Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Ali‘i Letters – Kaʻahumanu to Evarts (1831)

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

In this letter, Elisabeth Kaʻahumanu writes to Mr. Jeremiah Evarts regarding the success of the mission in Hawaiʻi. She includes her religious sentiments to the brethren of the ABCFM.

Jeremiah F. Evarts was an early leader of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (ABCFM). He was a reformer who advocated for the rights of Native Americans and wrote under the pseudonym William Penn.

Kaʻahumanu, favorite wife of Kamehameha I, served as the Kuhina Nui, or regent at the time of this letter. She became a staunch advocate for literacy and Christianity for all her people.

“Oahu September 11, 1831”

“Regards to you, Mr. Evarts, missionary superintendent and my first brother in Christ Jesus,”

“Here is my message to you along with my joy.”

“Here I live by the voice of salvation of Jesus Christ who resurrected me from death. I was dwelling in the core of death. I was adorned and bedecked by the glory of death and its symbols.”

“When I heard the voice of Jesus sounding in my ears, it was a chill in my heart, speaking as follows, [“]Come unto to me all of you who are weary and heavy-laden and I shall give you rest.[”]”

“And his voice then said again, [“]He who thirsts, let him come and drink the waters of salvation.[”] So, I rose to come and lie under the shelter of his feet, with great trepidation.”

“Here I am bearing his yoke, thinking to myself that I am unable to move his yoke, he being the one who enables me with his assistance night and day; there I forever dwell in his glory and his love for me.”

“There is my desire and my affection, with the intention of my heart and my spirit to submit to Jesus. There my mouth and my tongue shall forever give thanks for the life I live until I join in his everlasting glory. That is my humble message to you.”

“Here is this other message of mine to you. I am grateful for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for his assistance in sending new teachers for us.”

“They have arrived and we have beheld their eyes and faces. We met in the presence of our Lord and in our own presence with gratitude to our Lord for protecting them on the ocean until they arrived here in Hawaii.”

“We abide here, teaching the native language of Hawaii so they will understand. Then, we sow the gardens with fruitful seeds for eternal salvation.”

“At that point, my elder brethren, them [the teachers] and my native brothers and sisters together will take up the will of our Lord in this archipelago, praying to him to assist so that the bumpy places be smoothed by him through his intentions for these islands from Hawaii to Kauai.”

“But my adopted child and I carried the word of our Lord from Hawaii to Kauai with love in our hearts for God, traveling to speak of his love, his word, and his laws and to tell people that they should abide by them.”

“That is what we, my adopted child and I, speak of. It is not according to our will, but according to the will of the Lord that we take this up.”

“That is my humble message to you.”

“Here is another remaining message that I say to you. Do express my regard to the brethren in Christ and my beloved sisters in Christ Jesus. Here are my regards to you all.”

“Do pray often to God for all the lands of the unenlightened, for all those remaining in enlightened lands, and for us as well and we shall do the same with the brethren here.”

“Pray often to God for the unenlightened lands, and for the remainder of those in enlightened lands, and for you all as well.”

“Thus we beseech our Lord so all peoples cooperate through him that his kingdom be unified to the bounds of the earth, and so all people unite behind him to praise his everlasting name.”

“That is my message of affection to you all. Deep regards to you.”

“Though we may not meet in person in this world, it is our hope that if we do meet in this world, our souls will also meet in the glory of the kingdom of our Lord of salvation, Jesus Christ.”

“That is the end of the message to you.”

“By Elisabeth Kaahumanu”

Click HERE to link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They arrived in the Islands and anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

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.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Mission Houses’ Strategic Plan themes note that the collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in the
• The introduction of Christianity;
• The development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• The promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• The combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine, and
• The evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing).

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kaʻahumanu and the Missionaries

Kaʻahumanu was born about the year 1768, near Hana, Maui. Her siblings include Governor John Adams Kuakini of Hawaiʻi Island, Queen Kalakua Kaheiheimalie (another wife of Kamehameha I) and Governor George Cox Keʻeaumoku II of Maui.

By birth, Kaʻahumanu ranked high among the Hawaiians. Her father was Keʻeaumoku, a distinguished warrior and counselor of Kamehameha the Great. Her mother Namahana was a former wife of the Chief of Maui, and the daughter of Kekaulike (a great Chief of that island.)

Kaʻahumanu was one of the most powerful people in the Islands at the time of the arrival of the missionaries. There were those who were higher by birth, and there were those who were higher by title, but there was probably none who held greater influence.

While her reputation is as a strong supporter of the missionaries and Christianity, in an early description of her, Hiram Bingham noted, “This woman, with all her haughtiness and selfishness”. Others felt the same.

“For a long time she stood aloof from the influence of the missionaries, was haughty, proud, and disdainful in their presence, and frequently passed them without speaking to them.” (Lucy Thurston)

“Kaahumanu too, for many months, was either heedless in regard to Christianity, or scornfully averse to our instructions, and at the same time not a little annoyed by the profligacy of Liholiho and his boon companions.”

“Some were watching to despoil us of our few goods, or to expel us from the islands, and others to nullify our influence by slander and misrepresentations.” (Bingham)

But “the gospel at length took hold of her mind, and through the influence of the Holy Ghost wrought a great and permanent and salutary change in her character.” (Lucy Thurston)

Soon after the first anniversary of their landing at Honolulu on April 19, 1821, Kaʻahumanu, Kalanimoku and Kalakua visited the mission and gave them supplies; this visit became important because during it Kaʻahumanu made her first request for prayer and showed her first interest in the teachings of the missionaries.

From that point on, Kaʻahumanu comes into more constant contact with the mission.

She was later described to have a kindly and generous disposition and usually had as pleasant relations with foreigners who respected her royal rights. She was cautious and slow in deciding – more business-like in here decision-making – but once her mind was made up, she never wavered.

On February 11, 1824, Kaʻahumanu made one of her first public speeches on religious questions, giving “plain, serious, close and faithful advice.”

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.”

She had requested baptism for Keopuolani and Keʻeaumoku when they were dying, but she waited until April, 1824, before requesting the same for herself.

“She was admitted to the church in, 1825, and was baptized by the name of Elizabeth. Soon after her conversion, she made a tour of the Islands; the people were astonished at the change in her, and remarked that it was ‘not Kaahumanu, but Elizabeth.’” (Lucy Thurston)

Of her baptism, Kamakau said: “Kaahumanu was the first fruit of the Kawaiahaʻo church … for she was the first to accept the word of God, and she was the one who led her chiefly relations as the first disciples of God’s church.”

“She became distinguished for her humility, kindness, and the affability of her deportment, regarded the missionaries as her own children, and treated them with the tenderness of maternal love.” (Lucy Thurston)

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

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

Then, in mid-1832, Kaʻahumanu became ill and was taken to her house in Manoa, where a bed of maile and leaves of ginger was prepared. “Her strength failed daily. She was gentle as a lamb, and treated her attendants with great tenderness. She would say to her waiting women, ‘Do sit down; you are very tired; I make you weary.’”

Hiram Bingham’s account of her last hours is, in part, as follows: “On the third instant, Sabbath night, about midnight, Dr. Judd sent down to me to say he thought her dying. I hastened to Manoa and remained there until the fifth …”

“About the last words she used of a religious character were two lines of a hymn designed to express the feelings of a self-condemned penitent coining and submitting to Christ: ‘Here, here am I, O Jesus, oh – Grant me a gracious smile.’

“A little after this she called me to her and as I took her hand, she asked. ‘Is this Bingham?’ I replied. ‘It is I’—She looked upon me & added ‘I am going now’ I replied: ’Ehele pu Jesu me oe, Ehele pomaikai aku.’ ‘May Jesus go with you, go in peace.’ She said no more. Her last conflict was then soon over, – in 10 or 15 minutes she ceased to breathe.”

Her death took place at ten minutes past 3 o’clock on the morning of June 5, 1832, “after an illness of about 3 weeks in which she exhibited her unabated attachment to the Christian teachers and reliance on Christ, her Saviour.”

She was buried at Pohukaina at ʻIolani Place and later transferred to Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu Valley. The image shows Kaʻahumanu. (Herb Kane)

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Kaahumanu-(HerbKane)

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen Ka‘ahumanu

Ka‘ahumanu was born about the year 1768, near Hāna, on the eastern shore of Maui.  Her father was Keʻeaumoku (a chief of Hawai‘i Island, warrior and loyal follower of Kamehameha I;) her mother was Nāmāhana.

Her siblings include Governor John Adams Kuakini of Hawaiʻi Island, Queen Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (a wife of Kamehameha I) and Governor George Keʻeaumoku II of Maui.

Soon after her birth, the family moved to the island of Hawai‘i; Ka‘ahumanu spent much of her childhood in the Kaʻū district on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi.

At the time, the island was under the reign of Kalani‘ōpu‘u (Kalaniʻōpuʻū was king of the island when Captain Cook arrived in 1778.)

Then, there were turbulent times on the island – contact brought more foreigners to Hawaiʻi and island war was raging (following Kalaniʻōpuʻū’s death in 1782.)

At a very young age, Kaʻahumanu was given by her father to Kamehameha as a wife; by that time, he was ruler of half the island of Hawaiʻi.  She was his favorite wife.  Through the years, she advised and supported Kamehameha.

Queen Kaʻahumanu became more than Kamehameha’s favorite wife.  She was, at one time, arguably, the most powerful figure in the Hawaiian Islands, helping usher in a new era for the Hawaiian kingdom.

When Kamehameha died on May 8, 1819, the crown was passed to his son, Liholiho, who would rule as Kamehameha II.  Kaʻahumanu recruited Liholiho’s mother, Keōpūolani, to join her in convincing Liholiho to break the kapu system which had been the rigid code of Hawaiians for centuries.

Liholiho accomplished this simply by eating a meal with women.  When the Hawaiians saw that Liholiho was not struck down by angry gods, the entire kapu system was discarded.

Kaʻahumanu created the office of Kuhina Nui (similar to premier, prime minister or regent) and would rule as an equal with Liholiho.

She ruled first with Kamehameha II until his departure for England in 1823 (where he died in 1824) and then as regent for Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III).

Ka‘ahumanu assumed control of the business of government, including authority over land matters, the single most important issue for the Hawaiian nation for many generations to come.

She later married Kauaʻi’s chief, Kaumualiʻi, who Kamehameha I had made a treaty with instead of fightring.

On December 4, 1825, Queen Kaahumanu was baptized and received her new name, Elizabeth, then labored earnestly to lead her people to Christ.

In 1826, she paid the national debt by imposing a tax payable in sandalwood, cash or woven mats.  Her administrative actions would have far reaching political, social and cultural consequences for the Hawaiian nation.

In May 1832, Kaʻahumanu fell ill. Recognizing that the end was near, she requested to be taken to her mountain home in Mānoa Valley on Oʻahu.

On June 5, with the Reverend Hiram Bingham at her side, she breathed her final words: “I’m going now…where the mansions are ready.”

She was buried at Pohukaina at ‘Iolani Place and later transferred to Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nu‘uanu Valley.

Kaʻahumanu was such a powerful person and Kuhina Nui that subsequent female Kuhina Nui adopted her name, Kīna‘u (Kaʻahumanu II) (1832-1839,) Kekāuluohi (Kaʻahumanu III) (1839-1845) and Victoria Kamāmalu (Kaʻahumanu IV) (1855-1863.)

The image shows Kaʻahumanu as painted by Choris in 1816.  In addition, I have added other images of Ka‘ahumanu in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

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