Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“Ua Koe Ke Kuleana O Na Kanaka”

The Hawaiian Islands cover a land area of over 4.1-million acres (Niʻihau – 44,500-acres; Kauaʻi – 360,000-acres; Oʻahu – 382,000-acres; Molokai – 166,000-acres; Lānaʻi – 89,600-acres; Maui – 465,000-acres; Kahoʻolawe – 28,000-acres and Hawaiʻi Island – 2.6-million acres.)

In pre-western contact Hawai‘i, all ‘āina (land), kai lawaiʻa (fisheries) and natural resources extending from the mountain tops to the depths of the ocean were held in “trust” by the high chiefs (mō‘ī, aliʻi ʻai moku, or aliʻi ʻai ahupua‘a).

The right to use of the lands, fisheries and the resources was given to the hoaʻāina (native tenants) at the prerogative of the aliʻi and their representatives or land agents (often referred to as konohiki or haku ‘āina).  (Maly)

“Land was given to the people by the chiefs. Should members of the family go elsewhere, the one who dwelled on the land was considered the owner. A returning family member was always welcome, but the one who tilled the soil was recognized as holding the ownership”. (Pukui; Maly)

“The right, by which a man may claim fish caught by others in the sea, may, indeed, be questioned by those enlightened in the principles of jurisprudence; but the chiefs of the Sandwich Island, make no questions on the subject. They lay equal claim to the sea and land, as their property.”

“The sea is divided into different portions; and those who own a tract of land on the sea shore, own also the sea that fronts it. The common rule observed by the chiefs is, to give about one half of the fish to the fishermen, and take the other half to themselves.”  (Richards, Missionary Herald, June 1826)

On December 10, 1845, Kamehameha III signed into law, a joint resolution establishing and outlining the responsibilities of the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, setting in motion the Māhele (division of lands between the king and his subjects.)

The Māhele defined the land interests of King Kamehameha III, 252-high-ranking Chiefs and Konohiki (including several foreigners who had been befriended by members of the Kamehameha line), and the Government.

As a result of the Māhele, all lands in the Islands (and associated fisheries) fell into one of three categories: (1) Crown Lands (for the occupant of the throne); (2) Government Lands; and (3) Konohiki Lands.  Each was subject to “ua koe ke kuleana o na kanaka” (“reserving the rights of native tenants”.)  (Waihona)

The “Kuleana Act” of the Māhele defined the frame-work by which hoaʻāina (native tenants – also makaʻāinana, commoner) could apply for, and be granted fee-simple interest in “Kuleana” lands.

The Kuleana Act, passed by the King and Privy Council on the December 21, 1849, is the foundation of law pertaining to native tenant rights.  It reconfirmed the rights of hoaʻāina to: access, subsistence and collection of resources from mountains to the sea, which were necessary to sustain life within their given ahupua‘a.

The law directed the King to appoint (through the minister of the interior and upon consultation with the privy council) “five commissioners, one of whom shall be the attorney general of (the) kingdom, to be a board for the investigation and final ascertainment or rejection of all claims of private individuals, whether natives or foreigners, to any landed property acquired (through) the passage of this act; the awards of which board, unless appealed from as hereinafter allowed, (are) binding upon the minister of the interior and upon the applicant.”

In addition, “the Board appointed a number of Sub-Commissioners in various parts of the kingdom, chiefly gentlemen connected with the American Mission, who from their intelligence, knowledge of the Hawaiian language, and well-known desire to forward any work which they believed to be for the good of the people, were better calculated than any other class of men on the islands to be useful auxiliaries to the Board at Honolulu.” (Robertson, Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles)

“The titles of all lands claimed of the Hawaiian government … upon being confirmed as aforesaid, in whole or in part by the board of commissioners, shall be deemed to be forever settled, as awarded by said board, unless appeal be taken to the supreme court, as already prescribed.”

The Māhele gave the hoaʻāina an opportunity to acquire a fee-simple property interest (lands awarded to the hoaʻāina became known as “Kuleana Lands”) in land on which they lived and actively cultivated, but the process required them to provide personal testimonies regarding their residency and land use practices.

Unlike the Māhele awards (which required payment of commutation, either in land or in cash equal to one-third of the unimproved value of the land at the time of the Māhele) kuleana lands granted “fee simple titles, free of commutation … to all native tenants, who occupy and improve any portion of any Government land, for the land they so occupy and improve, and whose claims to said lands shall be recognized as genuine by the Land Commission”.

“In granting to the people, their house lots in fee simple, such as are separate and distinct from their cultivated lands, the amount of land in each of said House lots shall not exceed one quarter of an acre.”

“In granting to the people their cultivated grounds, or Kalo lands, they shall only be entitled to what they have really cultivated, and which lie in the form of cultivated lands; and not such as the people may have cultivated in different spots, with the seeming intention of enlarging their lots; nor shall they be entitled to the waste lands.”  (Privy Council Minutes, December 21, 1849; Punawaiola)

Often, the kuleana included several apana (pieces.) These typically included the site where the house was located, various loʻi kalo and other areas of cultivation.

The hoaʻāina/makaʻāinana had to follow certain steps before they could own their land. First, they had to have their kuleana surveyed, or measured for size and boundaries. Then they had to present their claims to the Land Commission, showing that they had a right to those kuleana.

Of the 29,221 adult males in Hawaii in 1850 eligible to make land claims, the total number of claims amounted to 13,514, of which 209 belonged to foreigners and their descendants. The original papers, as they were received at the office, were numbered and copied into the Registers of the Commission.  (Maly)

The whole number of Awards finalized by the Board up to its dissolution is 9,337, leaving an apparent balance of claims not awarded of about 4,200 (some were duplicates, some had been rejected as bad, some were not pursued by the parties.)

The kuleana awards account for a combined 28,600 acres of land – less than one percent of the Kingdom’s lands. (Lots of information here from Maly.)  The image shows a representation of a family’s kuleana.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

While Liholiho was in London

After King Kamehameha I died in 1819, Kauai’s King Kaumuali‘i pledged his allegiance to Liholiho, Kamehameha’s son and successor.  Things were peaceful in the Islands.

Then “Liholiho sailed for Maui on October 21 [1823], but inexplicably aborted the trip and returned to Honolulu by 3 pm. Ten days later, without any advance warning, Liholiho began a momentous journey to share astounding news with his chiefs. … he was sailing to England to meet with King George!” (Corely)

“His objects in visiting England, were to see the country, to acquire a better knowledge of the nature of commercial transactions, to obtain some acquaintance with the laws, usages, and institutions of England, and to make arrangements with the British government for the protection and prosperity of the Sandwich Islands.” (Missionary Records, 1839)

“It was the desire of the king, that Mr. [William] Ellis should accompany him, as his interpreter, to England; and, in case he should afterwards determine upon visiting the United States, he proposed that Mr. Bingham should accompany him in the same capacity there.”

“But this arrangement was, unhappily, frustrated by the captain, and the consequence was, that the king and queen left their native islands without an interpreter fully acquainted with the English language.”  (Missionary Records, 1839)

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)

“At the chiefs’ request, both Hiram Bingham and William Ellis preached to packed congregations on November 23 [1823].  L’Aigle left Honolulu’s inner harbor on November 25, but Liholiho waited until 10 a.m. on November 27 to board the small boat that would ferry him out to L’Aigle.”

“His people thronged the beach near Pākākā quayside as Liholiho settled himself into the small boat, accompanied by his principal chiefs. As the boat left the shore, the loud weeping of the people mingled with the roar of cannon from the fort and from the forty vessels lying in the harbor.” (Corely)

“At his departure the natives gathered round him, and tore their hair, and shriek’d and yell’d with the most frantic gestures. The King was dressed in European fashion, and when the boat shoved off from the shore, he stood up without betraying the slightest emotion; while the natives swam round and clung to various parts, crying and yelling with the greatest bitterness.”

“On coming on Board, the decks were crowded with queens and chiefs, pigs and poultry. Of pigs there were about 300; goats, 36; sheep, 6; and bullocks, 4; with 8 dozen of fowls, and 4 dozen of ducks, – all adrift together; and potatoes and powey (poi) from stem to stern.” (Atheneum, 1824)  Their departure took place on November 27, 1823.  (Missionary Records, 1839)

While Liholiho was away at England, Hiram Bingham was on a preaching tour of the island of Kauai in 1824.  Kaumuali‘i had been living on O‘ahu for three years.  Bingham spoke to him just before coming to Kauai.

Bingham writes: “We found Kaumuali‘i seated at his desk, writing a letter of business.  We were forcible and pleasantly struck with the dignity and gravity, courteousness, freedom and affection with which he rose and gave us his hand, his hearty aloha, and friendly parting smile, so much like a cultivated Christian brother.”

Kauai’s King Kaumuali‘i died on May 26, 1824. When the king died, Bingham said a gloom fell over Kauai.  Kaumuali‘i was buried at Waine‘e Church (Wai‘ola Church,) on Maui.  Tension mounted throughout the islands following Kaumuali‘i’s death.

Kauai was especially tumultuous: people indulged in various forms of excess and lawlessness, which were considered displays of intense grief. These acts often signified the beginning of periods of great upheaval and were common following the death of a chief, especially for one as beloved as Kaumuali‘i.  (Warne)

“In the summer of 1824 a civil war broke out on Kauai and the noise of it reverberated through the entire kingdom. In May of that year Kaumualii had died in Honolulu, leaving his kingdom to Liholiho.  It was Kaumualii’s wish that the existing division and possession of lands on Kauai should remain undisturbed.”

“This created dissatisfaction among some who desired a re-distribution of land; an insurrection was fomented, with George Kaumualii [Humehume, Kaumuali‘i’s son] at its head.”

“The people were unitedly of opinion that Kauai belonged to the king and that it was their duty to secure it to him. The island being at length pacified, a reliable old chief of high rank, Kaikioewa, was appointed to govern it.” (Kuykendall)

Kalanimōku sailed to Kauai to proclaim the will of the dead chief and settle government affairs and land disputes.  At Waimea Kalanimōku examined the fort. He then called a council of all the chiefs and announced to them that it was determined to give the governorship of Kauai and Ni‘ihau to Kalanimōku nephew, Kahalaiʻa Luanuʻu.

“(T)hose of the chiefs who hold land, they are well off; the commoner who holds property is fortunate; the chief or commoner who has no portion is unfortunate. The lands shall continue as they now stand. Our son, Kahalaiʻa, shall be ruler over you.”  (Kalanimōku; Kamakau)

Kahalaiʻa accordingly sailed to Kauai as governor together with several chiefs.  “The day after his arrival, he examined the state of the fort, which mounted about fifty guns, larger and smaller, and furnished a guard with muskets, bayonets, and swords, and put them in motion on different parts of the walls.”  (Bingham)

Then … on August 8, 1824, disaster. Intruders were discovered before the distribution of arms was completed. Instead of responding silently with a bayonet, a cutlass, or a traditional club or spear, one rebel fired his newly acquired rifle.  (Warne)

Kahalaiʻa and his men were awakened by the ringing of the bell and the shouts of a woman warrior who cried, ‘Here come the Kauai warriors after the arms! here come the rebels! the men of Hawai‘i still hold the fort! it is not taken for Kauai!’ (Kamakau)

Humehume “entered the magazine, supplied his men with powder and broke open two houses where the arms were deposited and armed part of his men, but …”

“… instead of securing the remainder of the fort, which they might have done with the greatest ease with their bayonets and cutlasses, they commenced firing their muskets …”

“… the contest was doubtful for about half an hour when George’s party retreated for about eight miles, leaving ten men and two women dead in the fort. They carried off a few casks of powder and about 100 muskets.”  (Hunnewell; Warne)

“Kalanimoku, who was on Kauai at the time, having gone there to settle the affairs of the island, obtained aid from the windward islands and with little difficulty put down the rebellion.”  (Kuykendall)

On September 13, 1824, Hoapili sent a letter to Liholiho, explaining the unrest. “We, of Lahaina, all fought in the battle, two ships, with four other vessels. Paʻalua stayed at the fort. Hoapili is who went to do battle. He and Kāhalaiʻa.”

“At Keahuokawelo is where the defeat occurred, where the fight had been launched. Kauai was routed by Hoapili, and all were slaughtered. Two chiefs died, Nakeu and Kiaʻimakani.”

“Humehume slipped away, and fled into the woods. He has not been found, but is being sought out. Your younger brother, Kauikeaouli, and your guardian, Kaʻahumanu, have been sent for to come and rule the land.” (Hoapili to Liholiho, Sep 13, 1824, papakilodatabase)

Unbeknownst to those in the Islands, 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.  Boki took over leadership of the delegation and finally did have an audience with King George IV. 

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.)

“Very soon after the affairs of Kauai had been reduced to order, news arrived (March 9, 1825) of the death of the king and queen in London. …”

“In the evening after the receipt of the news the mid-week religious service was held as usual and at its close Kalanimoku addressed the people, ‘desiring them to mourn the death of the king with sorrow of heart and to observe two weeks of prayer.’”

“In the middle of April, Captain Richard Charlton, recently appointed British consul, arrived with word of the near approach of the frigate Blonde, bearing the bodies of the king and queen.” (Kuykendall)

The Blonde arrived back in Honolulu on May 6, 1825.  (King Kaumuali‘i’s granddaughter Kapiʻolani (1834–1899) married King Kalākaua.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kona

“The story of the Polynesians began about 6,000 years ago when a seafaring people traveled from Asia or Melanesia to the islands of Samoa and Tonga. Their descendants eventually sailed east to Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.  Later they sailed south to New Zealand, east to Easter Island, and north to the Hawaiian Islands.”

“By A.D. 1200, the ancient Polynesians voyagers had settled nearly every habitable island over some ten million square miles of the Pacific Ocean.” (Hawaiian Encyclopedia A Comprehensive Guide To The Hawaiian Islands History, Culture, Native Species, Science)

“Polynesian is part of a subgroup of Austronesian called Oceanic which includes all the Austronesian languages of Polynesia, Island Melanesia, coastal New Guinea east of 136 degrees East longitude, and Micronesian languages other than two Western Micronesian languages: Chamorro (Mariana Islands) and Belauan (Belau, formerly Palau).”

“[I]t is clear that Proto Polynesian speech and culture (ca. 1-300 A.D.) was a product of something like 1000 years of development in fair isolation from the outside world. ‘Polynesian’ language and culture did not arrive fully formed in Polynesia.”

“The language and culture of the early Oceanic Austronesian speaking settlers who gave rise to the modern cultures we observe in Polynesia were greatly transformed in Polynesia itself before internal diversification became pronounced.”

“‘Polynesian; language and culture ‘came from’ the west as most people have long imagined, but it wasn’t Polynesian when it arrived. It became Polynesian in situ, differentiating from a linguistic and cultural base originating in Insular Southeast Asia and initially transformed as it spread across Melanesia towards Polynesia over a period of hundreds of years.” (Jeff Marck)

“Sikaiana legends record an invasion from ‘Tona’ about 12-14 generations ago in their genealogies (from the 1980s). They associate Tona with Tonga, although Tona is a common Polynesian word for “south” and many Western Polynesian societies have similar legends of people from the ‘south.’” (Kutztown University)

“The people of Tonga (correctly pronounced tona, as in ‘Kona’, Hawaii) met Captain Cook with such warm greetings that he called the islands of Tonga the ‘Friendly Islands’”. (NOAA)

“’[T]onga’ means ‘south’ in the Tongan language and refers to the country’s geographic position in relation to central Polynesia”. (CIA)

Dictionaries state, “Hawaiian Dictionary – Kona 1. nvs. Leeward sides of the Hawaiian Islands; leeward (PPN [Proto-Polynesian language] Tonga.)

“[Parker Dictionary (Hawaiian)] Kona (kō’-na), n. 1. South (opposite of koolau, which is north). 2. The southwest wind; also the south wind. 3. The rain accompanying a south wind: He ua kona, he ua nui loa ia; a kona rain is a very great rain.  4. The south or southwest sides of the Hawaiian islands.”

“In all probability, Tonga and Tona or Kona, the name of a district … of Hawaii, are one and the same word; and, to give an instance of which there can be no doubt, tangata, the Samoan for man, has been softened into the Hawaiian tanata or Kanaka.” (Sir George Simpson, An Overland Journey Round the World (1841-1842))

“Explorers are not new to the Kingdom of Tonga (Pule’anga Fakatu’i ‘o Tonga), an archipelago of 176 islands south of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean. The Dutch were some of the earliest explorers to arrive on the island in the 17th century, followed by other Europeans, including Captain James Cook of the British Navy.”

“As a word, ‘Kona’ is often translated as ‘leeward’. But the full meaning invites explication.  The word is of ancient origin and exists across the Austronesian language family in other forms.  For example, further south it is spoken as ‘tonga’. And thus the name of the South Pacific island chain and Nation.”

“What kona land areas are leeward of is the direction of the trade winds. Within the Hawaiian island chain, four of the six major islands contain district names Kona by original Hawaiian settlers.”

“The indigenous geographic concept of kona is more than simply a directional relationship. Kona districts have particular environments created by the specific microclimates that exist from being leeward.” (Jolliffe)

“The expressions Tonga, Kona, Toa (Sam., Haw., Tah.), to indicate the quarter of an island or of the wind, between the south and west, and Tokelau, Toerau, Koolau (Sam., Tah., Haw.), to indicate the opposite directions from north to east …”

“… expressions universal throughout Polynesia, and but little modified by subsequent local circumstances point strongly to a former habitat in lands where the regular monsoons prevailed.”

“Etymologically ‘Tonga,’ ‘Kona,’ contracted from ‘To-anga’ or ‘Ko-ana,’ signifies ‘the setting,’ seil. of the sun. ‘Toke-lau,’ of which the other forms are merely dialectical variations, signifies ‘the cold, chilly sea.’” (Fornander I)

“Mr. Hale, in the Ethnological portion of the United States Exploring Expedition under Commodore Wilkes, considers the application of Tonga to the south-western quarter as subsequent to the dispersion of the Polynesians in the Pacific (vid. p. 180).”

“But Mr. Hale, in the very same article, has very lucidly shown that ‘Tonga’ was a term applied to the very first settlement of the Polynesians in the Pacific, on Viti-Iewu, signifying ‘the Western,’ seil. people, in contradistinction from the Viti proper, or ‘Eastern’ people.”

“Hence it is reasonable to infer that the Polynesians brought the term with them as an already existing appellation of the western quarter, as much so as they did the other term of ‘Toke-lau,’ to designate the eastern quarter. (Fornander I)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Plain of Numbering

At about the same time of Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic to America (he was looking for an alternate trade route to the East Indies,) exciting stuff was happening here in the Hawaiian Islands.

The political governance and land management system by Aliʻi-ai-moku, was expanding and developing after two centuries since its inception, and there was a wake of progress taking place on our shores.

It was a natural progression, which began with three brothers as the first Aliʻi-ai-moku in the 12th century; Kumuhonua on Oʻahu, Olopana on Hawaiʻi, and Moikeha on Kauai, as grandsons of Maweke.  (Yardley)

When they arrived from Tahiti with their new system, their first cousins were already serving as High Chiefs – “Laʻakona, High Chief of ʻEwa; Nuakea, Queen Consort of Molokai; Mōʻī, kaula (prophet) of Molokai; and Hinakaimauliawa, High Chiefess of Koʻolau.” (Beckwith, Yardley)

Then, in the time of Columbus, the new Aliʻi-ai-moku were: Māʻilikūkahi on Oʻahu, Piʻilani on Maui, ʻUmi-a-Līloa on Hawaiʻi and Kukona on Kauai.

ʻUmi-a-Līloa (ʻUmi) from Waipiʻo, son of Līloa, defeated Kona chief Ehunuikaimalino and united the island of Hawai‘i.  He then moved his Royal Center from Waipi‘o to Kona.

At about the time of ʻUmi, a significant new form of agriculture was developed in Kona; he is credited with starting it.  Today, archaeologists call the unique method of farming in this area the “Kona Field System.”

The Kona Field System was planted in long, narrow fields that ran across the contours, along the slopes of Mauna Loa and Hualālai.  As rainfall increases rapidly as you go up the side of Hualālai, the long fields allowed farmers to plant different crops according to the rainfall gradients.

In lower elevations all the way to the shore, informal clearings, mounds and terraces were used to plant sweet potatoes; and on the forest fringe above the walled fields there were clearings, mounds and terraces which were primarily planted in bananas.

This intensive agricultural activity changed farming and agricultural production on the western side of Hawai’i Island; the Kona field system was quite large, extending from Kailua to south of Honaunau

In the lower reaches of the tillable land, at elevations about 500-feet to 1,000-feet above sea level, a grove of breadfruit half mile wide and 20 miles long grew.  Sweet potatoes grew among the breadfruit.  Above the breadfruit grove, at elevations where the rainfall reached 60-70 inches or more, were fields of dry land taro.

The Kona Field System was described as “the most monumental work of the ancient Hawaiians.”  The challenge of farming in Kona is to produce a flourishing agricultural economy in an area subject to frequent droughts, with no lakes or streams for irrigation.

The field system was not the only contribution of ʻUmi.

The history of data processing in Hawaii covers almost five centuries, from the legendary census of King ʻUmi (c. 1500) to the present time.

It embraces at least five forms of technology: pre-contact manual methods, post-contact manual methods (including the abacus and slide rule,) the adding machine and desk calculator, punched-card equipment and the modern computer.  (Schmitt)

No statistical record of pre-contact population still exists, unless you look at the legendary census of ʻUmi.  ʻUmi’s census, taken at the beginning of the 16th century, was an early example of data processing.

For this census, each inhabitant of the Island of Hawaiʻi was instructed to come to a place called the “Plain of Numbering” to put a rock on the pile representing his own district. The result, still visible today, was a three-dimensional graphic portrayal of population size and distribution.

ʻUmi collected all the people of Hawaiʻi at a small plain between the cones on the inner side of Hualālai.  Two small hills are said to have been the seats of the king and queen, with their retainers, while the census was being taken

Later all the people went down on the plain, where each deposited a stone, the strongest the largest, making huge stone-pile memorials around the heiau, one for each district and on the sides toward the districts.  (Baker)

Here are some early accounts getting there.  “… after a day’s travel they reached the site of the ancient temple … These ruins lie equally distant from three mountains, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualālai.  This temple is said to be built by ʻUmi ….”  (Wilkes, 1841)

“Up the long slope of Hualālai we ascended to Kaʻalapuali, following the old Judd trail through fields of green cane, through grass lands, through primeval forests, over fallen monarchs, finally out on that semi-arid upland which lies between Hualālai and Mauna Loa.  Here we turned up the slope of Hualālai, climbing through a forest cover of ʻōhiʻa lehua and sandalwood carpeted with golden-eyed daisies – another picture of Hawaii, never to be forgotten.”

 “Farther up the Judd trail, we came to that unique “Plain of Numbering”, where King ʻUmi built his heiau over four centuries ago and called his people together from all the Island of Hawaiʻi. There is a romantic glamor hanging around those heaps of rocks which numbered the people who gathered at Ahu a ʻUmi that will remain as a fond memory throughout eternity.”  (Thrum, 1924)

 “… we unexpectedly fell upon an ancient temple of the Hawaiian gods, built in a dreary wilderness, far from the habitations of men. … (it) is a square, 100 feet on a side. Its walls, built of the fragments of ancient lava, were eight feet high, and four feet thick. … Around the principal structure, and at the distance of ten to twenty feet, there were eight pyramids, about twelve feet in diameter, and twelve to fifteen in height.”  (Hiram Bingham, 1830)

The piles (pyramids, as Bingham called them) showed the relative size of the population of the districts.  “Kona is the most populous of the six great divisions of Hawaiʻi.” (Kohala is next.)  (Lots of information here from Baker, Schmitt and Thrum.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Salting Pigs for the Sea-Store

A ship’s stores are the supplies and equipment required for the operation and upkeep of a ship. (Merriam-Webster) Sea-stores are supplies needed while you are out in the ocean sailing.

Part of the stores are food items.  Fresh meat doesn’t last long; folks started salting meat to extend their useful life.

“Salt is effective as a preservative because it reduces the water activity of foods. The water activity of a food is the amount of unbound water available for microbial growth and chemical reactions.” (National Library of Medicine)

“Native Hawaiians used sea salt, pa‘akai (“to solidify the sea”), to season and preserve food, for religious and ceremonial purposes, and as medicine. Preserving food like i‘a (fish) and he‘e (octopus) was essential not just for storage on land, but also to provide nourishment during ocean voyages.” (UH, Sea Earth Atmosphere)

Salt “has ever been an essential article with the Sandwich Islanders, who eat it very freely with their food, and use much in preserving their fish.”  (Ellis, 1826)

During Cook’s visits to the Islands, King’s journal noted “the great quantity of salt they eat with their flesh and fish. … almost every native of these islands carried about with him, either in his calibash, or wrapped up in a piece of cloth, and tied about his waist, a small piece of raw pork, highly salted, which they considered as a great delicacy, and used now and then to taste of.”

“Their fish they salt, and preserve in gourd-shells; not, as we at first imagined, for the purpose of providing against any temporary scarcity, but from the preference they give to salted meats.”  (King, 1779)

“The surplus … they dispose of to vessels touching at the islands, or export to the Russian settlements on the north-west coast of America, where it is in great demand for curing fish, &c.” (Ellis, 1826)

“The salting of hogs for sea-store was also a constant [by the Hawaiians], and one of the principal objects of Captain Cook’s attention.”

“As the success we met with in this experiment, during our present voyage, was much more complete than it had been in any former attempt of the same kind, it may not be improper to give an account of the detail of the operation.”

“It has generally been thought impracticable to cure the flesh of animals by salting, in tropical climates; the progress of putrefaction being so rapid, as not to allow time for the salt to take (as they express it) before the meat gets a taint, which prevents the effect of the pickle.”

“We do not find that experiments relative to this subject have been made by the navigators of any nation before Captain Cook.”

“In his first trials, which were made in 1774, during his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, the success he met with, though very imperfect, was yet sufficient to convince him of the error of the received opinion.”

“As the voyage, in which he was now engaged, was likely to be protracted a year beyond the time for which the ships had been victualled, he was under the necessity of providing, by some such means, for the subsistence of the crews, or of relinquishing the further prosecution of his discoveries.”

“He therefore lost no opportunity of renewing his attempts, and the event answered his most sanguine expectations.”

“The hogs, which we made use of for this purpose, were of various sizes, weighing from four to twelve stone. [a stone is 14 pounds].”

“The time of slaughtering was always in the afternoon; and as soon as the hair was scalded off, and the entrails removed, the hog was divided into pieces of four or eight pounds each, and the bones of the legs and chine taken out; and, in the larger sort, the ribs also.”

“Every piece then being carefully wiped and examined, and the veins cleared of the coagulated blood, they were handed to the salters, whilst the flesh remained still warm.”

“After they had been well rubbed with salt, they were placed in a heap, on a stage raised in the open air, covered with planks, and pressed with the heaviest weights we could lay on them.”

“In this situation they remained till the next evening, when they were again well wiped and examined, and the suspicious parts taken away.”

“They were then put into a tub of strong pickle, where they were always looked over once or twice a day, and if any piece had not taken the salt, which was readily discovered by the smell of the pickle, they were immediately taken out, re-examined, and the sound pieces put to fresh pickle. This, however, after the precautions before used, seldom happened.”

“After six days, they were taken out, examined for the last time, and being again slightly pressed, they were packed in barrels, with a thin layer of salt between them.”

“I brought home with me some barrels of this pork, which was pickled at Owhyhee in January 1779, and was tasted by several persons in England, about Christmas 1780, and found perfectly sound and wholesome.” (Cook’s Journal)

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