Opukahaia | Page 2 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

February 17, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“Alloah o‘e”

About the commencement of the year 1818, Obookiah became seriously indisposed, and was obliged wholly to abandon his studies. A physician was called, and speedy attention paid to his complaints.

It was soon found that his disease was the typhus fever; and a thorough course of medicine was commenced, which after one or two weeks appeared to check the progress of the disorder, and confident expectations were entertained of his recovery.

Hope continued to be cherished until it became evident that his strength was wasting, and that his constitution, naturally strong, was giving way to the violence of the disease, which had taken fast hold of him, and had not been essentially removed.

Notwithstanding the unremitted care and the skill of his attending physician, and the counsel of others called to consult with him, the kindest and most judicious attentions of the family into which he had fallen, and the universal solicitude of his surrounding friends, he continued to decline …

In this last lingering sickness, the christian character of Obookiah was advantageously exhibited. His patience, cheerfulness, resignation to the will of God, gratitude for the kindness of his friends, and benevolence, were particular subjects of notice and conversation to those who attended him during this interesting period.

His physician said of him that ‘he was the first patient whom he had ever attended through a long course of fever, that had not in some instances manifested a greater or less degree of peevishness and impatience.’

Mrs. S. in whose family he was confined, and who devoted her attention exclusively to the care of him, observed, that ‘this had been one of the happiest and most profitable periods of her life …

… that she had been more than rewarded for her cares and watchings by day and night, in being permitted to witness his excellent example, and to hear his godly conversation.’

By this friend a part of his observations and answers, particularly within a few of the last days of his sickness, were committed to writing; and are as follows:

To one of his countrymen, as he entered the room in the morning, after he had passed a night of suffering, he said, ‘I almost died last night. It is a good thing to be sick, S , we must all die—and ‘tis no matter where we are.’

Being asked by another ‘Are you afraid to die?’ he answered, ‘No, I am not.’ A friend said to him, ‘I am sorry to find you so very sick’ – he replied, ‘Let God do as he pleases.’

He appeared very affectionate to all, especially his countrymen. He insisted on some one of them being with him continually; would call very earnestly for them if they were out of his sight; and would be satisfied only with this, that they were gone to eat or to rest. To one of them he said, ‘W- I thank you for all you have done for me; you have done a great deal; but you will not have to wait on me much more, I shall not live.’

To another, ‘My dear friend S-, you have been very kind to me; I think of you often; I thank you; but I must die, G- , and so must you. Think of God, G- , never fail.’

To another, ‘You must stay; perhaps I finish off this forenoon. How much God has done for me and for you!’

The day before he died, ‘after a distressing night, and a bewildered state of mind, he appeared to have his reason perfectly, and requested that his countrymen might be called.’

After they came in he inquired several times for one of them who was absent, and for whom he had no hope; and said, ‘I have not seen him much – I shan’t see him – I want to talk to him.’

When the rest had seated themselves around his bed, he addressed them most feelingly in his native language, as long as his strength would permit.

As much of the address as could be recollected, was afterwards written in English by one of his countrymen, and was essentially as follows : –

‘My dear countrymen, I wish to say something to you all – you have been very kind to me – I feel my obligation to you – I thank you. And now, my dear friends, I must beseech you to remember that you have got to follow me.

Above all things, make your peace with God – you must make Christ your friend – you are in a strange land – you have no father – no mother to take care of you when you are sick – but God will be your friend if you put your trust in him.

He has raised up friends here, for you and for me – I have strong faith in God – I am willing to die when the voice of my Saviour call me hence – I am willing, if God design to take me.

But I cannot leave you without calling upon the mercy of God to sanctify your souls and fit you for Heaven. When we meet there we shall part no more.

Remember, my friends, that you are poor – it is by the mercy of God that you have comfortable clothes, and that you are so kindly supported. You must love God – I want to have you make your peace with God.

Can’t you see how good God is to you? God has done great deal for you and for me. Remember that you have got to love God, or else you perish for ever.

God has given his Son to die for you—I want to have you love God very much. I want to talk with you by and by—my strength fails – I can’t now – I want to say more’.

As death seemed to approach, Mrs. S. said to him, ‘Henry, do you think you are dying?’ He answered, ‘Yes, ma’am’ – and then said. ‘Mrs. S. I thank you for your kindness.’

She said, ‘I wish we might meet hereafter.’ He replied, ‘I hope we shall’ – and taking her hand, affectionately bid her farewell.
Another friend taking his hand, told him that he ‘must die soon.’ He heard it without emotion, and with a heavenly smile bade him his last adieu.

He shook hands with all his companions present, and with perfect composure addressed to them the parting salutation of his native language, ‘Alloah o‘e.’ – My love be with you.

But a few minutes before he breathed his last, his physician said to him, ‘How do you feel now, Henry?’ He answered. ‘Very well – I am not sick – I have no pain – I feel well.’

The expression of his countenance was that of perfect peace. He now seemed a little revived, and lay in a composed and quiet state for several minutes.

Most of those who were present, not apprehending an immediate change, had seated themselves by the fire.

No alarm was given, until one of his countrymen who was standing by his bed-side, exclaimed, ‘Obookiah’s gone.’ (ʻŌpūkahaʻia died February 17, 1818 – 200-years ago.)

All sprang to the bed. The spirit had departed – but a smile, such as none present had ever beheld – an expression of the final triumph of his soul, remained upon his countenance. (All above is directly from Memoirs of Obookiah)

“A few months after his death a book appeared in New England – a thin, brown-covered volume of a hundred small pages. It told, in his own words and the words of those who had known him the story of the boy’s life and death.”

“The printer who set the type, struck off the sheets and bound them together did not know it, but that book was to launch a ship and a movement that was to transform Hawai‘i.” (Albertine Loomis’ Introduction in Memoirs of Obookiah)

“Memoirs of Henry Obookiah by Edwin W Dwight is the story of a young Hawaiian man from 19th century Hawai’i who lived for only 26 years, and yet whose brief existence changed the course of a nation and the people of Hawai‘i.” (Lyon)

Ōpūkaha’ia, inspired by many young men with proven sincerity and religious fervor of the missionary movement, had wanted to spread the word of Christianity back home in Hawaiʻi; his book inspired missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Hawaiian Islands.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) from the northeast United States, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Hawaiian Islands.

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February 16, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘How you spell?’

“I began to think about leaving that country, to go to some other part of the globe. I did not care where I shall go to. I thought to myself that if I should get away, and go to some other country, probably I may find some comfort, more than to live there, without father and mother.” (ʻŌpūkahaʻia)

In about 1807, a young Hawaiian man, ʻŌpūkahaʻia, swam out to the ‘Triumph’, a China-bound seal skin trading ship anchored in Kealakekua Bay. Both of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s parents and his younger brother had been slain during the battles on the island.

He arrived in the Northeast US. The coming of Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia and other young Hawaiians to the continent had awakened a deep Christian sympathy in the churches and moved the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to establish a Foreign Mission School and a mission to the Hawaiian Islands.

“In his disposition he was amiable and affectionate. His temper was mild. Passion was not easily excited, nor long retained Revenge, or resentment, it if presumed, was never known to be cherished in his heart.”

“He loved his friends, and was grateful for the favours which he received from them. In his journal and letters are found frequent expressions of affection and gratitude to those who had been his benefactors.”

“To families in which he had lived, or to individuals who had been his particular patrons, he felt an ardent attachment. One of the latter, who had been separated from him for a considerable time, he met with great delight …”

“… and after the first customary salutations, said to him, ‘I want to see you great while: you don’t know how you seem to me: you seem like father, mother, brother, all.’”

“In his understanding, Obookiah excelled ordinary young men. His mind was not of a common cast. It was such, that, with proper culture, it might have become a mind of the first order.”

“Its distinguishing traits were sound common sense, keen discernment, and an inquisitiveness or enterprise which disposed him to look as far as his mind could reach into every subject that was presented to his attention.”

“By his good sense he was accustomed to view subjects of every kind in their proper light; to see things as they are. He seldom misconceived or misjudged.” (Memoirs)

“Said Mrs. Abbot to a friend, ‘He was always pleasant. I never saw him angry. He used to come into my chamber and kneel down by me and pray. Mr. Mills did not think he was a Christian at that time, but he appeared to be thinking of nothing else but religion. He afterwards told me that there was a time when he wanted to get religion into his head more than into his heart.’”

“In an absence of a month or two from the family, he wrote a letter to Mrs. Abbot, from which the following is an extract.”

“‘I sometimes think about my poor soul, and that which God hath done. I will cry unto God – ‘What shall I do to be saved?’ I know that God is able to take away blind eyes and wicked heart, we must be born again and have a new spirit before we die.’”

“‘As soon as we shall be dead, all we must stand before the judgement-seat of Christ. Friend, perhaps you have not done any thing wicked, so that God can punish you. I hope you have not. But if we are not his friends and followers he will cast us into hell, and we shall be there for ever and ever. I hope you will think upon all these things. Friend to you, Henry Obookiah.’” (Memoirs)

“His inquisitive mind was not satisfied with pursuing the usual round of study, but he was disposed to understand critically every
branch of knowledge to which he attended. For this reason, his progress in his studies was not rapid – but as a scholar he was industrious, ingenious and thorough.”

“His mind was also inventive. After having acquired some slight knowledge of the English language in its grammatical construction, he entered upon the project of reducing to system his own native language.”

“When he began to read in words of one or two syllables in the spelling-book, there were certain sounds which he found it very difficult to articulate.”

“This was true especially of syllables that contained the letter R – a letter which occasioned him more trouble than all others. In pronouncing it, he uniformly gave it the sound of L. At every different reading an attempt was made to correct the pronunciation.”

“ʻŌpūkahaʻia was also taught by others in his rounds of various families, and in this way ‘he soon acquired a knowledge of the spelling-book, and in a few months was able to read in the Testament. By this time he had also made considerable proficiency in writing’”.

“In one of the first letters he wrote (March 2, 1810), he mentioned: ‘I spell four syllables now.’ Mr Abbot, steward of the Theological Institution at Andover, told of his desire to know both the sight and sound of a word:”

“‘When he heard a word … which he did not understand or could not speak, it was his constant habit to ask me, ‘How you spell? how you spell?’ When I told him he never forgot.’”

“In the fall of 1813, ʻŌpūkahaʻia attended a public grammar school at Litchfield, and there he began to study English grammar, along with geography and arithmetic.”

“ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s connection with the eventual mission to Hawai’i came through his conversion to Christianity in 1815. By that time, he had not only learned English and studied the usual curriculum of the period …”

“… but had also experienced some of the fervor of the prevailing general religious revival and the awakening of a mission spirit (called the Second Great Awakening of the New Light Theology) among the Protestant churches of New England”

“ʻŌpūkahaʻia and others from the Sandwich Islands, as well as other Polynesians and Native Americans, requested the training that would prepare them to return home and share the Gospel with their own people.”

“The presence of those islanders and Native Americans, especially ʻŌpūkahaʻia, along with their evangelistic zeal, inspired the founding of the Foreign Mission School in 1816, where ʻŌpūkahaʻia was one of the first students.” (Schutz)

“After having acquired some slight knowledge of the English language in its grammatical construction, he entered upon the project of reducing to system his own native tongue.”

“As it was not a written language, but lay in its chaotic state, every thing was to be done. With some assistance he had made considerable progress towards completing a Grammar, a Dictionary, and a Spelling-book.”

“In ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s own words: ‘At this time [summer 1814], Mr. Mills wished me to go and live with the Rev. Mr. Harvey, of Goshen. This was pleasing to me, and I went to live with him and studied geography and mathematics …”

“… and a part of the time was trying to translate a few verses of the Scriptures into my own language, and in making a kind of spelling-book, taking the English alphabet and giving different names and different sounds—(for this language was not written language.) I spent some time in making a kind of spelling-book, dictionary, grammar.”

“He mentioned the grammar again on 4 June 1815. In a letter from Goshen, Connecticut, to the Reverend Eleazar T. Fitch at New Haven, he wrote:”

“‘I want to see you about our Grammar: I want to get through with it. I have been translating a few chapters of the Bible into the Hawaiian language. I found I could do it very correctly.’” (Schutz)

Go here for further explanation: https://wp.me/p5GnMi-2yo

Saturday, February 17, 2018 marks the Bicentennial of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s death.

Hawaiian Mission Houses will be hosting a Free Open House that afternoon.

10 am (HST), February 17, 2018 State-wide bell ringing;
10 am, Feb 17, Haili Church, Kawaiaha’o Church & Hawaiian Mission Houses;
10:15 am, Feb 17, Mokuaikaua Church, Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia Memorial Concert;
3 pm (Eastern) Feb 17, Remembrance at original ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s gravesite at Cornwall, CT;
9:30 am, February 18, 2018, commemoration services at Kahikolu Church;
9 am & 11 am, Feb 18, Mokuaikaua Church Services, Speaker to discuss Life of ‘Ōpūkaha’ia;
10 am, Feb 18, service at Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia Memorial Chapel/Hokuloa Church, Punalu‘u;
10 am (Eastern), February 18, 2018 Services at UCC Cornwall;
6 pm, February 17, 18, 24, 25 at Kalihi Union Church, a musical drama on life of ʻŌpūkahaʻia.

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Opukahaia

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February 12, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Opukahaia – The Inspiration for the Hawaiian Mission

Also on board was Hopu, another young Hawaiian. They set sail for New York, stopping first in China. Russell Hubbard was also on board. “This Mr. Hubbard was a member of Yale College. He was a friend of Christ. … Mr. Hubbard was very kind to me on our passage, and taught me the letters in English spelling-book.” (ʻŌpūkahaʻia)

They landed at New York and remained there until the Captain sold out all the Chinese goods. Then, they made their way to New England.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia was eager to study and learn. He “was sitting on the steps of a Yale building, weeping. A solicitous student stopped to inquire what was wrong, and Obookiah (the spelling of his name, based on its sound) said, ‘No one will give me learning.’”

The student was Edwin Dwight. “(W)hen the question was put him, ‘Do you wish to learn?’ his countenance began to brighten. And when the proposal was made that he should come the next day to the college for that purpose, he served it with great eagerness.” (Dwight)

Later, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) formed the Foreign Mission School; ʻŌpūkahaʻia was one of its first students. He yearned “with great earnestness that he would (return to Hawaiʻi) and preach the Gospel to his poor countrymen.” Unfortunately, ʻŌpūkahaʻia died on February 17, 1818.

Dwight put together a book, ‘Memoirs of Henry Obookiah’ (the spelling of the name based on its pronunciation). It was an edited collection of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s letters and journals/diaries. The book about his life was printed and circulated after his death.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia, inspired by many young men and women with proven sincerity and religious fervor of the missionary movement, had wanted to spread the word of Christianity back home in Hawaiʻi; his book inspired missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Hawaiian Islands.

In giving instructions to the first missionaries, the ABCFM, noted: “You will never forget ʻŌpūkahaʻia. 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.”

Click HERE to view/download Background on ʻŌpūkahaʻia & the Mission

Missionary Period

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”), about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands. Collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in, among other things, the

Introduction of Christianity;
Development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
Promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
Combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine; and
Evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing)

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

Saturday, February 17, 2018 marks the Bicentennial of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s death.

Hawaiian Mission Houses will be hosting a Free Open House that afternoon.

10 am (HST), February 17, 2018 State-wide bell ringing;
10 am, Feb 17, Haili Church, Kawaiaha’o Church & Hawaiian Mission Houses;
10:15 am, Feb 17, Mokuaikaua Church, Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia Memorial Concert;
3 pm (Eastern) Feb 17, Remembrance at original ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s gravesite at Cornwall, CT;
9:30 am, February 18, 2018, commemoration services at Kahikolu Church;
9 am & 11 am, Feb 18, Mokuaikaua Church Services, Speaker to discuss Life of ‘Ōpūkaha’ia;
10 am, Feb 18, service at Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia Memorial Chapel/Hokuloa Church, Punalu‘u;
10 am (Eastern), February 18, 2018 Services at UCC Cornwall;
6 pm, February 17, 18, 24, 25 at Kalihi Union Church, a musical drama on life of ʻŌpūkahaʻia.

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February 5, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Memoirs of Henry Obookiah

“A few months after (the death of ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia) a book appeared in New England – a thin, brown-covered volume of a hundred small pages. It told, in his own words and the words of those who had known him the story of the boy’s life and death.”

“For the boy was ‘Ōpūkaha’ia (his American friends spelled and pronounced it Obookiah), and his life and early death and his hope of taking Christianity to his people were the inspiration for the Sandwich Islands Mission. The ship launched was the Thaddeus, which sailed with the pioneer company from Boston in October, 1819.”

“In the long run, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent eighty-four men and one hundred women to Hawaii to preach and teach, to translate and publish, to advise, and counsel – and win the hearts of the Hawaiian people. …”

“Slender and simple as it was, this book shaped the future of Hawai‘i.” (Albertine Loomis’ Introduction in Memoirs of Obookiah)

“How could such a tiny book containing the biography of a young Hawaiian who died at the age of 26, in 1818, so compel a foreign nation to send its young people thousands of miles to a distant land to be committed to missionary service?”

“(A) young Hawaiian in a foreign land he was instrumental in befriending the very agents who became the cornerstone for the modern Protestant missions movement in America.”

“What had started on the other side of the Atlantic, through the persuasive works of William Carey and the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792, had now spread to America through a student-led movement by Samuel Mills Jr. and others, culminating in the formation of the ABCFM in 1810.”

“The brief life of Henry Obookiah was attributed to his being a catalyst for the founding of the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut. ‘The interest he [Henry Obookiah] aroused led the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, of Boston, to establish a Missionary School at Cornwall, Conn., for ‘‘the education of heathen youth’.’” (Lyon)

“(T)he intended audience of the Memoirs was the Christian community of New England, and that part of the book’s purpose was to stir the hearts of New Englanders towards the cause of missions in order that they would give both financially and materially to the Foreign Mission School.”

“The final chapter of the Memoirs is divided into three sections. The first section establishes Henry Obookiah as the most promising student at the Foreign Mission School and a model of both scholarship and Christian character.”

“The second section is short and is comprised of two letters written by Obookiah himself. The third section is an account of the sickness and death of Obookiah.” (Lyon)

“The Memoirs tell of the life of Henry Obookiah, how his family was killed by tribal warfare in Hawai’i, and how his life was miraculously saved. The Memoirs go on to describe Obookiah departing from Hawai’i at the age of 16 and arriving in New England.”

“The major portion of the Memoirs traces young Obookiah’s progress and chronicles the fact that he studied and boarded with a succession of Congregational ministers in New England. The effect of his studies and the living arrangements with such pious Christians had a most profound effect upon Obookiah, leading to his conversion to the Christian faith.

At the opening of the final chapter of the Memoirs, young Obookiah is a model student at the Foreign Mission School and the hope of the mission to the Hawaiian Islands.” (Lyon)

“If the churches of New England, knowing the purpose of God concerning Obookiah, had chartered a ship and sent it to Owhyhee, on purpose to bring him to Christ, and fit him for heaven; it would have been a cheap purchase of blessedness to man, and glory to God: …”

“… and were there no expedients now to rescue his poor countrymen, for whom he prayed, the end would justify the constant employment of such means, to bring the sons and daughters of Owhyhee, to glory.”

“But besides his redemption, God by his Providence towards him, has illustrated his government of the moral World, and added new evidence to the truth of the declaration, ‘All that the Father hath given unto me shall come.’” (Portion of Eulogy at the Funeral of Obookiah, Rev Lyman Beecher)

‘Ōpūkaha’ia Inspired the American Protestant Mission to Hawai‘i.

There were seven couples sent in the Pioneer Company of missionaries to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity. These included two Ordained Preachers (note: Bingham and Thurston were ordained as missionaries at Goshen, a more complex position than preacher), 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; a Farmer, Daniel Chamberlain, his wife and five children. They landed at Kailua-Kona, April 4, 1820.

Among the other Hawaiian students at the Foreign Mission School were Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoliʻi and George Prince ‘Humehume’ (son of Kauai’s Kaumuali‘i).

By the time the Pioneer Company arrived, Kamehameha I had died and the centuries-old kapu system had been abolished; through the actions of King Kamehameha II (Liholiho), with encouragement by former Queens Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani (Liholiho’s mother), the Hawaiian people had already dismantled their heiau and had rejected their religious beliefs.

“Memoirs of Henry Obookiah is a truly significant work in relation to both the history of the nation of Hawai‘i, which later was annexed by the United States, and the profound impact that it had upon American evangelical Protestant missions. It is rare that an individual such as Henry Obookiah would be a vessel chosen to affect two nations so profoundly.” (Lyon)

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

Click HERE to view/download Background on Memoirs of Henry Obookiah

Commemoration of Bicentennial of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s Death – February 17, 1818 – February 17, 2018 – The following are some of the commemoration events planned in the Islands and on the continent.

10 am (HST), February 17, 2018 State-wide bell ringing;
10 am, Feb 17, Haili Church, Kawaiaha’o Church & Hawaiian Mission Houses;
10 am, Feb 17, Mokuaikaua Church, Memorial Dedication plaque to Henry Obookiah;
10:15 am, Feb 17, Mokuaikaua Church, Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia Memorial Concert;
3 pm (Eastern) Feb 17, Remembrance at the original ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s gravesite at Cornwall, CT;
9:30 am, February 18, 2018, commemoration services at Kahikolu Church;
9 am & 11 am, Feb 18, Mokuaikaua Church Services, Guest Speaker to discuss Life of ‘Ōpūkaha’ia;
10 am, Feb 18, service at Henry ‘Ōpūkaha’ia Memorial Chapel/Hokuloa Church, Punalu‘u;
10 am (Eastern), February 18, 2018 Services at UCC Cornwall;
6 pm, February 17, 18, 24, 25 at Kalihi Union Church, ‘Glory In His Soul’, a musical drama on life of ʻŌpūkahaʻia.

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December 20, 2017 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Seeds to the Hawaiian Mission

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) had its origin in the desire of several young men in the Andover Theological Seminary to preach the gospel in the heathen world. (The term ‘heathen’ (without the knowledge of Jesus Christ and God) was a term in use at the time (200-years ago.))

“The Board has established missions, in the order of time in which they are now named at Bombay, and Ceylon; among the Cherokees, Choctaws, and the Cherokees of the Arkansaw ….” (Missionary Herald)

The following are portions of a December 20, 1809 letter written by Samuel J Mills to the Rev. Gordon Hall, then a student in the Theological Seminary at Andover (he was later a Missionary in the island of Bombay.)

It speaks of ‘Ōpūkaha’ia and his influence in establishing the Hawaiian Islands Mission.

“Very Dear Brother, I received your kind letter, and feel much indebted to you. I have been in this place about two months. When I came, I found my worthy friend E. Dwight here …”

“… I roomed with him about two weeks, and then removed my quarters to the Rev. Mr. Stewart’s, with whom I have lived to the present time. As every day is not so singularly spent by me as this has been, I will notice something not a little extraordinary.”

“To make my narrative understood, you must go back with me to my first arrival in this place. Mr. Dwight, I then found, was instructing a native Owhyean boy. Two natives of this island arrived here five or six months ago, and this was one of them.”

“As I was in the room with Mr. Dwight, I heard the youth recite occasionally, and soon became considerably attached to him. His manners are simple; he does not appear to be vicious in any respect, and he has a great thirst for knowledge.”

“In his simple manner of expressing himself, he says, ‘The people in Owhyhee very bad – they pray to gods made of wood. Poor Indians don’t know nothing.’”

“He says, ‘Me want to learn to read this Bible, and go back then, and tell them to pray to God up in heaven.’ (Not having a place to stay,) I told him he need not be concerned; I would find a place for him. …”

“I told him he might go home with me, and live at my father’s, and have whatever he wanted. He then came with me to my room. I heard him read his lesson, and attempted to instruct him in some of the first principles of Christianity, of which he was almost entirely ignorant. …”

“I told him further, that as my father was one of the Missionary Trustees, he would no doubt obtain for him a support, if it was thought best to educate him, which is my intention to attempt so far as that he may be able to instruct his countrymen, and, by God’s blessing, convert them to Christianity. To this he could hardly object. …”

“He had been talking with the President of the College, and I told him I would see him on the subject … (and I) related to him a part of my plan, which was that Obookiah should go with me to my father’s, and live with him this winter …”

“… and be instructed in the first principles of reading and writing, as well as of Christianity, where he would be abundantly furnished with the means of acquiring both. …”

“The President came fully into the opinion that this was the most eligible course which could be pursued, if Obookiah was willing to go. Obookiah is his Indian name, and he is seventeen years old, I told him he would be glad to go; he was without a home – without a place to eat, or sleep.”

“The poor and almost friendless Owhyean would sit down disconsolate, and the honest tears would flow freely down his sunburn face; but since this plan has been fixed upon, he has appeared cheerful, and feels quite at ease.”

“I propose to leave town in two weeks, with this native of the South to accompany me to Torringford, where I intend to place him under the care of those whose benevolence is without a bond to check, or a limit to confine it. Here I intend he shall stay until next spring, if he is contented. Thus, you see, he is likely to be firmly fixed by my side.”

“What does this mean? Brother Hall, do you understand it? Shall he be sent back unsupported, to attempt to reclaim his countrymen?”

“Shall we not rather consider these southern islands a proper place for the establishment of a mission?”

“Not that I would give up the heathen tribes of the west. I trust we shall be able to establish more than one mission in a short time, at least in a few years; and that God will enable us to extend our views and labours further than we have before contemplated.”

“We ought not to look merely to the heathen on our own continent, but to direct our attention where we may, to human appearance, do the most good, and where the difficulties are the least. We are to look to the climate – established prejudices – the acquisition of language – the means of subsistence, &c. &c.”

“All these things, I apprehend, are to be considered. The field is almost boundless; in every part of which, there ought to be Missionaries.”

“In the language of an animated writer, but I must say, ‘he is of another country – O that we could enter at a thousand gates, that every limb were a tongue, and every tongue a trumpet to spread the Gospel sound!’”

“The men of Macedonia; cry, Come over and help us. This voice is heard from the north and from the south, and from the east, and from the west.”

“O that we might glow with desire to preach the Gospel to the heathen, that is altogether irresistible! The spirit of burning hath gone forth. The camp is in motion. The Levites, we trust, are about to bear the vessels, and the great command is, Go Forward.”

“Let us, my dear brother, rely with the most implicit confidence, on those great, eternal, precious promises contained in the word of God: …”

“‘And Jesus answered and said, verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the Gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life.’”

“Be strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded. ‘Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty; and in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness; and thy right hand “shall teach thee terrible things.’” Let us exclaim with the poet:

Come then, and added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one, the crown of all the earth.
Thou who alone art worthy! It was thine
By ancient cov’nant, e’er nature’s birth,
And thou hast made it thine by purchase since,
And overpaid its value with thy blood.”

By 1816, contributions to the ABCFM had declined. There were several reasons including post-War of 1812 recession and the fact that India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) were too remote to hold public interest. (Wagner)

Folks saw a couple options: bring Indian and foreign youth into white communities and teach them there, or go out to them and teach them in their own communities. They chose the former. They formed the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall CT.

The school’s first student was Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia (Obookiah,) a native Hawaiian from the Island of Hawaiʻi who in 1808-1809 (after his parents had been killed) boarded a sailing ship anchored in Kealakekua Bay and sailed to the continent. In its first year, the Foreign Mission School had 12 students, more than half of whom were Hawaiian.

At the beginning of the school’s tenure, ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia was considered a leader of the student body, excelling in his studies, expressing his fondness for and understanding of the importance of the agricultural labor, and qualifying for a full church membership due to his devotion to his new faith.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia was being groomed to be a key figure in a mission to Hawai‘i, to be joined by Samuel Mills Jr. Unfortunately, ʻŌpūkahaʻia died at Cornwall on February 17, 1818, and several months later Mills died at sea off West Africa after surveying lands that became Liberia.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia, inspired by many young men with proven sincerity and religious fervor of the missionary movement, had wanted to spread the word of Christianity back home in Hawaiʻi; his book inspired missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Hawaiian Islands.

On October 23, 1819, a group of northeast missionaries, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) 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.)

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 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

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Henry_Opukahaia,_ca. 1810s