that if we did not do them good they might send us all away. As it is the pleasure of the King that the Dr. should remain, with Thos. Hopoo and Wm Tennooe, it was easily agreed on among ourselves and settled thus far. It was also easily agreed that one of the ordained missionaries should be designated to remain. The question, which of the two was decided by ballot and brother Thurston was appointed to occupy this important post, to our mutual satisfaction. (Thaddeus Journal)

April 11 1820 – Still on board the Thaddeus. It is now the thirteenth day since we made the land. There is not the least hostility on the part of the natives; on the contrary, all appear friendly. It is difficult to say why we are so delayed. Among obstacles in the way of dispatch, may be reckoned their great indolence and total disregard of the worth of time.
1 o’clock. The important decision is made. We are to proceed to Hoahoo to make the principal establishment, leaving two of our brethren and sisters in this place.
The separation is painful.—If nature might be allowed to speak, we should say our dear brother and sister Thurston we must have with us. She is a lovely sister. But the Lord’s will be done. We hope we are enabled to say if from the heart. Our physician is the other to be left. Do not be alarmed, dear sisters, GOD will be our physician. The king insists upon his remaining on account of his art. As much as we may need that, some of the female part of our little band especially, yet, all things considered, I believe we are all disposed to view a kind providence in the present arrangement. (Sybil Bingham)

(Lucia Holman noted this as Saturday. 8th.) The King gives orders that Dr. H. and our teacher must land at Kiarooah – the village where he now resides, and the rest of the family may go to Oahhoo, or Wahhoo. We plead earnestly that we might all go to Oahhoo, at least to do our washing and become a little familiarized to the country before we separated – not knowing how a family could live upon a rock of Laver, without wood or water, with six months washing on hand. Our entreaties however were unavailing. The King and Chiefs said that everybody liked Oahhoo better than Ohyhee, and if we all went there we should not come back again. Besides, he wanted the Dr. to stay with them, as they had no Physician and appeared much pleased that one had come; as to pulla-pulla (learning), they knew nothing about it. Consequently it was agreed that Dr. H. & Mr. Thurston should stay with the King and the rest of the family go to Oahhoo. (Lucia Ruggles Holman)

April 11. The King has given permission for some of the mission family to stay here and the rest to go to the island of Woahoo. It is his request that the Physician, with two of the native youths should stay here and brother Thurston is appointed to stay with them. It is indeed trying to be separated from our dear brethren and sisters & especially from our Physician. But it seems to be the will of God and we ought cheerfully to submit, if in so doing we may be more useful. Woahoo is said to be more fertile than Owhyhee; especially than this part where the King resides. Our family can be much better accommodated there, then here. It is likewise the place where American vessels generally stopped & by being there, we probably shall have more frequent opportunities of conveyance to our friends. (Mercy Partridge Whitney Journal)

Kirooah bay, April 11, 1820. Voted that it is expedient that a part of our mission reside at this place. Voted that Rev. Mr. Thurston and Dr. Holman with their wives and Thomas Hopoo, and William Tennooe be left at this place. (Minutes of the Prudential Meetings of the Mission Family)

(While the initial decision that they “must not send for any more missionaries”, we learn latter, once the missionaries had started working with and teaching the Hawaiians, the Ali‘i asked, “Here is our hope for the improvement of the lands here in Hawaii. Give us more instructors like those you have in your land, America. …”)

(“If you agree and send these teachers, we will protect them when they arrive, provide the necessities to make their professions viable and give our support to these needed endeavors.”) (Letter in the Ali‘i Letters Collection: https://hmha.missionhouses.org/collections/show/178)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Kamakahonu map by Rockwood based on Ii-Rechtman

April 8, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Alii, the Missionaries and Hawaii

Click HERE for more on the Ali‘i and the missionaries.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.)

The Mission Prudential Committee in giving instructions to the pioneers of 1819 said: “Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love. …”

“Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high. You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.” (The Friend)

The Laws and Regulations of the ABCFM stated, “No missionary or assistant missionary shall engage in any business or transaction whatever for the sake of private gain …”

“… nor shall anyone engage in transactions or employments yielding pecuniary profit, without first obtaining the consent of his brethren in the mission; and the profits, in all cases, shall be placed at the disposal of the mission.”

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

Collaboration between native Hawaiians and the American Protestant missionaries resulted in, among other things, the introduction of Christianity; the creation of the Hawaiian written language and widespread literacy; the promulgation of the concept of constitutional government; making Western medicine available; and the evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing.)

Introduction of Christianity

Within five years of the initial arrival of the missionaries, a dozen chiefs had sought Christian baptism and church membership, including the king’s regent Kaʻahumanu. The Hawaiian people followed their native leaders, accepting the missionaries as their new priestly class. (Schulz)

Keōpūolani is said to have been the first convert of the missionaries in the Islands, receiving baptism from Rev. William Ellis in Lāhainā on September 16, 1823. Keōpūolani was spoken of “with admiration on account of her amiable temper and mild behavior”. (William Richards) She was ill and died shortly after her baptism.

On December 24, 1825, Kaʻahumanu, six other Chiefs and one makaʻāinana (commoner) were baptized and received Holy Communion at Kawaiahaʻo Church. This was the beginning of expanded admission into the Church.

Kamakau noted of her baptism, “Kaʻahumanu was the first fruit of the Kawaiahaʻo church … for she was the first to accept the word of God, and she was the one who led her chiefly relations as the first disciples of God’s church.”

Creation of the Hawaiian Written Language

When Captain Cook first made contact with the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through oli (chants) and mele (songs.)

Then, on July 14, 1826, the missionaries established a 12-letter alphabet for the written Hawaiian language, using five vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) and seven consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p and w) in their “Report of the committee of health on the state of the Hawaiian language.” The alphabet continues in use today.

Widespread Literacy

The missionaries established schools associated with their missions across the Islands. This marked the beginning of Hawaiʻi’s phenomenal rise to literacy. The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of Chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing.

Interestingly, as the early missionaries learned the Hawaiian language, they then taught their lessons in the mission schools in Hawaiian, rather than English. In part, the mission did not want to create a separate caste and portion of the community as English-speaking Hawaiians.

By 1831, in just eleven years from the first arrival of the missionaries, Hawaiians had built over 1,100-schoolhouses. This covered every district throughout the eight major islands and serviced an estimated 53,000-students. (Laimana)

In 1839, King Kamehameha III called for the formation of the Chiefs’ Children’s School (Royal School.) The main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking Chiefs’ children and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom. The King asked missionaries Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke to teach the 16-royal children and run the school.

In this school, the Hawai‘i sovereigns who reigned over the Hawaiian people from 1855 were educated, including: Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV;) Emma Naʻea Rooke (Queen Emma;) Lot Kapuāiwa (King Kamehameha V;) William Lunalilo (King Lunalilo;) Bernice Pauahi (Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, founder of Kamehameha Schools;) David Kalākaua (King Kalākaua) and Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha (Queen Liliʻuokalani.)

The King also saw the importance of education for all; “Statute for the Regulation of Schools” was passed by the King and chiefs on October 15, 1840.

Its preamble stated, “The basis on which the Kingdom rests is wisdom and knowledge. Peace and prosperity cannot prevail in the land, unless the people are taught in letters and in that which constitutes prosperity. If the children are not taught, ignorance must be perpetual, and children of the chiefs cannot prosper, nor any other children”.

Constitutional Government

Kamehameha III asked Richards (who had previously been asked to serve as Queen Keōpūolani’s religious teacher) to become an advisor to the King as instructor in law, political economy and the administration of affairs generally.

Richards gave classes to King Kamehameha III and his Chiefs on the Western ideas of rule of law and economics. His decision to assist the King ultimately resulted in his resignation from the mission, when the ABCFM board refused to allow him to belong to the mission while assisting the King.

“The Hawaiian people believed in William Richards (Rikeke), the foreigner who taught the king to change the government of the Hawaiian people to a constitutional monarchy and end that of a supreme ruler, and his views were adopted.” (Kamakau)

Of his own free will, King Kamehameha III granted the Constitution of 1840, as a benefit to his country and people, that established his Government upon a declared plan. (Rex v. Booth – Hanifin)

That constitution introduced the innovation of representatives chosen by the people (rather than, as previously, solely selected by the Aliʻi.) This gave the common people a share in the government’s actual political power for the first time.

Western Medicine

Later (when Richards was sent on a diplomatic mission to the US and Europe to recognize the rights of a sovereign Hawaiʻi,) King Kamehameha III asked missionary Judd to resign from the mission and serve as his advisor and translator.

Judd, a doctor by training, had originally come to the islands to serve as the missionary physician. While in that role, Judd set up part of the basement in the 1821 Mission House as a Western medicine pharmacy and doctor’s office, beginning in 1832.

Dr Judd did not dismiss Native Hawaiian medical practices. He thought Native Hawaiian practice should be improved. Over the years, Dr Judd modified his practice to include Native Hawaiian ingredients in his treatments.

Judd wrote the first medical book in the Hawaiian language and later formed the first medical school in the Islands. Ten students were accepted when it opened in 1870, all native Hawaiians (the school had a Hawaiians-only admissions policy.)

Distinctive Musical Tradition

Another lasting legacy left by the missionaries in the Islands related to music. Some songs were translations of Western songs into Hawaiian; some were original verse and melody.

Oli and mele were already a part of the Hawaiian tradition; it was delivered in an almost monotone way, without instrumentation, or with percussion (drums) or flutes.

“As the Hawaiian songs were unwritten, and adapted to chanting rather than metrical music, a line was measured by the breath; their hopuna, answering to our line, was as many words as could be easily cantilated at one breath.” (Bingham)

The missionaries introduced Western choral tradition, harmony, hymns, gospel music, and Western composition. In the early period, instrumentation included the “Church Bass,” a cello-like instrument and a flute. Later on, church organs, pianos, melodeons, and other instruments were introduced to Hawai`i.

One of the unique verses (sung to an old melody) was Hoʻonani Hole – Hoʻonani I Ka Makua Mau. Bingham wrote/translated it to Hawaiian and people sang it to a melody that dates back to the 1600s – today, it is known as the Hawaiian Doxology.

Another popular Hawaiian song was written by another missionary, Lorenzo Lyons. Lyons composed many poems and hymns; Lyons’ best known and beloved work is the hymn “Hawaiʻi Aloha,” sung to the tune of “I Left It All With Jesus.” The song was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

“Widely regarded as Hawaiʻi’s second anthem, this hymn is sung in both churches and public gatherings. It is performed at important government and social functions to bring people together in unity, and at the closing of Hawaiʻi Legislative sessions.” (Hawaiian Music Museum)

Today, the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Hawaiian Mission Houses) promotes an understanding of the social history of 19th-century Hawai‘i and the relationship between the Aliʻi and the missionaries, and their critical, collaborative role in the formation of modern Hawai‘i.

Over the years, the growing partnership and collaboration between native Hawaiians and the American Protestant missionaries resulted in the introduction of Christianity, a written Hawaiian language, literacy, constitutional government, Western medicine and an evolving music tradition.

Click HERE for more on the Ali‘i and the missionaries.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Mission_Houses,_Honolulu,_ca._1837._Drawn_by_Wheeler_and_engraved_by-Kalama