Hawaiian Traditions | Page 75 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

October 13, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Cooking

Ahi (fire) was started by a fire plow which consisted of two pieces of dry wood, usually hau. The larger flat stick (ʻaunaki) was held in place on the ground or mat by the feet of the fire maker who sat before it.

He held firmly in his hands a slender stick (ʻaulima) which he moved (heahiʻa, a contraction of he ahi hiʻa) by firm forward strokes over the lower one.

This plowing motion produced a groove in the lower stick and caused wood dust (hāhā) to accumulate at the forward end. In about a minute heat from the friction caused the wood to smoke and sparks to appear in the wood dust.

The lower stick was then lifted, turned over, and the sparks poured onto the fibers (pulu) of a dry coconut husk, or sometimes on kapa.

The sparks burst into flame when the kindling material was blown upon by mouth, with a bamboo blower (ʻohe-puhi-ahi), or waved vigorously in the air. The wood for cooking was lighted by fire secured in this way. (Mitchell)

Hawaiians used several means in cooking food: Baking (kālua in the imu,) Broiling (kō‘ala, kunu, pālaha, olala and pūlehu on hot coals,) Steaming (hākui and puholo with hot stones) and Broiling wrapped food (lawalu, wrapped in leaves over a fire.) (Titcomb)

Baking (kālua) was and still is done in an earth oven, or imu (old spelling is umu). The oven is prepared by digging a hole in the ground; a fire is laid and stones are placed on it to the depth of two or three stones, or enough to fill the hole.

The fire should be so laid as to burn briskly and heat the stones red hot. Embers are then removed, the stones moved to make a smooth surface.

A thick layer of banana leaves, or a layer of banana trunks, split lengthwise, is laid over the hot stones, then more leaves, banana or ti leaves and then the food to be cooked.

All kinds of foods are put into the imu together; families often shared an imu. The imu is covered with leaves after the food has been placed and then with earth to hold in the heat. (Tticomb)

When large hogs were cooked and rocks place in the cavity, the hog was wrapped in coarse kapa and mats. The hog was left until the stones had cooled, then the wrappings were removed. The cooked meat on the inside was cut away and eaten. The outer, under-done parts were cut into pieces and placed in the imu for recooking. (Mitchell)

Broiling food (kōʻala, kunu, pūlehu, pālaha, olala) using hot coals (kō‘ala) or hot ashes (pūlehu) was a common way to cook if a meal was prepared out in the fields away from home or if the small amount of food being prepared did not warrant use of an imu.

Kunu was a term almost synonymous with kōʻala, but it implied that great care had been taken in preparation. Pūlehu (heaped ashes) was cooking by shoving the food into a heap of hot ashes and embers; sweet potato, breadfruit and banana were cooked in this manner.

Pālaha (flattened out), a term used chiefly for land animals―broiling a flattened out piece of flesh. Olala was broiling by holding over the coals and turning so that all sides were heated. Dried fish did not need actual cooking, merely heating a little.

Food was cooked by being spread out flat on a level bed of coals, or it was warmed over or near a fire and periodically turned. Breadfruit and unripe bananas could be broiled this way in their skins.

Steaming in closed calabashes with tight-fitting lids (hakui, puholo) included pork, fish and fowl. These were usually heavy wooden bowls made especially for this type of cooking. The vessels were lined with ti leaves.

Flesh foods, taro leaves and perhaps other greens such as tender sweet potato leaves were added. Hot stones surrounded the food and water was added as needed to form steam.

After several hours in the closed calabash the food was tender. These “fireless cookers” were sometimes filled and carried on journeys and the food was consumed at the destination. (Mitchell)

The ki (ti) leaf was a most useful article to the Hawaiians in caring for food. The leaf is long and wide (20 in. x 6 in. is an average size,) smooth, shiny, tough, and, except for the midrib, the veins are unobtrusive.

It has no odor and is clean and fresh looking. Small foods were wrapped in a ti leaf laulau piʻao, larger in a flat bundle called laulau lāwalu.

Broiling wrapped food (lāwalu) was used a great deal. Food that had been cut into pieces, or small fish that would be lost in an imu, or burned crisp if broiled, were wrapped in leaves of the ti, occasionally in leaves of the wild ginger, which is said to have added a delicious fragrance to the fish.

The leaf bundle was toasted over the open fire, turning it occasionally and the food was cooked when the juice ceased to drip from the bundle. Mullet was “cooked with such perfection that when the banana leaves in which it had been steamed were taken off, it had received hardly a slight alteration in form and color.” (Titcomb)

The food was placed in containers to cool and was served cold. (Lots of information here is from Titcomb and Mitchell.)

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Imu-pig-PP-49-1-007-00001

Sweet potato pulehu cooking

Hawaiians_roasting_pig_for_luau,_c._1890

Laulau (Illustrating wrapped food for cooking)

October 3, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Ahole Hōlua

“A fair road leads across a barren a-a flow to Miloli‘i, the largest and best specimen of an exclusively Hawaiian village on the Island, which is seldom visited.”

“It is splendidly situated by a sand beach, the sea coming right up to the yard walls, and is inhabited by a rather large population of Hawaiians, who prosper through the fishing which is almost phenomenally good.”

“A fair trail leads south to Honomalino, where there are no houses, but a splendid sand beach, where turtle abound. The trail leads south, along the beach, to the Okoe landing, where there is only one house, and to Kapu‘a, used as a cattle shipping point, where there are two houses.”

“Just south of this is Ahole, where there is a perfect papa hōlua, about 400 to 500 feet long, appearing as if it had been built but yesterday.” (Kinney, 1913)

Hōlua are massively constructed ramps, made of stacked stone, that were used as tracks for wooden sleds by the ancient Hawaiians.

The flat slope was covered with grasses to make the narrow fragile sleds able to reach high rates of speed on their downward runs. It starts with a running platform along which the sledder raced before flopping down on the sled at the beginning of the slope down. (NPS)

Hōlua sledding was restricted to the chiefs. A track of rock, layered with earth and made slippery with grass, was made for tobogganing on a narrow sled.

Hōlua sledding was the most dangerous sport practiced in Hawai‘i. The rider lies prone on a sled the width of a ski and slides down a chute made of lava rock.

The sled or papa consisted of two narrow and highly polished runners (three inches apart,) from 7- to 18-feet in length, and from two to three inches deep. The papa hōlua (canoe sled) is a reflection of the double-hulled canoe.

The two runners were fastened together by a number of short pieces of woods varying in length from two to five inches, laid horizontally across the runners.

“Coasting down slopes… Sliding on specially constructed sleds was practiced only in Hawaii and New Zealand,” wrote historian Kenneth Emory. “The Maori sled, however, was quite different from the Hawaiian… One of the Hawaiian sleds, to be seen in [the] Bishop Museum, is the only complete ancient sled in existence.”

“The narrowness and the convergence of the runners toward the front should be noticed. Coasting on these sleds was a pastime confined to the chiefs and chieftesses.”

The Reverend Hiram Bingham provides a descriptive account of this sport: “In the presence of the multitude, the player takes in both hands, his long, very narrow and light built sled, made for this purpose alone, the curved ends of the runners being upward and forward, as he holds it, to begin the race.”

“Standing erect, at first, a little back from the head of the prepared slippery path, he runs a few rods to it, to acquire the greatest momentum, carrying his sled, then pitches himself, head foremost, down the declivity, dexterously throwing his body, full length, upon his vehicle, as on a surf board.”

“The sled, keeping its rail or grassway, courses with velocity down the steep, and passes off into the plain, bearing its proud, but prone and headlong rider, who scarcely values his neck more than the prize at stake.” (Bingham)

The Ahole Hōlua consists of a steeply sloping sliding ramp (about 200-feet long) and runway (75-feet long – high on the eastern or top end of the slide.)

An alignment of water-worn stones and a rise in height of approximately 1-foot marks the beginning of the slide itself. Aside from these water-worn stones, the rest of the slide surface and facing is constructed with aa stones of varying size.

The height of the slide varies to make a smooth steep slope. The first meter or so from the top is fairly flat; the next 100-feet are steeply sloping, at least 1:3. The next 50-feet form a very steep slope 5′:11′. The last 65-feet are again flat and the surfaces change to ‘ili‘ili and coral with only in small amounts of aa strewn about.

On the aa bluff to the north of the hōlua are large numbers of what appear to be the gallery terraces and platforms, walls, stepping stone trails, shelters and walled enclosures.

These are situated in such a manner as to present a good view of the slide and it is not improbable that these features were used for just that function.

The surface of the entire area between these features is covered with the ‘popcorn and peanuts’ of the day – opihi, cowrie, pipipi and conus together with kukui nut shells, animal bone and coconut fragments. (NPS)

This is one of the best preserved hōlua on Hawai‘i Island, arid within the entire state. Interesting and significant here is the presence of a number of platforms constructed of stone that are located alongside the hōlua. These were undoubtedly for the spectators who watched the sport.

A hōlua of this magnitude and elegance indicates the complexity of ancient Hawaiian culture wherein large labor forces could be marshalled to produce a luxury structure dedicated to a recreational use by the higher ranking Hawaiians.

The creation of a proper slide, with its required slope (much like that of a western ski jump), flatness of top, and proper length to ensure both sled speed and a deacceleration area, are indicative of the highly developed skills of the ancient Hawaiians in stonework engineering. (NPS)

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Ahole_Holua-NPS

Ahole_Holua-layout-NPS

Ahole_Holua-elevation-NPS

Ahole_Holua-(brian_powers-hawaiianimages-net)

Holua_Sled-(BishopMuseum)

Detail_of_Holua_Sled-(National Library of Medicine (NLM))

Holua_at_Keauhou_Shopping_Village-(KeauhouResort)

Holua_Slide-(HerbKane)

Riding_A_Holua_Sled-TomPohaku-(National Library of Medicine (NLM))

September 26, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Water Rights

The Hawaiian word for ʻlaw’ or ʻrule’ is kānāwai – it is interesting to note that the literal translation of kānāwai is ʻrelating to water.’ Traditional Hawaiian law initially developed around the management and use of water. (Sproat)

Emma Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, Commissioner of Private Ways and Water Rights, wrote an article “Ancient Hawaiian Water Rights and Some Customs Pertaining to Them” published in 1893 in Thrum’s Hawaiian Annual. The following are portions of that article.

Water rights were primarily for lo‘i (pondfields,) that is, for kalo (taro) culture; potato patches, bananas or sugar cane had no recognized claim on a water right in the rotation.

The cultivation of these, regarded as dry land crops, were invariably during the rainy season except in the Ko‘olau or wet districts. Sugar cane and bananas were almost always planted on lo‘i banks (kuauna) so as to ensure a sufficiency of moisture from the seepage or ooze between them.

Each ‘auwai (water courses) had a proper name and was generally called after either the land, or chief of the land that had furnished the most men, or had mainly been instrumental in the inception, planning and carrying out the work.

All ‘auwai tapping the main stream were done under the authority of the Konohiki of an ahupua‘a, ‘ili or ku. In some instances, the Konohiki of two or three independent lands united in the work of ‘auwai making.

‘Auwai were generally dug from makai (seaward or below) upwards. The different ahupua‘a, ‘ili or ku taking part in the work furnished men according to the number of cultivators on each land.

The dams were always a low loose wall of stones with a few clods here and there, high enough to raise water sufficiently to flow into the ‘auwai. No ‘auwai was permitted to take more water than continued to flow in the stream below the dam.

The general distribution of the quantity of water each independent land was entitled to was in proportion to the quota of hands furnished by each land, but subject to regulations as to distance from source of supply. (There was no limit to the number of laborers any land might furnish.)

The konohiki of the land controlling the most water rights in a given ‘auwai was invariably its luna. He controlled and gave the proportion of water to each mo‘o‘āina (kuleana) or single holding of the common people cultivating on that land.

In ancient times the holders of a water right were required whenever it became their turn in the water rotation or division to go up with the luna wai (superintendent) to the water head or dam to see that it was in proper condition …

… follow down the ‘auwai from there, removing all obstructions which may have fallen in or had been carried down by the water during the night from the kahawai or mountain stream …

… shut off all branch ‘auwai or runlets from the main ‘auwai, except those conducting water to lo‘i entitled to water at the same time, the luna wai – who should be with him during all this time – making the necessary division by means of a clod, stone or both; the water holder continuing to follow the water until it entered his lo‘i and the koele in his charge.

Bordering on the upper portions of most ‘auwai were small lo‘i limited in size and number, generally on a hillside, or on the borders of a gulch.

These lo‘i were generally awarded kulu or drops; that is, they were entitled to continual driblets of water, and no one having a water share may turn the water entirely away from them unless, in times of scarcity, it should be seen that these lo‘i were full to overflowing.

It was a strictly enforced custom, that should any water right holder neglect to go, or furnish a substitute at the periodical ‘auwai cleanings, repairs of dam, etc., water would be withheld from the land of the absentee until such time as he should see fit to resume work for the benefit of what might be termed the shareholders of that ‘auwai .

It sometimes occurred that a land originally entitled only to a small portion of water, but afterwards held or presided over by an industrious, energetic man; whose popularity attracted many to live under him, would be accorded an increased supply in consequence of his promptly furnishing as many or more hands than some land entitled to more water than his.

After this had continued some time, the water-luna would recognized the justice of an increased supply for his land, and would either take a portion of water from any land failing in its due quota of hands, or as was more frequently done, simply adding a day, night, or both to the rotation; letting his land have the added time.

Anyone in the olden times caught breaking a dam built in accordance with the Hawaiian’s idea of justice and equity, would be slain by the share holders of that dam, and his body put in the breach he had made, as a temporary stopgap, thus serving as a warning to others who might be inclined to act similarly.

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Taro patches near Lihue, Kauai-Mitchell-BishopMuseum-ca. 1886.

Lo‘i at Honokōhau, Maui, Huli planted in lines-(BishopMuseum)-1940

Waipio_Valley-Taro_Loi-(DMYoung)

Waikane_Loi_Kalo-BM-1940

Taro Lo’i Agriculture in Mānoa Valley-(UH_Heritage)-ca_1890

Punaluu_Oahu-Loi_Kalo-BM-1924

Loi-aep-his151

Kakaako-Prior to the 20th century Ward Village was primarily fish ponds, salt pans and taro lo‘i-(avisionforward)

Heeia Taro – 1930

Hawaiians_in_the_field,_photograph_by_Frederick_George_Eyton-Walker,_c._1890

Keanae-taro-(WC_Forest & Kim Starr)

Punaluu auwai and loi-KSBE

One of the largest taro growing areas in the Hawaiian Islands is the Lower Hanalei Valley-(WC)

September 24, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Settlement & Agricultural Development

Folks describe different ‘phases’ or ‘periods’ of human settlement and agricultural development in the Islands over time. Different people use different terms for each of these (some use varying timeframes, as well,) but they seem to generally fall into Settlement, Development, Expansion and ultimately Post-Contact.

Settlement – AD 1000-1400

It is believed that initial Polynesian discovery and settlement of the Hawaiian Islands occurred between approximately AD 1000 and 1200. (Kirch) This effectively started the ‘Settlement’ phase.

The rich valley bottoms which later they would clear, terrace, and irrigate for wet-taro cultivation, were in their pristine state, dense jungle, probably covered mostly with the hau shrub which, where it runs wild, produces a dense, tight jungle. For this jungle the first settlers had no use.

What taro tops they had, they planted along the banks of the streams, as taro is still planted along the banks of irrigation and drainage ditches. If they had sweet-potato shoots, these were planted in sandy soil near their huts.

It is more likely, however, that the first settlers had little or nothing to plant. The plants and more settlers were probably brought by canoes sent back to the homeland.

For generations, the small, slowly growing population clustered around shore sites near streams that supplied them with water. Such sites are best for inshore fishing.

Fishermen and their families living around the bays and the beaches, or at isolated localities along the coast where fishing was practicable, led a life that was materially simpler than that of planters who dwelt on the plains.

The food plants of Hawaiʻi can be divided into three groups: those known as staple foods (the principal starchy foods – kalo (taro,) ʻuala (sweet potato,) ʻulu (breadfruit,) etc;) those of less importance (to add nutrients and variety to the diet;) and those known as famine foods. (Krauss)

With such a small (but growing) population based on the family unit, society was not so complicated that it needed chiefs to govern or oversee the general population.

Kamakau states that there were no chiefs in the earliest period of settlement but that they came “several hundred years afterward … when men became numerous.”

Development – AD 1400-1650

As the ancient Hawaiian population grew, land use and resource management also evolved. The traditional land use in the Hawaiian Islands evolved from shifting cultivation into a stable form of agriculture.

Stabilization required a new form of land use and eventually the ahupua‘a form of land management was instituted (what we generally refer to as watersheds, today.) Ahupuaʻa served as a means of managing people.

In addition, this centralization of government allowed for development and maintenance of large projects, such as irrigation systems, large taro loʻi, large fish ponds, heiau and trails.

To feed more people, farming became more developed and intensified. Only in Hawaiʻi was there such an intensive effort to utilize practically every body of water, from seashore to upland forests, as a source of food, for either agriculture or aquaculture.

Hawaiians built rock-walled enclosures in near shore waters, to raise fish for their communities and families. It is believed these were first built around the fifteenth century.

The ancient Hawaiian fishpond is a sophisticated land and ocean resource management technique. Utilizing raw materials such as rocks, corals, vines and woods, the Hawaiians created great walls (kuapā) and gates (mākāhā) for these fishponds. (Kelly)

Another technological invention by Hawaiian Polynesians was the development of their extended stone-faced, terraced pondfields (lo‘i) and their accompanying irrigation systems (‘auwai) for the intensive cultivation of wetland taro (kalo.)

The terraces were irrigated with water brought in ditches from springs and streams high in the valleys, allowing extensive areas of the valleys to be cultivated. The irrigation ditches and pondfields were engineered to allow the cool water to circulate among the taro plants and from terrace to terrace, avoiding stagnation and overheating by the sun, which would rot the taro tubers.

An acre of irrigated lo‘I kalo produced as much as five times the amount of taro as an acre of dryland cultivation. Over a period of several years, irrigated pondfields could be as much as 10 or 15 times more productive than unirrigated taro gardens, as dryland gardens need to lie fallow for greater lengths of time thin irrigated gardens. (Kelly)

There was systematic cultivation of dryland crops in their appropriate vegetation zones as exemplified by the Field Systems (notable systems are seen in Kona, Kohala, Kaupō, Kalaupapa and Ka‘ū.) (Kelly)

This was a period of tremendous significance in Hawaiian pre-contact history since, during this time, (1) the population underwent a geometric rate of increase; (2) virtually all habitable and arable lands were occupied and territorially claimed; (3) the territorial pattern of chiefdom (moku) and subchiefdom units (ahupua‘a) appears to have been established …

… and (4) toward the end of this period the Hawaiian sociopolitical system was transformed from a simple, ancestral Polynesian chiefdom to a highly stratified society with virtual class differentiation between chiefs and commoners. (Kirch)

Expansion – AD 1650-Contact (1778)

A population peak (usually estimated at several hundred thousand) was reached around 1650 AD, more than 100 years before contact with Europeans.

It was at this population peak, or shortly before, that Hawaiians began to inhabit less favorable coastline areas and barren zones between the coast and upland agricultural sites and to develop extensive dryland agricultural systems in marginal regions. (Cuddihy)

Large-scale irrigation works and permanent field systems were developed during the expansion period. Settlements were intruding into increasingly marginal environments, including the interiors of leeward valleys and the higher elevation slopes. Population densities in the fertile windward valleys increased, although densities in tablelands and elsewhere were much lower.

Cultivation was characterized by a variety of non-irrigated root and tree crops grown for subsistence, each farmer having gardens in one or more vegetation zones. Each crop was cultivated in the zone in which it grew best.

Reverend William Ellis described the area behind Kailua town in Kona above the breadfruit and mountain apple trees as, “The path now lay through a beautiful part of the country, quite a garden compared with that through which they had passed on first leaving the town.”

“It was generally divided into small fields, about fifteen rods square fenced with low stone walls, built with fragments of lava gathered from the surface of the enclosures. These fields were planted with bananas, sweet potatoes, mountain taro, paper mulberry plants, melons, and sugar-cane, which flourished luxuriantly in every direction.”

There was extensive development of at least the mauka portion of the kula sub-zone, for sweet potatoes, wauke and probably also gourds. This development was accompanied rarely by permanent habitation and more often by temporary and seasonal habitation along the kula gardens.

Animal enclosures, probably for pigs, may date to this phase. The upland zones were under complete development by this time. Suitable caves were modified for refuge during times of warfare or social conflict. Caves located in the midst of garden features were intensively used for temporary shelter and work spaces. (Terry)

Post Contact – After 1778

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four chiefdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Island rulers, Aliʻi or Mōʻī, typically ascended to power through familial succession and warfare. In those wars, Hawaiians were killing Hawaiians; sometimes the rivalries pitted members of the same family against each other.

“It is supposed that some six thousand of the followers of this chieftain (Kamehameha,) and twice that number of his opposers, fell in battle during his career, and by famine and distress occasioned by his wars and devastations from 1780 to 1796.” (Bingham)

In addition to deaths in wars, epidemics of infections added to the decline in Hawaiʻi’s population from approximately 300,000 at the time of Captain Cook’s arrival in 1778 to 135,000 in 1820 and 53,900 in 1876.

Vancouver was appalled by the impoverished circumstances of the people and the barren and uncultivated appearance of their lands. “The deplorable condition to which they had been reduced by an eleven years war” and the advent of “the half famished trading vessels” convinced him that he should pursue his peace negotiations for “the general happiness, of the inhabitants of all the islands.” (Vancouver, Voyage 2)

“By this time nearly a generation of the race had passed away, subsequently to their discovery by Cook. How much of their strength had been exhausted by wars and the support of armies, and how much by new and terrible diseases, it is not easy to estimate. The population was greatly diminished, and the residue unimproved in morals.” (Bingham)

The cultivation of kula lands gradually decreased in extent and intensity, nevertheless remaining important to a decreasing population. Some kula lands were being converted to grazing beginning in the 1840s.

The first commercially-viable sugar plantation, Ladd and Co., was started at Kōloa on Kaua‘i. On July 29, 1835, Ladd & Company obtained a 50-year lease on nearly 1,000-acres of land and established a plantation and mill site in Kōloa.

At the industry’s peak in the 1930s, Hawaii’s sugar plantations employed more than 50,000 workers and produced more than 1-million tons of sugar a year; over 254,500-acres were planted in sugar. That plummeted to 492,000 tons in 1995.

Although sugar dominated the Hawaiian economy, there was also great demand at the time for fresh Hawaiian pineapples, and later canned pineapple. By 1931, pineapple production exceeded 12 million cases as a result of both expansion and improvements in productivity; production of canned pineapple peaked in 1957.

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c. 1826 lithograph, William Ellis C., Big Island. Waipio Valley, Ahupua’a.

Fish_Ponds_at_Honoruru,_Oahu,_by_John_Murray,_after_Robert_Dampier-(WC)-1836

P-03-View of Country back of Kailua

Native_Hawaiian_man_pounding_taro_into_poi_with_two_children_by_his_sides-(WC)-c._1890s

Oahu-Kahaluu-kalo-terrace-wall-(WC)

Water from the ‘auwai going back to the kahawai-(KSBE)

Wailau-terraces_walls (Windy K McElroy)

Ruins of Ancient Loi Kalo (Taro Pond Fields in Lanai)-(lanaichc-org)-1912

Kona_Field_System-GoogleEarth

Kohala Field System-photo-Vitousek

Interior fish pond Waikiki Oahu-1905

Honolulu_Harbor_to_Diamond_Head-Wall-Reg1690 (1893)

Hawaii_Island_Fishpond_Gate-(WC)

Fishpond_in_east_Molokai-(WC)

September 23, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kapu and the New Religion

With the Hawaiian Kapu, if you didn’t follow the rules, you could die.

With Christianity, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Pā‘ao (CA 1300,) from Kahiki (Tahiti,) is reported to have introduced (or significantly expanded) a religious and political code in old Hawai‘i, collectively called the kapu system. This forbid many things and demanded many more, with many infractions being punishable by death.

The kapu system helped the ali‘i and kahuna keep their power over the people. The people believed that breaking the kapu would bring the anger of the gods on themselves and their community. They made every effort to follow the kapu set down by the ali‘i and kahuna.

Anything connected with the gods and their worship was considered sacred, such as idols, heiau and priests. Because chiefs were believed to be descendants of the gods, many kapu related to chiefs and their personal possessions.

The Hawaiian kapu can be grouped into three categories. The first evolved from the basic precepts of the Hawaiian religion and affected all individuals, but were considered by foreign observers to be especially oppressive and burdensome to women.

One of the most fundamental of this type of prohibition forbade men and women from eating together and also prohibited women from eating most of the foods offered as ritual sacrifices to the gods (for example, it was kapu for women to eat pork or bananas.)

“One thing which the priest urged upon the king was to kill off the ungodly people, those who broke tabu and ate with the women, or who cohabited with a woman while she was confined to her infirmary, and the women who intruded themselves into the heiau.”

“Another thing he urged was that the woman who beat tapa on a tabu day, or who went canoeing on a tabu day should be put to death; also that the man who secretly left the service at the temple to go home and lie with his wife should be put to death; that the men and women who did these things, whether from the backwoods – kua‘āina – or near the court should be put to death.”

“That any man, woman, or child, who should revile the high priest, or a keeper of the idols, calling him a filth-eater, or saying that he acted unseemly with women (i ka ai mea kapu) should be put to death, but he might ransom his life by a fine of a fathom-long pig.”

“Again, that if the king by mistake ate of food or meat that was ceremonially common or unclean – noa – the king should be forgiven, but the man whose food or meat it was should be put to death, if the king was made ill. In such a case a human sacrifice was offered to appease the deity, that the king might recover from his illness.”

“Again that certain kinds of fish should be declared tabu to the women as food, also pork, bananas and cocoanuts; that if any large fish – a whale – or a log strapped with iron, should be cast ashore, it was to be offered to the gods, (i. e., it was to be given to the priests for the use of the king).” (Malo)

A second category of kapu were those relating to the inherited rank of the nobility and were binding on all those equal to or below them in status.

This system, a “sanctioned avoidance” behavior conforming to specific rules and prohibitions, prescribed the type of daily interactions among and between the classes, between the people and their gods, and between the people and nature.

By compelling avoidance between persons of extreme rank difference, it reinforced class divisions by protecting mana (spiritual power) from contamination while at the same time preventing the mana from harming others.

These kapu posed enormous difficulties for the high Ali‘i because it restricted their behavior and activities to some degree. Because these kapu prohibited the highest-ranking chiefs from easily walking around during the day, some of them traveled in disguise to protect the people and themselves from the difficulties presented by this custom.

The third category were edicts issued randomly that were binding on all subjects and included such acts as the placing of kapu on certain preferred surfing, fishing or bathing spots for a chief’s exclusive use.

In addition, the chiefs proclaimed certain kapu seasons as conservation measures to regulate land use and safeguard resources.

These had the same force as other kapu, but pertained to the gathering or catching of scarce foodstuffs, such as particular fruits and species of fish; to water usage; and to farming practices. These kapu were designed to protect resources from overuse.

While the social order defined very strict societal rules, exoneration was possible if one could reach a puʻuhonua (place of refuge) and be cleansed, as well as cleared by a kahuna (priest).

The puʻuhonua was especially important in times of war as a refuge for women and children, as well as warriors from the defeated side.

Puʻuhonua were locations which, through the power of the gods and the generosity of the chiefs, afforded unconditional absolution to those who broke taboos, disobeyed rulers, or committed other crimes. (Schoenfelder)

Ethno-historical literature, and available physical, cultural, and locational data, note at least 57-sites across the Islands. Puʻuhonua tended to occur in areas of high population and/or in areas frequented by chiefs. (Schoenfelder)

These range from enclosed compounds such as Hōnaunau, to platforms (Halulu on Lānaʻi), to fortified mountain-tops (Kawela on Molokaʻi), to unmodified natural features (Kūkaniloko on Oʻahu) and to entire inhabited land sections, as at Lāhainā on Maui. (Schoenfelder)

This intricate system that supported Hawai‘i’s social and political structure directed every activity of Hawaiian life, from birth through death, until its overthrow by King Kamehameha II (Liholiho).

Shortly after the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system. In a dramatic and highly symbolic event, Kamehameha II ate and drank with women, thereby breaking the important eating kapu.

This changed the course of the social, political and religious structure and ended the kapu system, effectively weakened belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them.

Some have suggested it was the missionaries that ended the kapu that disrupted the social/political system in the Islands; that is not true – the missionaries had not even arrived in the Islands, yet. On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of missionaries from the northeast US, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Islands.

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)

Among their teaching included, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” (John 6:35)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 6:16)

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.

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)

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.”

“Her influence and authority had long been paramount and undisputed with the natives, and was now discreetly used for the benefit of the nation.”

“She visited the whole length and breadth of the Islands, to recommend to her people, attention to schools, and to the doctrines and duties of the word of God, and exerted all her influence to suppress vice, and restrain the evils which threatened the ruin of her nation.” (Lucy Thurston)

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