Kaawaloa | Page 2 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 28, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kona’s Royal Centers

The ‘Peopling of the Pacific’ began about 40,000 years ago with movement from Asia; by BC 1250, people were settling in the eastern Pacific. (Kirch) By BC 800, Polynesians settled in Samoa. (PVS)

Using stratigraphic archaeology and refinements in radiocarbon dating, studies suggest it was about 900-1000 AD that “Polynesian explorers first made their remarkable voyage from central Eastern Polynesia Islands, across the doldrums and into the North Pacific, to discover Hawai‘i.” (Kirch)

“(I)n the earliest times all the people were alii … it was only after the lapse of several generations that a division was made into commoners and chiefs”. (Malo)

Kamakau noted, in early Hawaiʻi “The parents were masters over their own family group … No man was made chief over another.” Essentially, the extended family was the socio, biological, economic and political unit.

Because each ʻohana (family) was served by a parental haku (master, overseer) and each family was self-sufficient and capable of satisfying its own needs, there was no need for a hierarchal structure.

As the population increased and wants and needs increased in variety and complexity (and it became too difficult to satisfy them with finite resources,) the need for chiefly rule became apparent.

As chiefdoms developed, the simple pecking order of titles and status likely evolved into a more complex and stratified structure.

Eventually, a highly stratified society evolved consisting of the aliʻi (ruling class,) kahuna (priestly and expert class of craftsmen, fishers and professionals) and makaʻainana (commoner class.)

Most of the makaʻainana were farmers, a few were fishermen. Tenants cultivated smaller crops for family consumption, to supply the needs of chiefs and provide tributes.

The aliʻi attained high social rank in several ways: by heredity, by appointment to political office, by marriage or by right of conquest. The first was determined at birth, the others by the outcomes of war and political process.

Power and prestige, and thus class divisions, were defined in terms of mana. Although the gods were the full embodiment of this sacredness, the royalty possessed it to a high degree because of their close genealogical ties to those deities.

The kahuna ratified this relationship by conducting ceremonies of appeasement and dedication on behalf of the chiefs, which also provided ideological security for the commoners who believed the gods were the power behind natural forces.

With the stratified social system, it was important to retain the division between aliʻi and makaʻainana. This was done through a physical separation, such as the Royal Centers that were restricted to only the aliʻi and kahuna.

Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

When working on a planning project in Kona, we came across references to “Royal Centers.” In the centuries prior to 1778, seven large and densely-populated Royal Centers were located along the shoreline between Kailua and Hōnaunau.

The compounds were areas selected by the ali‘i for their residences; ali‘i often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

The Hawaiian court was mobile within the districts the aliʻi controlled. A Chief’s attendants might consist of as many as 700 to 1000-followers, made of kahuna and political advisors; servants which included craftsmen, guards, stewards; relatives and others. (NPS)

Aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. There was no regular schedule for movement between Royal Centers. In part, periodic moves served to ensure that district chiefs did not remain isolated, or unsupervised long enough to gather support for a revolt. (NPS)

Kamakahonu – At Kailua Bay, this was occupied by Kamehameha I between 1813 and 1819. This was Kamehameha’s compound after unifying the islands under single rule. The first missionaries landed here, just after the death of Kamehameha I.
Hōlualoa – Three major occupation sequences: Keolonāhihi, A.D. 1300; Keakamahana (mother) and Keakealaniwahine (daughter,) A.D. 1600; and Kamehameha I, A.D. 1780. It was split into two complexes when Ali‘i Drive was constructed in the 1800s: makai (seaward and west) designated Keolonāhihi State Historical Park; mauka (inland and east) is referred to as Keakealaniwahine’s Residence.
Kahaluʻu – Complex of Lonoikamakahiki ca. 1640-1660, and the oral histories specifically note its use by Alapa‘inui, Kalani‘ōpu‘u and Kamehameha — successive rulers from mid-1740s. The focus of this center was Kahalu‘u Bay, a sand fringed bay, with a complex of multiple heiau (many recently restored.)
Keauhou – Noted for the largest hōlua slide in Hawai‘i (the volume of stone used in its construction dwarfs that of the largest known temple platforms, making it the largest surviving structure from ancient Hawai‘i.) This is also the birthplace of Kauikeaouli; stillborn, revived and went on to become Kamehameha III (ca. 1814-1854), last son of Kamehameha I to rule Hawai‘i.
Kaʻawaloa – Home of Kalani‘ōpu‘u, ruling chief in power when Captain Cook sailed into Kealakekua Bay. Between Ka‘awaloa and Napo‘opo‘o is Pali Kapu O Keōua, a 600′ pali (cliff). Named for the ali‘i Keōua, who ruled in the mid-1700s, the pali was kapu (off limits) as a sacred burial area.
Kealakekua – Hikiʻau Heiau was dedicated to Lono (god of agriculture and prosperity.) Kamehameha rededicated Hikiau, “the most important heiau in the district of Kona.” This is where Opukahaʻia had trained to be a kahuna after being orphaned in Kamehameha’s wars. Opukahaʻia fled Hawaiʻi, spent nine years in New England and inspired the first missionaries to come to Hawaiʻi (he died before being able to return with the missionaries to Hawaiʻi.) When Captain James Cook landed in Kealakekua, he was received by the Hawaiians and honored as the returning god Lono.
Honaunau – Early in the area’s prehistory, a portion of land on the southwest side of the bay was declared a pu‘uhonua (sanctuary protected by the gods – almost every district in the islands had at least one pu‘uhonua in it.) There kapu breakers, defeated warriors and criminals could find safety when their lives were threatened if they could reach the enclosure before their pursuers caught them. This way of life began disappearing with Cook’s arrival in 1778 and, ultimately, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) abolished the kapu system in 1819.

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

Keauhou_to_Kailua-Aerial

Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-HerbKane

Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-Choris-1816

Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-Landing-Map-Wall-Reg2560 (1913)-Kamakahonu_site_on_left

Holualoa_Bay-Looking_At_Keolohahihi-1890

Holualoa Royal Center

Holualoa_Royal_Center-Kekahuna_Map-Bishop_Museum

Kahaluu-Hapaialii-Keeku-Heiau

Kahaluu-Makolea_Heiau

Kahaluu_Royal_Center-Kekahuna-map

Keauhou-Holua_Slide-(KeauhouResort)

Keauhou-Heeia-Historical_Notes-HenryEPKekahuna-SP_201865

Kealakekua Bay from the village of Kaʻawaloa in the 1820s, from Hiram Bingham I’s book

Kealakekua-John Webber art-1779

Kaawaloa, Kealakekua Bay. A copperplate engraving from a drawing by Lucy or Persis Thurston about 1835

Kaawaloa_(KonaHistoricalSociety)

Kaawaloa-Kalakaua_at_Kealakekua_Bay

Honaunau, engraving by J. Archer after Rev. William Ellis, 1822-1823. Built by Keaweikekahialiʻiokamoku.

Honaunau_Sunset-(HerbKane)

Honaunau-Puuhonua_o_Honaunau-Keokea-Map-1750

March 29, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Kahikolu Church

Kahikolu means three in one, or the trinity.

As is common in many Hawaiian words, this one carries two meaning. The one refers to the traditional Christian connotation of the father, son and holy ghost trinity, which the other relates to the fact that this was the congregation’s third house of worship. (PS)

In February 1824, Chiefs Kapiʻolani, Naihe and Kamakau built the first church in South Kona at Kaʻawaloa, near the site where Captain Cook was killed. They offered this thatched church and parsonage to the Reverend James Ely and his family. (Asa Thurston reportedly gave the dedication sermon for the Kaʻawaloa Church on March 29, 1824.)

“Under the auspices of the governor of the island, and the friendly influence of the present chief of the place, Naihe, and his wife Kapiʻolani, who are steady, intelligent, discreet, and one, if not both, it is to be hoped, pious persons …”

“… a missionary station has since been formed in this village, a school opened, and a house erected for Christian worship; and that the inhabitants of the neighbourhood are instructed in the elements of learning and the principles of religion.” (Ellis)

Rev Ely, the resident pastor lived with his family at Kaʻawaloa until being replaced by Rev. Samuel Ruggles four years later. Due to ill health Ruggles left in June 1833 when Rev. Cochran Forbes from Hilo assumed missionary responsibility.

In 1839, under the direction of Chiefess Kapiʻolani, Forbes moved the mission to the south side of Kealakekua Bay, in an area called Kepulu, just inland from the village now called Napoʻopoʻo.

In 1840 Forbes, oversaw the building of a grand edifice of stone and adobe block, which measured 120 feet x 57 feet. In 1841 the Kealakekua Church was finished, and used until June 1845, when Forbes resigned because of his wife’s ill health. The church had no pastor for the next six years.

Then in 1852, the third church was started by Reverend John D Paris (and completed in 1855.) Paris went on to build eight other churches in the kingdom, making him one of the most prolific builders of his time.

“The first church which I erected in South Kona was the Kahikolu, or Trinity, Church near Kealakekua Bay. This church is on the site of the immense stone and adoby building erected in 1840 under the supervision of Brethern Forbes and Ives.”

“The new Kahikolu Church was built of lava rock (with 35-inch thick walls,) taking the width of the old building for the length of the new one. For the lime, coral was cut from the bottom of the ocean by the Hawaiians. I had a hole dug and built a lime kiln where the coral was burned.”

“The lime thus obtained was of good quality and was used for making mortar as well as for finishing the interior of the building. The heavy timbers were dragged from the forest, and the koa shingles and lumber for pulpit and pews were brought from the koa forest a number of miles up the mountain side.” (Paris; The Friend May 1926) This is the church that still stands today.

Kahikolu Church was the Mother Church for the South Kona area; however, with the passage of time its significance declined as branch churches grew larger and the population of the Kealakekua Bay area dwindled.

The church was abandoned in 1953 following a series of earthquakes. The congregation later reorganized and repaired the church and in August 1984, Kahikolu Church re-opened its doors. (Kahikolu is one of two surviving stone churches on Hawaiʻi.) (NPS)

The corrugated iron roof replaced an earlier koa shingle roof. The interior walls are covered with a coral lime plaster over which a skim coat was applied in 1925. Also in that year James Acia painted stencil designs on the walls at the ceiling and over the windows. (NPS)

A memorial and burial site for Henry ʻOpukahaʻia is located on the grounds of Kahikolu Church. He was born in Kaʻu; as a teenager left the islands on a fur trading ship and eventually settled and lived in New Haven, Connecticut.

He learned to read and write, embraced Christianity and developed a commitment to its ideals and principles, and helped other Native Hawaiians who came from Hawai‘i to seek a Christian education.

He improved his English by writing the story of his life in a book called “Memoirs of Henry Obookiah” (the spelling of his name prior to establishment of the formal Hawaiian alphabet, based on its sound.)

ʻŌpūkahaʻia died suddenly of typhus fever in 1818; he was buried there in Cornwall, Connecticut. ʻOpukahaʻia’s book inspired the first Protestant missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Sandwich Islands.

In instructions from the ABCFM, the Pioneer Company of missionaries were told, “You will never forget ʻOpukahaʻia. You will never forget his fervent love, his affectionate counsels, his many prayers and tears for you, and for his and your nation.”

“You saw him die; saw how the Christian could triumph over death and the grave; saw the radient glory in which he left this world for heaven. You will remember it always, and you will tell it to your kindred and countrymen who are dying without hope.”

A year after his death, the Pioneer Company of missionaries, comprised of both Americans and Native Hawaiians, among them the Reverend Hiram Bingham and Reverend Asa Thurston, was dispatched to Hawai‘i to begin the work that Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia had longed to do.

On August 15, 1993, ʻOpukahaʻia’s remains were returned to Hawai‘i from Cornwall and laid in a vault facing the ocean at Kahikolu Church.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Kahikolu Church

Kahikolu Church-HHF

Kahikolu-Church

Kahikolu-Church-WHT

kahikolu-congregational-dominic-piperata

Kahikolu_Church

Kahikolu Church-HVCB Warrior Marker

Kahikolu Church-sign

Cheifess_Kapiolani

Samuel_Ruggles

Cochran_Forbes

John_Davis_Paris

Opukaha’ia_Cornwall-prior_burial_site

Opukaha’ia_at_Cornwall-prior_burial_site-plaque

Henry_Opukahaia’s_grave_in_Cornwall,_Connecticut-(he_was_later_moved to Kahikolu Church, Kealakekua)

Henry_Opukahaia’s_grave_memorial

Opukaha’ia’s gravesite at Kahikolu Church overlooking Kealakekua Bay

August 12, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

ʻAwa

“ʻAwa was the food of the gods, just as poi was to the Hawaiians. No religious ceremony was complete without the ʻawa.” (Pukui, Maly)

E hanai ʻawa a ikaika ka makani.
Feed with ʻawa so that the spirit may gain strength.
(One offers ʻawa and prayers to the dead so that their spirit may grow strong and be a source of help to the family.)

Outside of water and drinking coconut, no other drink was known. ʻAwa was “a sacred drink of importance in many phases of Hawaiian life. … Its effect is to relax mind and body and it was used by farmer and fisherman for this purpose. Medicinal Kahunas (learned men) had many uses for it. It was essential on occasions of hospitality and feasting, and as a drink of pleasure for the chiefs.” (Titcomb)

ʻAwa is a canoe crop, one of the plants brought by the earliest Polynesian voyagers arriving in Hawaiʻi. It is a member of the pepper family. In other parts of the Pacific it is known as Kava or Kava Kava. It is a shrub growing about four to eight feet high.

There are several native traditions regarding the origin of ʻawa in Hawaiʻi. Perhaps the most significant narratives describe ʻawa as having been brought to Hawaiʻi from Kahiki (the ancestral homelands) by the akua (gods) Kāne and Kanaloa.

These two akua Kāne, a Hawaiian god and ancestor of the chiefs and commoners, a god of sunlight, fresh water, verdant growth, and forests; and Kanaloa, a god of the ocean, marine life, healing, and a companion of Kāne – planted ʻawa at various localities throughout the islands. In places where no water could be found with which to prepare the ʻawa, Kāne even caused water to appear, thus forming many springs and streams in the islands. (Maly)

In the discovery of Hawaiʻi by Hawaii-loa, ʻawa is noted in the find, “One time when they (Hawaii-Loa and his company) had thus been long out on the ocean, Makaliʻi, the principal navigator, said to Hawaii-Loa: ‘Let us steer the vessel in the direction of Iao, the Eastern Star, the discoverer of land … There is land to the eastward, and here is a red star … to guide us … So they steered straight onward and arrived at the easternmost island … They went ashore and found the country fertile and pleasant, filled withʻ awa, coconut trees … and Hawaii-Loa, the chief, called that land after his own name … (Fornander)

It is valued as an intoxicating drink and as a medicine. ʻAwa is also a sedative, used as a sacred plant for prayer, as well as appreciated for pleasure, especially in the south Pacific islands. It assists in opening communication channels with others and with the elements.

The drink is made from the root, which is woody, slightly spongy, toughish and roughly gnarled. The root was scraped and washed, then reduced to small pieces. It was then ready to chew (mama) and mix with water to make a cold water infusion. In later days, chewing was replaced by grinding or pounding. (Titcomb)

It is prepared by pulverizing the root in a mortar; if it is the dry article of commerce it is kept sufficiently moist to prevent its scattering and forming dust. When well pulverized, water is mixed with the mash to bring it to a proper dilution, when it is strained. (Emerson)

The favorite ʻawa strainer of the Hawaiians is made of the stem of the ahu-awa plant. The stem is split up and the fiber separated from the pulp by being combed between two sticks. It is then taken up from the bowl and the dripping liquor wrung out of it. The bits of ʻawa root which were caught in it are shaken out and it is again used as a strainer, this time being formed into a kind of funnel, something like a bird’s nest, through which the awa drink is poured into the separate cups of those who are to partake. (Emerson)

An 1899 article on Molokaʻi Archaeology in the Evening Bulletin notes, “At Pakaikai is found a large stone lying by the bank of the stream, in which are dug four holes each eight inches in diameter and six inches deep. They are finely polished inside. The holes dug in this large stone are claimed to have been used as awa cups (apu awa) for Kamehameha-ai-luau (a descendant of Kamehameha the Great.)”

“They were chiseled with stone implements by the ancients during the stone age of Hawaiʻi nei, a task which no native of the present generation will dare undertake. Nearby is another hole dug in another rock and much larger and deeper than the four. This last one is said to be the kānoa ʻawa (or kā ʻawa, large bowl in which ʻawa is mixed and strained,) or place where awa is cleaned and purified, fit to drink.”

The beverage is not attractive to the eye. If dried ʻawa is used, the liquid is greyish, if green ʻawa is used it is greenish. The liquid is never clear in spite of straining. In Hawaiʻi it was a fairly thick liquid, this being preferred to “the dishwater drunk in the south” according to an old saying remembered by Kinney. Ellis termed it “like thick calcareous water.” (Titcomb)

The ʻawa-drinking house was like a chief’s house, there must be no gaiety, no talking, no jollity, lest one vomit. The candlenut torch was the only thing one desired – one or two torches would produce warmth – then there was a sound in the ear like the chirping of land shells and of fiddles that teased the ear pleasantly, or like the roaring of the strong wind that changed to stillness. Such was the custom of the planter; he would sleep till morning and the pains and soreness would be gone. (Kamakau, Titcomb)

Their general drink is water or the milk of the coconut, but all the chiefs use the ʻawa, and some of them to excess, as was very evident from their skins, which were rough and parched as can well be conceived, and their eyes red and inflamed. (Kotzebue, Titcomb)

There is a deep cultural-historical relationship between the Hawaiians and ʻawa. The poʻe kahiko (ancient people) identified many varieties, cultivation techniques, values and uses of the ʻawa. (Maly)

I have had ʻawa once, it was part of an ʻawa ceremony we participated in to commemorate the signing of the Kaʻawaloa Curator Agreement between DLNR and the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. (It was a moving experience; I was proud and honored to be there. The descendant families, members of the Order and others sat on one side; I sat by myself (representing the State) on the other side.)

The image shows the Kaʻawaloa ʻawa ceremony. In addition, I have added related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+