Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Aikapu

Fornander writes that prior to the period of Pā‘ao “… the kapus (forbidden actions) were few and the ceremonials easy; that human sacrifices were not practiced, and cannibalism unknown; and that government was more of a patriarchal than of a regal nature.”

Pā‘ao is said to have been a priest, as well as a chief and navigator, who arrived in the island of Hawai‘i as early as in the twelfth or thirteenth century (many say he was from Tahiti.)

Pā‘ao is reported to have introduced (or, at least expanded upon) 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.

One of the most fundamental of this type of prohibition forbade men and women from eating together and also prohibited women from eating certain foods – ʻaikapu (to eat according to the restrictions of the kapu.)

The ʻaikapu is a belief in which males and females are separated in the act of eating; males being laʻa or ‘sacred,’ and females haumia or ‘defiling’ (by virtue of menstruation.)

Since, in this context, eating is for men a sacrifice to the male akua (god) Lono, it must be done apart from anything defiling, especially women. Thus, men prepared the food in separate ovens, one for the men and another for the women, and built separate eating houses for each.

“The kahuna suggested that the new ʻaikapu religion should also require that four nights of each lunar month be set aside for special worship of the four major male akua, Ku, Lono, Kane and Kanaloa. On these nights it was kapu for men to sleep with their wahine. Moreover, they should be at the heiau (temple) services on these nights.” (Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation and Lilikalā Kame‘eleihiwa)

“Under ʻaikapu, certain foods, because of their male symbolism, also are forbidden to women, including pig, coconuts, bananas, and some red fish.”(Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation and Lilikalā Kame‘eleihiwa)

“The custom of the tabu upon free eating was kept up because in old days it was believed that the ruler who did not proclaim the tabu had not long to rule. If he attempted to continue the practice of free eating he was quickly disinherited.”

“It was regarded as an impious act practiced by those alone who did not believe in a god. Such people were looked upon as lower than slaves. The chief who kept up the ancient tabu was known as a worshiper of the god, one who would live a long life protected by Ku and Lono.”

“He would be like a ward of Kane and Kanaloa, sheltered within the tabu. The tabu eating was a fixed law for chiefs and commoners, not because they would die by eating tabu things, but in order to keep a distinction between things permissible to all people and those dedicated to the gods.”

“The tabu of the chief and the eating tabu were different in character. The eating tabu belonged to the tabus of the gods; it was forbidden by the god and held sacred by all. It was this tabu that gave the chiefs their high station.” (Kamakau)

If a woman was clearly detected in the act of eating any of these things, as well as a number of other articles that were tabu, which I have not enumerated, she was put to death. (Malo)

Certain places were set apart for the husband’s sole and exclusive use; such were the sanctuary in which he worshipped and the eating-house in which he took his food.

The wife might not enter these places while her husband was worshipping or while he was eating; nor might she enter the sanctuary or eating-house of another man; and if she did so she must suffer the penalty of death, if her action was discovered. (Malo)

Early visitors to the Islands also wrote of times that the ʻaikapu was broken (but not with consent – it was broken as a practice of some women.)

Ellis, on Captain Cook’s voyage noted, “The women were not averse to eating with us, though the men were present, and would frequently indulge themselves with pork, plantains and coco nuts, when secure from being seen by them.” (Ellis’s Authentic Narrative, 1788)

Likewise Samwell (also on Cook’s voyage) noted, “While they (women) were on board the ships with us they would never touch any food or ripe plantains except privately & by stealth, but then they would eat very hearty of both & seemed very fond of them”. (Samwell; Sahlins)

But there were times ʻaikapu prohibitions were not invoked and women were free to eat with men, as well as enjoy the forbidden food – ʻainoa (to eat freely, without regarding the kapu.)

“In old days the period of mourning at the death of a ruling chief who had been greatly beloved was a time of license. The women were allowed to enter the heiau, to eat bananas, coconuts and pork, and to climb over the sacred places.” (Kamakau)

“Free eating followed the death of the ruling chief; after the period of mourning was over the new ruler placed the land under a new tabu following old lines. (Kamakau)

Following the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, Liholiho assented and became ruling chief with the title Kamehameha II and Kaʻahumanu, co-ruler with the title kuhina nui.

Kaʻahumanu, made a plea for religious tolerance, saying: “If you wish to continue to observe (Kamehameha’s) laws, it is well and we will not molest you. But as for me and my people we intend to be free from the tabus.”

“We intend that the husband’s food and the wife’s food shall be cooked in the same oven and that they shall be permitted to eat out of the same calabash. We intend to eat pork and bananas and coconuts. If you think differently you are at liberty to do so; but for me and my people we are resolved to be free. Let us henceforth disregard tabu.”

Keōpūolani, another of Kamehameha I’s wives, was the highest ranking chief of the ruling family in the kingdom during her lifetime. She was a niʻaupiʻo chief, and looked upon as divine; her kapu, equal to those of the gods. (Mookini) Giving up the ʻaikapu (and with it the kapu system) meant her traditional power and rank would be lost.

Never-the-less, symbolically to her son, Liholiho, the new King of the Islands, she put her hand to her mouth as a sign for free eating. Then she ate with Kauikeaouli, and it was through her influence that the eating tabu was freed. Liholiho permitted this, but refrained from any violation of the kapu himself. (Kuykendall)

Keōpūolani ate coconuts which were tabu to women and took food with the men, saying, “He who guarded the god is dead, and it is right that we should eat together freely.” (Kamakau)

The ʻainoa following Kamehameha’s death continued and the ʻaikapu was not put into place – effectively ending the centuries-old kapu system.

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 American Protestant missionaries did not arrive in the Islands until the next year (April 4, 1820.) The Hawaiians ended their centuries’ long social/political system.

Sybil Bingham’s Journal entry for March 30, 1820, at the first landing of the Pioneer Company of missionaries, clearly notes the kapu was overturned and the heiau destroyed before the American Protestant missionaries arrived.

“March 30th, 1820. – Memorable day – a day which brings us in full view of that dark pagan land so long the object of our most interested thoughts. Between twelve and one this morning, the word was from Thomas who was up watching, ‘land appears’. When the watch at four was called, Honoree (Honoli‘i) came down saying, ‘Owhyhee sight!’”

“There was but little sleep. When the day afforded more light than the moon we were all out, and judge you, if possible, what sensation filled our breasts as we fixed our eyes upon the lofty mountains of Owhyhee!”

“O! it would be in vain to paint them. I attempt it not. A fair wind carried us by different parts of the island near enough to discern its verdure, here and there a cataract rushing down the bold precipice—some huts, natives and smoke.”

“I would I could put my feelings, for a little season, into your bosoms. No boats coming off as usual, Capt. B— thought it advisable to send ashore to inquire into the state of things, and where he might find the king.”

“Our good Thomas and Honoree, with Mr. Hunnewell and a few hands, set off. Our hearts beat high, and each countenance spoke the deep interest felt as we crowded around our messengers at their return.”

“With almost breathless impatience to make the communication, they leap on board and say, Tamaahmaah is dead!”

“The government is settled in the hands of his son Keehoreeho-Krimokoo is principal chief—the taboo system is no more–men and women eat together!—the idol gods are burned !!”

“How did we listen! What could we say? The Lord has gone before us and we wait to see what He has for us to do.”

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Life in the Islands (1823)

Reverend Charles Samuel Stewart and his wife Harriet Bradford (Tiffany) Stewart were in the 2nd Company of missionaries that arrived at Honolulu April 27, 1823.

On May 20 1823, Stewart wrote the following, noting some of his observations about life of the maka‘āinana (common people, as he called them) …

“[The] class of the [common people] constitutes at least one hundred and forty-nine thousand of the one hundred and fifty thousand supposed at present to be the population of the group.”

“In external appearance, and manners and habits of life, the kanakas, or common natives, present a strong contrast to the chiefs; and are indeed a wretched people, subject not only to a total blindness of mind and heart, but also to the most abject poverty. …”

“The greatest wealth they can boast consists of a mat on which to sleep, a few folds of kapa to cover them, one calabash for water and another for poe, a rude implement or two for the cultivation of the ground, and the instruments used in their simple manufactures.”

“Kalo, potatoes and salt, with occasionally a fish, constitute their general food, while all else that they grow, or take, and every result of their labor, goes to meet the series of taxes levied by the king and his governors, and their own respective chiefs.”

“The spontaneous production of the islands is very limited; and labor at all times of the year is necessary to the support of life. …”

Kalo “occupies most of the cultivated ground, especially such as is capable of being overflown by water; and the planting, irrigation, and of it, forms the most laborious part of the native farming.”

“The islanders have arrived at great skill in the cultivation of this plant and perhaps their mode of growing it … Next to kalo, the sweet potato is a principal article of cultivation. The yam also is grown; but chiefly at the leeward islands, Kauai and Nihau….”

“ In the cultivation of the ground, the making and care of artificial fish-ponds, a part of the possession of every chief, may be included. These are constructed much in the manner of the kalo plantations; and after the water is let into them, are filled with young fish from the sea, principally the fry of the grey mullet, a fish of which the chiefs are particularly fond. …”

“The building of houses, construction of canoes, making of fishing nets, wooden dishes and bowls, &c. are labors assigned to the men; while the manufacture of cloth in all its processes, and the platting of mats, &c. fall to the department of the women. …”

“The thickness of the different kinds of cloth is various. I have seen females with mantles of it, as thin and transparent as Italian crape; which, at a short distance, it greatly resembled. That generally used for malos and paus, is more compact, like paper.”

“The kiheis of the men and covers for sleeping, are still firmer and thicker, and are composed of several sheets of the former, spread with a gelatinous wash made from the gum of a tree, and then beaten together.”

“There is a kind still superior in text ore , and beauty, worn by the chiefs both for malos and paus; it is made of the best bark, and is as thick as morocco, to which, stamped with the brightest colors, and glazed with a composition having the effect of varnish, it bears a striking resemblance.”

“The kapa moe, or cloth for sleeping, is the largest in size; each sheet, ten of which, fastened together at one end, form a bed-cover, being as large as an ordinary counterpane. …”

“The manufacture, by the females, next in importance to the making of kapa, is that of mats, which form the seats of the islanders in the day and their beds at night.”

“The lounges and beds of the chiefs are generally eight or ten feet square, and consist of many thicknesses of these, from a dozen to thirty and forty, and even a greater number.”

“The materials of which they are made are of two kinds; one, a species of rush, and the other, the leaves of the hala …. Those of the last article are most valuable, as they are much the most durable, and admit of frequent washing, which the rush mats do not.”

“Both kinds are woven or braided by hand, without the aid of frame or instrument; and though often twenty feet square, and even larger, are finished with great evenness of texture and regularity of shape. …”

“Besides being engaged in these manufactures of cloth and mats, the females, especially those attached to the households of the chiefs, spend much time in making articles of ornament; in the braiding of human hair for neck· laces; trimming and arranging feathers for wreaths and kahiles; polishing tortoise shell and the ivory of whale’s teeth, for finger rings, and the handles of feathered staffs, &c. …”

“One of the strongest inducements to labor – that of a right of property – is entirely unknown. Were not this the case, the profit which every farmer might derive from the visit of ships for refreshments, would soon cause the face of the country to assume a new aspect.”

“But this means of emolument is a monopoly of the king and chiefs; and only proves a new source of oppression to the people, by increasing their toil, without adding to their possessions.”

“Two-thirds of the proceeds of anything a native brings to the market, unless by stealth, must be given to his chief; and, not unfrequently, the whole is unhesitatingly taken from him. …”

“Nor is there greater inducement to industry, from motives of immediate personal enjoyment. Any increase of stock, or growth of a plantation, beyond that necessary to meet the usual taxes, is liable to be swept off at any hour; and that, perhaps, without any direct authority from king or chief, but at the caprice of some one in their service. …”

“The poverty of many of the people is such, that they seldom secure a taste of animal food, and live almost exclusively on kalo and salt.  A poor man of this description, by some means obtained the possession of a pig, when too small to make a meal for his family.”

“He secreted it at a distance from his house, and fed it till it had grown to a size sufficient to afford the desired repast. It was then killed, and put into an oven, with the same precaution of secrecy …”

“… but when almost prepared for appetites whetted by long anticipation to an exquisite keenness, a caterer of the royal household unhappily came near, and, attracted to the spot by the savory fumes of the baking pile, deliberately took a seat till the animal was cooked, and then bore off the promised banquet without ceremony or apology!”

“Such is the civil condition of the mass of the nation.”

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nine Traditions That Emphasized Chiefly Rank

In 1920, Martha Beckwith became the first person to hold a chair in Folklore at any college or university in the country. The Folklore Foundation, established at Vassar, was an unprecedented institution and became a center of research in the almost entirely new field of folk culture.  (Vassar)

“Position in old Hawaiʻi, both social and political, depended in the first instance upon rank, and rank upon blood descent-hence the importance of genealogy as proof of high ancestry.”

“Grades of rank were distinguished and divine honors paid to those chiefs alone who could show such an accumulation of inherited sacredness as to class with the gods among men. Since a child inherited from both parents, he might claim higher rank than either one.”  (Beckwith)

There were nine traditions that emphasized chiefly rank:

  1. a family genealogy tracing back to the gods through one of the two sons of Ki‘i, Ulu and Nanaʻulu, and by as many branches (lala) as family relationship could be stretched to cover
  2. a name chant, composed at birth or given in afterlife, glorifying the family history not only of persons concerned but also of places made sacred by particular events or association
  3. signs in the heavens by which ʻaumakua of the day recognized their offspring on earth
  4. a special place set aside as sacred to the birth of high-ranking chiefs (i.e. Kūkaniloko)
  5. the sacred cord (aha) stretched at the entrance of a chief’s dwelling, under which all of lower rank must pass but which fell “of itself” before the approach of anyone of equal or higher position
  6. wealth, especially in lands, labor and specialized objects such as foods, ornaments, colors belonging to ranking chiefs alone
  7. the power of the kapu, which gave the ranking chief immense personal privilege, although the ruling chief might have actually more power over lands and wealth (before certain captive chiefesses of Maui of incredible sanctity, according to Kamakau, Kamehameha himself was of lower rank)
  8. the right to officiate in the heiau as both chief and priest 
  9. at death, the final deification of the bones and their laying away in a sacred and secret place difficult of access (one of the most important such place in ancient times being the ʻĪao valley on the island of Maui)

Rank depended primarily upon blood; but of great importance was the conduct of life by which one could, by carelessness in preserving the kapu and in making proper marriages, lose caste and prerogatives under the severe discipline of the Aha-ali‘i (Council of Chiefs,) or could, through a royal marriage, raise the rank of one’s descendants upon the family line.

The image, ‘Aha Ula’ by Brook Parker, represents the chiefly rank.  Information here is primarily from Beckwith, Mookini and Yardley.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kekuaokalani and the Kapu

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

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.

Certain objects were also kapu, and to be avoided, either because they were sacred or because they were defiling.  Seasons and places could also be declared kapu.

Certain religious kapu were permanent and unchangeable, relating to customary rites, observances, ceremonies, and methods of worship, and to the maintenance of the gods and their priests.

The social order of old Hawaiʻi was defined by these very strict societal rules, do’s and don’ts.

Prior to his death on May 8, 1819, Kamehameha decreed that that his son, Liholiho, would succeed him in power; he also decreed that his nephew, Kekuaokalani, have control of the war god Kūkaʻilimoku.

(Kamehameha had experienced a similar transfer of powers; following Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s death in 1782, the kingship was inherited by his son Kīwalaʻō; Kamehameha (Kīwalaʻō’s cousin) was given guardianship of the Hawaiian god of war, Kūkaʻilimoku.)

Following the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system.   “An extraordinary event marked the period of Liholiho’s rule, in the breaking down of the ancient tabus, the doing away with the power of the kahunas to declare tabus and to offer sacrifices, and the abolition of the tabu which forbade eating with women (ʻAi Noa, or free eating.)”  (Kamakau)

“The custom of the tabu upon free eating was kept up because in old days it was believed that the ruler who did not proclaim the tabu had not long to rule….The tabu eating was a fixed law for chiefs and commoners, not because they would die by eating tabu things, but in order to keep a distinction between things permissible to all people and those dedicated to the gods”. (Kamakau)

Kekuaokalani, Liholiho’s cousin, opposed the abolition of the kapu system and assumed the responsibility of leading those who opposed its abolition. These included priests, some courtiers, and the traditional territorial chiefs of the middle rank.
 
Kekuaokalani demanded that Liholiho withdraw his edict on abolition of the kapu system.  (If the kapu fell, the war god would lose its potency.)  (Daws)

Kamehameha II refused.  After attempts to settle peacefully, “Friendly means have failed; it is for you to act now,” and Keōpūolani then ordered Kalanimōku to prepare for war on Kekuaokalani. Arms and ammunition were given out that evening to everyone who was trained in warfare, and feather capes and helmets distributed.  (Kamakau)

The two powerful cousins engaged at the final Hawaiian battle of Kuamoʻo.

In December 1819, just seven months after the death of Kamehameha I, the allies of his two opposing heirs met in battle on the jagged lava fields south of Keauhou Bay.  Liholiho had more men, more weapons and more wealth to ensure his victory. He sent his prime minister, Kalanimōku, to defeat his stubborn cousin.

Kekuaokalani marched up the Kona Coast from Kaʻawaloa and met his enemies at Lekeleke, just south of Keauhou.  The first encounter went in favor of Kekuaokalani. At Lekeleke, the king’s army suffered a temporary defeat.

Regrouping his warriors, Kalanimōku fought back and trapped the rebels farther south along the shore in the ahupuaʻa of Kuamoʻo.    (Kona Historical Society)

Kekuaokalani showed conspicuous courage during the entire battle. He kept on advancing and even when shot in the leg he fought on bravely until afternoon, when he was surrounded and shot in the chest and died facing his enemies.  (Kamakau)

His wife Manono fought and died at his side.

Liholiho ordered the bodies of his men to be buried beneath the terraced graves at Lekeleke; Kekuaokalani’s dead warriors were buried there, as well, and Liholiho pardoned all surviving rebels. It was estimated that hundreds of people were killed in this battle, the last fought in Kona.

The burial ground of the fallen warriors of the battle of Kuamoʻo is at Lekeleke at the southern terminus of the present day Aliʻi Drive.

The battle of Kuamoʻo effectively crushed any hope of reviving traditional Hawaiian religion and its accompanying kapu system.  This changed the course of their civilization and ended the kapu system (and the ancient organized religion,) and made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.

Liholiho and the others did not know that at the time that the kapu was broken and battle was waged, the first of the Protestant missionaries were on the ocean on their way to the Islands.

 On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus; after 164-days at sea, on April 4, 1820, the Thaddeus arrived and anchored at Kailua-Kona.

These included two Ordained Preachers, Hiram Bingham and his wife Sybil and Asa Thurston and his wife Lucy; two Teachers, Mr. Samuel Whitney and his wife Mercy and Samuel Ruggles and his wife Mary; a Doctor, Thomas Holman and his wife Lucia; a Printer, Elisha Loomis and his wife Maria; and a Farmer, Daniel Chamberlain, his wife and five children.

With the missionaries were four Hawaiian students from the Foreign Mission School, Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoliʻi and Prince Humehume (son of Kauaʻi’s King Kaumuali‘i.)

Within five years of the missionaries’ arrival, 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.  The process culminated in Hawaiian King Kamehameha III’s adoption of Christianity and a Biblically-based constitution in 1840.  (Schulz)

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863) (the “Missionary Period”,) about 184-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kapu – The Hawaiian Religious, Political and Social Structure

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. 
 
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.
 
Certain objects were also kapu, and to be avoided, either because they were sacred or because they were defiling.  Seasons and places could also be declared kapu.
 
Certain religious kapu were permanent and unchangeable, relating to customary rites, observances, ceremonies and methods of worship, and to the maintenance of the gods and their priests.
 
They were familiar and understood by all, having been practiced from childhood.  Civil kapu were more capricious, erratic and often temporary, depending on the whims of the chiefs and priests.
 
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.)
 
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 pu‘uhonua (place of refuge) and be cleansed, as well as cleared by a kahuna (priest).
 
The pu‘uhonua was especially important in times of war as a refuge for women and children, as well as warriors from the defeated side.
 
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 civilization 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.
 
The end of the kapu system by Liholiho (Kamehameha II) happened before the arrival of the missionaries; it made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.