Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

He Aupuni Palapala Ko‘u

E nā ali‘i a me nā maka‘āinana,
he aupuni palapala ko‘u,
a ‘o ke kanaka pono a na‘auao,
‘o ia ko‘u kanaka.

To all ali‘i and commoners alike,
mine is a literate country,
and the just and intelligent man
is my countryman.
(Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III;
Nūpepa Kū‘oko‘a (May 23, 1868;) Puette)

Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs. After western contact and attempts to write about Hawai‘i, early writers tried to spell words based on the sound of the words they heard. People heard words differently, so it was not uncommon for words to be spelled differently, depending on the writer.

The planning for the formal written Hawaiian language in the early part of the nineteenth century was started by the American Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawaii, starting in 1820. A committee of some of these missionaries (Hiram Bingham, CS Stewart and Levi Chamberlain) worked on the development of the Hawaiian alphabet.

Initially, the missionaries worked out a Hawaiian alphabet of 17-English letters. “On the 7th of January, 1822, a year and eight months from the time of our receiving the governmental permission to enter the field and teach the people …”

“… we commenced printing the language in order to give them letters, libraries, and the living oracles in their own tongue, that the nation might read and understand the wonderful works of God.”

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

Early on, the Chiefs saw the opportunity and in collaboration with the missionaries, first the chiefs, then the makaʻāinana were taught the alphabet, and how to read and write.

Sybil Moseley Bingham, wife of Hiram Bingham, leader of the Pioneer Company of missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM,) is said to have started the first school in Hawaiʻi in May 1820. (“… Sybil Moseley Bingham, opened the first school in this city in May, 1820, surely an historic date.” (Hiram Bingham II)

Sybil’s June 20, 1820 journal entry notes, “After neglect of my journal for more than two months in a most interesting part of our history too … Very soon I gathered up 12 or 15 little native girls to come once a day to the house so that as early as possible the business of instruction might be commenced. That was an interesting day to me to lay the foundation of the first school ever assembled in this dark land.”

June 21st. “The most which has interested me to-day has been my little school. To see the little things so ready to learn, and so busy with their needles, is very pleasant. I long to know more of their language, that I might be pouring into their tender minds more instruction than ab.”

Learning to read and write had already been on Liholiho’s mind, well before he travelled to England. In 1820, missionary Lucy Thurston noted in her Journal, Liholiho’s desire to learn.

“The king (Liholiho, Kamehameha II) brought two young men to Mr. Thurston, and said: ‘Teach these, my favorites, (John Papa) Ii and (James) Kahuhu. It will be the same as teaching me. Through them I shall find out what learning is.’”

Betsey Stockton, a former slave and then missionary with the American mission, was on the 2nd Company of missionaries and was sent to Maui. “Mr. Richards and myself have an island with 20,000 inhabitants committed to our spiritual care – a solemn – a most responsible charge!” (Stewart)

“It was there, as (Betsey said,) that she opened a school for the common people which was certainly the first of the kind in Maui and probably the first in all Hawai‘i; for at the beginning the missionaries were chiefly engaged in the instructions of the chiefs and their families.” (Maui News, May 5, 1906)

Stockton has asked the mission to allow her “to create a school for the makaʻāinana (common people.) Stockton learned the Hawaiian Language and established a school in Maui where she taught English, Latin, History and Algebra. (Kealoha)

“It shows that a sincere desire to accomplish a good purpose need not be thwarted by other necessary engagements, however humble or exacting.” (Maui News, May 5, 1906)

Britain’s King George encouraged Hawaiians to read and write, and noted that the American preachers/teachers could help them. “If you wish to have me for your friend, you and your people must all read and write. If you do not attend to instruction, I shall not be your friend.” (King George of England to Boki, 1824)

Boki asked him whether preachers are good men, and the King said, “Yes, and they are men to make others good. I always have some of them by me; for chiefs are not wise like them.”

“We in England were once like the people in your islands; but this kind of teachers came and taught our fathers, and now you see what we are.”

“You and your people must take good heed to the missionaries; for they were sent to enlighten you and do you good. They came not for secular purposes, but by a divine command, to teach you the word of God. The people would therefore all do well to attend to instruction, and to forsake stealing, drunkenness, war, and every thing evil, and to live in peace.” (ABCFM Annual Report, 1826)

On June 6, 1825, Kauikeaouli was proclaimed king of Hawaiʻi. To the people he said, “‘Where are you, chiefs, guardians, commoners? I greet you. Hear what I say! My kingdom I give to God. The righteous chief shall be my chief, the children of the commoners who do you right shall be my people, my kingdom shall be one of letters.’ Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku encouraged this attitude of the king and declared to the people their trust in God.” (Ka Nupepa Kuʻokoʻa, February 22, 1868; Kamakau)

On August 23, 1836, 15-Chiefs (Kamehameha III, Nahiʻenaʻena, Hoapili, Na Malia Hoapili, Kuakini, Kīnaʻu, Kekāuluohi, Paki, Liliha, ʻAikanaka, Leleiōhoku, Kekūanāoʻa, Kanaʻina, Kekauōnohi and Keliʻiahonui) sent a letter to the American missionaries, asking that more American teachers be sent to the Islands.

“We hereby take the liberty to express our views as to what is necessary for the prosperity of these Sandwich Islands. Will you please send to us additional teachers to those you have already sent, of such character as you employ in your own country in America?”

“Should you send the above mentioned teachers, we promise to protect them, and afford them all the facilities for carrying on their work, which are in our power.”

Shortly after, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) sent the largest company of missionaries to the Islands, that included a large number of teachers. The Eighth Company left Boston December 14, 1836 and arrived at Honolulu, April 9, 1837 on the Mary Frasier from Boston.

The missionaries were asked by the King to teach and care for the next generation of the highest ranking chiefs’ children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom.

“We ask Mr. Cooke to be teacher for our royal children. He is the teacher of our royal children and Dr. Judd is the one to take care of the royal children because we two hold Dr. Judd as necessary for the children and also in certain difficulties between us and you all.” (signed by Kamehameha III, Hoapili Wahine and Kekāuluohi)

This resulted in the formation of O‘ahu’s first school, the Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School.) Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

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

The proliferation of schoolhouses was augmented by the missionaries printing of 140,000-copies of the pī¬ʻāpā (elementary Hawaiian spelling book) by 1829 and the staffing of the schools with 1,000-plus Hawaiian teachers. (Laimana)

Through the collaboration between the Hawaiian Chiefs and the American missionaries, by 1832, the literacy rate of Hawaiians (at the time was 78 percent) had surpassed that of Americans on the continent. The literacy rate of the adult Hawaiian population skyrocketed from near zero in 1820 to a conservative estimate of 91 percent – and perhaps as high as 95 percent – by 1834. (Laimana)

From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown. By way of comparison, it is significant that overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not risen much above 50 percent. (Laimana)

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Hawaiian Alphabet
Hawaiian Alphabet

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘And a Little Child Shall Lead Them’

Kalanimōkū was a trusted and loyal advisor to Kamehameha I, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III.)

Kalanimōkū was born at Ka‘uiki, Hāna, Maui, around 1768. His father was Kekuamanohā and his mother was Kamakahukilani. Through his father, he was a grandson of Kekaulike, the King Maui. He was a cousin of Kaʻahumanu, Kamehameha’s wife.

He had great natural abilities in both governmental and business affairs. He was well liked and respected by foreigners, who learned from experience to rely on his word.

Captain George Vancouver described Kalanimōkū as someone possessing “vivacity, and sensibility of countenance, modest behavior, evenness of temper, quick conception.”

Kalanimōkū was one of several chiefs who treated Kamehameha as his illness worsened, and was present when Kamehameha died (May 8, 1819.).

Following the wishes of Kamehameha’s sacred wife, Keōpūolani, Kalanimōkū took charge of matters, deciding who might remain with the body, and dispatching messengers to spread the news to all islands.

For his strong leadership and strength in a time of great turmoil, Keōpūolani declared Kalanimōkū the “iwikuamo‘o” (literally the spine or backbone,) defined as “a near and trusted relative of a chief who attended to his personal needs and possessions and executed private orders.”

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) There were seven American couples sent by the ABCFM to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity in this first company.

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.

When the missionaries first anchored at Kawaihae, it was Kalanimōku who first met the missionaries aboard the Thaddeus and sailed with them from Kawaihae to Kailua-Kona to confer with the king – he was instrumental in the decision of the king to permit the missionaries to land.

“In dress and manners he appeared with the dignity of a man of culture. He was first introduced to the gentlemen, with whom he shook hands in the most cordial manner.”

“He then turned to the ladies, to whom, while yet at a distance, he respectfully bowed, then came near, and being introduced, presented to each his hand. The effects of that first warm appreciating clasp, I feel even now.” (Lucy Thurston)

Reportedly, Kalanimōkū developed an immediate and sincere liking for the New England missionaries. Throughout his life, they turned to him for assistance and their requests invariably met with positive results.

“We honored the king, but we loved the cultivated manhood of Kalanimōku … Kalanimōku was prime minister of the king, and the most powerful executive man in the nation:

“Now the great warrior was among us, learning the English alphabet with the docility of a child.” (Lucy Thurston)

“Kalanimōku embraced Christianity soon, for he became a pupil of little Daniel Chamberlain Jr, the seven-year-old son of missionary Daniel Chamberlain.” (Taylor)

“He often turned to it, and as often his favorite teacher, Daniel Chamberlain (Jr) … ‘And a little child shall lead them.’ (a line Lucy takes for Isaiah 11:6)” (Thurston)

August 5, 1822, “Monday, Krimokoo (Kalanimōku) declared his intention of having all about him furnished with books. Tuesday Kohoomanoo (Ka‘ahumanu) took hold of the alphabet – learned six letters.” (Sybil Bingham)

“She had all along so entirely rejected the idea of learning herself, that I could scarcely believe the reality of my enrollment while leaning upon her pillow and asking her the name of this and the other letter.

At a meeting of the chiefs and school teachers, Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku declared their determination to “adhere to the instructions of the missionaries, to attend to learning, observe the Sabbath, Worship God, and obey his law, and have all their people instructed.”

Following the death of Liholiho, “The important intelligence received at Honolulu (1825,) Kalanimōku communicated by letter to Kaahumanu, who, with other chiefs, was then at Manoa, a retired and picturesque valley between the mountains, in the rear of Waikiki, and about five miles north-east of Honolulu.”

“At the close of that day, I attended evening prayers with the young prince, and also with Kalanimōku; the latter I found pleasantly and diligently teaching a number of chiefs, who sat around his table, some passages of Scripture which we had furnished him in manuscript.” (Hiram Bingham)

Kalanimōkū died at Kamakahonu (the former home of Kamehameha I) in Kailua Kona, Hawai‘i Island on February 7, 1827. He had only one son, William Pitt Leleiōhoku I, who married Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani.

The arrival of the first company of American missionaries in Hawai¬ʻi in 1820 marked the beginning of Hawaiʻi’s phenomenal rise to literacy. The missionaries established schools associated with their missions across the Islands.

The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing.

By 1831, in just eleven years from the first arrival of the missionaries, Hawaiians had built 1,103 schoolhouses. This covered every district throughout the eight major islands and serviced an estimated 52,882 students. (Laimana)

The proliferation of schoolhouses was augmented by the printing of 140,000 copies of the pī¬ʻāpā (elementary Hawaiian spelling book) by 1829 and the staffing of the schools with 1,000-plus Hawaiian teachers. (Laimana)

The 1840 educational law mandated compulsory attendance for children ages four to fourteen. Any village that had fifteen or more school-age children was required to provide a school for their students.

By 1832, the literacy rate of Hawaiians (at the time it was 78 percent) had surpassed that of Americans on the continent. The literacy rate of the adult Hawaiian population skyrocketed from near zero in 1820 to a conservative estimate of 91 percent – and perhaps as high as 95 percent – by 1834. (Laimana)

From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown. By way of comparison, it is significant that overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not risen much above 50 percent. (Laimana)

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William-Pitt-Kalanimoku-c.-1768-E2-80-931827-was-a-military-and-civil-leader-of-the-Kingdom-of-Hawaii-Pellion

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“This does not look like me”

“In the year of our Lord, 1809, some Hawaiian youths went to America. The captain of their ship took them to New Haven, Conn., to be educated; and afterwards, in 1816, a school was established in Cornwall, Conn., for the education of youths from heathen lands.”

“There, among Indians, Tahitians, and scholars from other places, were some Hawaiian boys (Obookaiah (ʻOpukahaʻia,) Hopu, Honolii) – nine of them in all.”

“These all embraced the Christian faith, and Obookaiah was very anxious that messengers be sent to take to Hawaii the word of God. He intended himself to come back, but he was cut down by the angel of death before he had completed his education.”

“But the voice of God came to Messrs. Bingham, Thurston, and Whitney and others, and in the year 1819 they and their wives sailed from Boston on the small two-masted vessel named the Thaddeus.”

“On this vessel came Thomas Hopu, John Honoliʻi, and George Kaumualiʻi, the son of Kaumualiʻi, the king of Kauai. They reached Hawaii on the 30th of March, 1820.”

“When the boat which they had sent to a landing on the Kohala coast, returned to the vessel, these were the tidings given to the missionaries: ‘Kamehameha is dead; his son Liholiho is king. The tabus are at an end; the idols are burned; the temples are destroyed.’”

“In this the hand of God was seen preparing for the introduction of his word among the people. The vessel sailed to Kailua, and the chiefs went on board to see the missionaries and their wives – the ‘long necks’ as they were called.”

“This was the dress of Liholiho when he went to see white women for the first time: A malo, a green silk handkerchief over his shoulders, a gold watch-chain about his neck, and a feather wreath on his head – no clothing.”

“After much discussion, and with a good deal of hesitation, Liholiho consented that the teachers should remain one year.”

“Mr Bingham was stationed at Honolulu, Mr Whitney at Waimea, Kauai, and Mr Thurston at Kailua, Hawaii, where the king and chiefs resided; and the king placed John Ii and Kahuhu with Mr. Thurston to be taught reading, and said that if it did them no harm, he also would learn the ‘palapala’ (writing.)”

“There was no writing in Hawaiian in those days – no books or newspapers.”

“Liholiho asked that his name be written. The missionary wrote it, ‘Li-ho-li-ho.’”

“Liholiho looked at it long and steady, and then said: ‘This does not look like me, nor any other man.’” (AF Judd, Bible Society Record, October 17, 1889)

In 1820, missionary Lucy Thurston noted in her Journal, Liholiho’s desire to learn, “The king (Liholiho, Kamehameha II) brought two young men to Mr. Thurston, and said: ‘Teach these, my favorites, (John Papa) Ii and (James) Kahuhu. It will be the same as teaching me. Through them I shall find out what learning is.’”

“Immediately upon their arrival the missionaries began to converse with the people in the Hawaiian language, and upon them fell the honor of first writing the mother-tongue of Hawaiʻi with pen and ink upon paper.”

“To reduce the language to writing was their first work, in order that the word of God might thus reach the hearts of the Hawaiian people to the saving of their souls.”

“Within three years from the time when Messrs. Bingham, Thurston, and Whitney touched their feet on Hawaiian shores, Liholiho and Kauikeaouli (Liholiho’s younger brother) had learned to read and write, and also twelve other chiefs and twelve chiefesses.”

“This was quick work. That year (1823) the king ordered the observance of the Christian Sabbath, and the missionaries began to preach in the Hawaiian tongue. Before this their addresses had been interpreted by Hopu, Honolii, and others.” (AF Judd, Bible Society Record, October 17, 1889)

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

“By 1850, even though the Missionary Schools wanted to continue Hawaiian as the language of instruction in order to preserve the Hawaiian nation, the non-religious educators, both foreign and Hawaiian, wanted to and did discard Hawaiian as the language of instruction in the schools.” (Ashdown)

The missionaries’ emphasis was on preaching and teaching – in many of the mission schools the focus was educating the head, heart and hand. In addition to the rigorous academic drills (Head,) the schools provided religious/moral (Heart) and manual/vocational (Hand) training.

This broad-based, inclusive form of educational training can also be seen back in the Foreign Mission School, where ʻŌpūkahaʻia and others were taught.

The image shows the later signature of Liholiho (Kamehameha II – ‘Tamehameha.’)

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Signature_of_Kamehameha_II_(Tamehameha)

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Junior … Intermediate … Middle

The arrival of the first company of American Protestant missionaries in Hawaiʻi in 1820 marked the beginning of Hawaiʻi’s phenomenal rise to literacy.

The missionaries were scattered across the Islands, each home was usually in a thickly inhabited village, so that the missionary and his wife could be close to their work among the people. The missionaries established schools associated with their missions .

On July 14, 1826, the American missionaries finalized a 12-letter alphabet for the written Hawaiian language, using five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) and seven consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p and w.) That alphabet continues today.

Planning for the written Hawaiian language and development by the missionaries was modeled after the spoken language, attempting to represent the spoken Hawaiian sounds with English letters.

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

Common schools (where the 3 Rs were taught) sprang up in villages all over the Islands. In these common schools, classes and attendance were quite irregular, but nevertheless basic reading and writing skills (in Hawaiian) and fundamental Christian doctrine were taught to large numbers of people. (Canevali)

The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing.

“Statute for the Regulation of Schools” passed by the King and chiefs on October 15, 1840. Its preamble stated, “The basis on which the Kingdom rests is wisdom and knowledge.”

“Peace and prosperity cannot prevail in the land, unless the people are taught in letters and in that which constitutes prosperity. If the children are not taught, ignorance must be perpetual, and children of the chiefs cannot prosper, nor any other children”.

The 1840 educational law mandated compulsory attendance for children ages four to fourteen. Any village that had fifteen or more school-age children was required to provide a school for their students.

William Richards, a missionary, was appointed Minister of Public Instruction and helped develop a highly-organized educational system. He was later replaced by missionary Richard Armstrong. Richard Armstrong is known as the “the father of American education in Hawaiʻi.”

In 1855 the office of Minister was replaced by the Board of Education, whose members were appointed by the King, and the department was named the Department of Public Instruction.

The educational system and means of instruction evolved over time, in the Islands and across the continent. Younger learners were first in ‘preparatory’ or ‘grammar’ schools in the Islands (we now generally refer to these as elementary schools.)

Older learners were in ‘colleges’ (i.e. Oahu College (Punahou,) St Louis College;) these are now typically called high schools.

Historically, grades K-8 were considered ‘elementary.’ In 1888 on the continent, Charles Eliot launched an effort to reorganize schooling, arguing that the last years of elementary school was a waste and students should be working on college preparatory courses instead. Rather than grades 7 and 8 as part of elementary, the push was to put them in the high school.

Then, on July 6, 1909, the Columbus, Ohio, Board of Education authorized the creation of the first junior high school in the US. (Ohio History Central)

In the Islands, between 1909 and 1920 the education system underwent a series of changes. In 1909, school agents were replaced by supervising principals; in 1913 the building and maintenance responsibilities of the school agents were transferred out of the department to the Counties. (State Archives)

In 1920, a report was published on the survey of schools conducted by the Bureau of Education of the Federal Department of the Interior.

The report noted that on the continent typical middle-class families in America were sending their children to public secondary schools, but in Hawai‘i, public schools were so few and geographically isolated, that many had to go to private schools or were forced to drop out.

Therefore, the commission recommended the establishment of secondary or Junior high schools which should offer more academic and vocational choices to feed various high schools. (NPS) There was a rapid increase in the establishment of Junior high schools.

By 1922, there were six in the rural parts of the state. In 1928, Central Grammar School became Central Junior High School with an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students and 47 teachers. It was one of 5 Junior high schools in Honolulu (with Lincoln, Washington, Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani.) (NPS)

Then, in 1932, the board of education changed all formerly-named Junior High Schools to Intermediate Schools. (NPS) The education department continued to maintain a policy of naming Intermediate schools after American Presidents or members of the Hawaiian Royal family.

Then, a new reform movement took place with the Junior/Intermediate-aged students (~11-13;) rather than have a focus on college preparatory, school reformers were looking for an educational program to meet the intellectual, emotional, and the interpersonal needs of young adolescents. (Jadallah)

In 1963, William Alexander first used the expression middle school to describe the schools between elementary and high school. Alexander, regarded as the ‘father of the middle-school,’ led the movement to create middle-schools and a middle-level curriculum that would meet the unique needs of young adolescents. (McFarland)

The Carnegie Corporation (1989) issued a report that profoundly affected the education of young adolescents. ‘Turning Points’ advocated reforms intended to make their education more personalized, supportive, and active: interdisciplinary teams, cooperative learning, involvement with families and community, mentoring, and active teaching. (Daniels)

With a new program, school names started to change again. While no wholesale change took place (as happened with the Junior High to Intermediate,) Intermediate schools in the Islands started adopting the ‘Middle School’ philosophy and label.

Today, while the Junior High School reference is long gone, there are many Intermediate and Middle Schools across the Islands.

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JA Cummins Junior High School
JA Cummins Junior High School