CHAPTER 15

The Fishes

There are many distinct species of fish in Hawaii. All products of the ocean, whether they move or do not move, are called fish (i'a).¹ There are also fish in the inland waters.

The mosses in fresh and salt water are classed with the fish (as regards food). There are many varieties of moss, which are named from their peculiarities, from color, red or black, or from their flavor. The o-o-pu (a small eel-like fish), and the shrimp (opae) are the fish of fresh water.

The fish from shoal and from deep water differ from each other. Some fish are provided with feet, some are beset with sharp bones and spines. Some fish crawl slowly along, clinging to the rocks, while others swim freely about, of which there are many different kinds, some small, some peaked (o-e-o-e; this is also the name of a fish); some flattened, some very flat, some long, some white, some red, many different species in the ocean.

The following fish have feet with prongs: the hihiwai, elepi (a four-footed sea-animal), ele-mihi² the kukuma (a whitish crab), the kumimi (a poisonous crab), the papa, the pa-pai (a wholesome crab), papai-lanai, the lobster or ula, the alo, the popoki, the ounauna, and the shrimp or opae. These are all good food save the kumimi. That is poisonous and is not eaten.

I will now mention some fish that are beset with spines: the ina, hawae, and wana³ the ha-uke-uke, and the hakue. These fish are all fit to be eaten; their flesh is within their shell. The kokala, oopu-hue and keke are also fish that are covered with spines; they move swiftly through the water and are eaten as food. Death is sometimes caused by eating the oopu-hue.⁴

The following fish are covered with heavy shells: the pipipi (one of the Nerita, which is excellent eating. TRANSLATOR), the alea-alea, the aoa, the kuanaka, the pupu (a generic name for all shells at the present time), the kuoho, the pu-hookani or conch, the pupu-awa, the olepe (a bivalve), the ole, the oaoaka, the nahana-wele, the uli, the pi-pi, the maha-moe, the opihi, the cowry or leho, the pana-pana-puhi, the pupu-loloa. This is of course not the whole list of what are called fish.

The following are fish that move slowly: the naka, the ku-alakai, the ku-nou-nou, the kona-lelewa, the loli or beche de mer, the mai-hole. the kua-naka, the mini-ole, the lepe-lepe-ohina. These are not fish of fine quality, though they are eaten.

The following small-fry are seen along shore they are swift of motion: the young (pua or flowers) of the mullet or anae (when of medium size it is called ama-ama), of the awa, aholehole, hinana, nehu, iao, piha, opuu-puu ohua-palemo, paoa, oluhe-luhe, ohune, moi-lii, and the akeke. All of these fish are used as food. Doubtless I have omitted the mention of some.

The following fish have bodies with eminences or sharp protuberances (kino oeoe): the paeaea, paniho-loa, olali, hinalea, aki-lolo, ami, mananalo, awela, maha-wela, hou, hilii, omalemale, o-niho-niho opule, lau-ua, ulae, aoao-wela, upa-palu, uhu-eleele, lao, palao, oama. and the aawa. No doubt I have omitted some of them. These fish are excellent eating.

The following fish have flattened bodies: the aloi-loi, ku-pipi, ao-ao-nui, mai-i-i, kole, manini, mamamo, mao-mao, lau-hau,⁵ laui-pala, mai-ko, maao, humu-humu, kihi-kihi, kika-kapu, ka-pu-hili, oili-lapa, pa-kii, paa-paa, uwi-wi, umauma-lei, walu; and probably these are not all of them. These fish are good eating.

The following are fish with bodies greatly flattened: the kala, palani, nanue, piha-weu-weu, pa-kukui, and the api.

The following fish have bodies of a silvery color: the ahole (same as the ahole-ahole} , anae (full grown mullet), awa, uoa, o-io, opelu, mo-i, u-lua, ulua-mohai, a-ku, ahi, omaka, kawa-kawa, moku-le-ia, la-i, and the hoana, all of which are good eating.

The following are fish with long bodies: the ku-pou-pou, aha, nunu, a'u-a'u, wela, wolu, ono, aulepe, ha-uli-uli; these fish are used as food.

The following fish have bodies of a red color: the a-ala-ihi, u-u, moano, weke (of a pink, salmon and fawn color, a fine fish), a-we-o-we-o,⁶ ku-mu, pa-ko-le-ko-le, uhu-ula, pa-ou-ou, o-pa-ka-pa-ka, ula-ula, ko-a-e, pihu-weu-weu, o-ka-le-ka-le, muku-muku-waha-nui. These fish are all wholesome food; though probably my list is not complete.

The following fish are furnished with rays or arms (awe-awe); the octopus (he-e), and the mu-he-e (squid?) which are eaten; also the he-e-ma-ko-ko which is bitter.

The following sea-animals have a great resemblance to each other: the sea-turtle or honu, from whose shell is made an instrument useful in scraping olona bark, also in making hair comps in modern times; the e-a, a species of sea-turtle, whose shell was used in making fish-hooks. The honu is excellent eating, but the flesh of the ea is poisonous.

The mano or shark has one peculiarity, he is a man-eater. His skin is used in making drums for the worship of idols, also for the hula and the ka-eke-eke drum. The ka-ha-la and the mahi-mahi are quite unlike other fishes. Their flesh is excellent eating.

The following are fish that breathe on the surface of the ocean: the porpoise or na-ia, nuao, pa-hu, and the whale (ko-hola). The kohola or whale was formerly called the pa-lao-a.⁷ These fish, cast ashore by the sea, were held to be the property of the king. Both the honu and the ea come to the surface to breathe.

The following fish are provided with (long fins like) wings: the lolo-au ma-lola (the flying-fish), the puhu-kii, lupe, hihi-manu, haha-lua, and the hai-lepo. These fishes are all used as food, but they are not of the finest flavor. No doubt many fish have failed of mention.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 15

 

1 I'a, from this word the k, which still remains in its related form i-ka of the Maori language, has been dropped out; its grave is still marked, however, in the Hawaiian by a peculiar break, the result of a sudden glottic closure. It means primarily fish; also any kind of meat or animal food, and in the absence of these, any savory vegetable, which as a relish temporarily takes the place of animal food, is for the time spoken of as the i-a for that meal. Thus it is common to say, luau was our i'a on such an occasion. Even salt, paa-kai, is sometimes spoken of as the i'a for a particular meal or in time of want. In the Malay language the word for fish is ikan.

 

2 Alamihi. A small crab, also called the ala-mihi, spoken of as the corpse-eating alamihi, ka alamihi ai kupapau. In spite of its scavenging propensities this crab is eaten, and it was undoubtedly one of the means of spreading cholera in Honolulu in 1895.

 

3 All of these are echini. The spines of the wana are very long, fine and sharp as a needle.

 

4 In the oopu-hue the poisonous part is the gall. By carefully dissecting out the gall-bladder without allowing the escape of any of its contents, the fish may be eaten with impunity. Its flavor is delicious.

 

5 Lau-hau. Its patches of gold and dark brown, resembling the ripe leaf of the hau, it give this name.

 

6 A-weoweo, also called ala-lau-a. The appearance of this fish in large numbers about the harbor of Honolulu was formerly regarded as an omen of death to some alii.

 

7 The palaoa is the sperm whale.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 16

The Tapas, Malos, Paus And Mats Of The Hawaiians

Tapa was the fabric that formed the clothing of the Hawaiians. It was made from the bark of certain plants, wauke, mamake, maaloa, and poulu, the skin of young bread-fruit shoots.¹ Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera) was extensively cultivated and the preparation and manufacture of it was as follows: It was the man's work to cut down the branches, after which the women peeled off (uhole) the bark and, having removed the cortex, put the inner bark to soak until it had become soft.

After this it was beaten on the log (kua) with a club called i-e (or i-e kuku. The round club, hohoa, was generally used in the early stage of preparation) until it was flattened out. This was continued for four days, or much longer sometimes, and when the sheet (being kept wet all the time) had been worked until it was broad and thin, it was spread out and often turned, and when dry this was the fabric used as blankets, loin-skirts (pa-u) for the women, and, when made into narrower pieces, as loin-cloths (malos) for the men.²

The mamake (Pipturus albidus) was another of the plants whose bark was made into tapa and used as blankets, malos and pa-us. This was a tree that grew wild in the woods. It was collected by the women who stripped off the bark and steamed it in the oven with pala-a, (a fern that yielded a dark-red coloring matter). If not steamed and stained with pala-a the tapa made from it was called kapa-kele-wai.

Like wauke, it was first soaked until pulpy, when it was beaten on the tapa-log with a club until it had been drawn out thin this might require three or four days after which it was spread out to dry in the sun, and was then used as sheets or blankets, clothing, malos, pans. The mamake made a very durable tapa and could be worn a long time.

The bark of the maaloa and po-ulu, the bark of tender bread-fruit shoots were also beaten into tapa. The method of manufacture was the same as that of wauke and mamake. There were many varieties of tapa, sheets, blankets, robes, malos, pa-us, etc., which the women decorated in different patterns with black, red, green, yellow and other colors.

If, after being stained with the juice of kukui-root, called hili, it was colored with an earth, the tapa was called pu-lo'u; another name for it was o-u-holo-wai.

If the tapa was colored with ma'o (Gossypiuui tomentosum) it was called ma'o-ma'o, green. If stained with the hoolei, (Ochrosia sandwicensis) it took on a yellow color. If unstained the tapa was white. If red cloth was mixed with it in the beating, the tapa was called pa'i-ula, or red-print.³

There was a great variety of names derived from the colors (and patterns) stamped upon them by the women.

The loin-skirts (pau) of the women were colored in many different ways. If stained with turmeric, the pan was called kama-lena, if with cocoanut, it was called hala-kea⁴ Most of the names applied to the different varieties of pan were derived from the manner in which the women stained (and printed) them.⁵

In the same way most of the names applied to varieties of the malo were likewise derived from the manner of staining (and printing) them. If stained with the noni (Morinda citrifolia) it was a kua-ula, a red-back, or a pu-kohu-kohu or a pua-kai, seaflower. A pau dyed with turmeric was soft, while some other kinds of pau were stiff. The names applied to pans were as diverse as the patterns imprinted on them; and the same was the case with the malo, of which one pattern was called puali and another kupeke.

These were the fabrics which the ancient Hawaiians used  for their comfort, and in robing themselves withal, as loin-girdles for the men, and as loin-skirts for the wromen.

They braided mats⁶ from the leaves of a tree called the hala (pandanus). The women beat down the leaves with sticks, wilted them over the fire, and then dried them in the sun. After the young leaves (muo) had been separated from the old ones (laele) the leaves were made up into rolls.

This done (and the leaves having been split up into strips of the requisite width) they were plaited into mats. The young leaves (mu-o)⁷ made the best mats, and from them were made the sails for the canoes. Mats were also made from the makaloa, a fine rush, which were sometimes decorated with patterns inwrought (pawehe). A mat of superior softness and fineness was made from the naku, or tule.

These things were articles of the greatest utility, being used to cover the floor, as clothing, and as robes. This work was done by the women, and was a source of considerable profit; so that the women who engaged in it were held to be well off, and were praised for their skill. Such arts as these were useful to the ancient Hawaiians and brought them wealth.

From the time of Kamehameha I down to the present reign of Kamehameha III we have been supplied with cloth imported from foreign lands. These new stuffs we call lole (to change). It has many names according to the pattern.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 16

 

¹ Many other fibres not mentioned by Mr. Malo were used in making tapa, such as the olona and the hibiscus (hau), not to mention the mulberry since its introduction in modern times.

 

² The Hawaiians bad no means of cutting their tapa corresponding to our shears. They knew nothing of the art of the tailor. As a piece of tapa was designed, so it remained to the end of its history, whether it were to serve as a cover at night sheet or blanket a toga-like robe of warmth and etiquette, kihei, or the democratic malo or pau. The malo was of more pliable material as a rule than the kihei; its width was generally nine to ten inches, its length from three to four yards. The patterns used on the malo were different from those used in decorating the pan; and the same remark applies to the kihei.

 

³ In modern times foreign cloth, especially turkey-red has been used as a source from which to obtain dye. Red or yellow earths and ochre, as well as charcoal, were used in the make up of pigments. The Hawaiians did not use a glaze or varnish, after the manner of the Samoans, in finishing their tapas.

 

⁴ The oily juice of the fully ripe cocoanut meat, mixed with turmeric and the juice of a fragrant mountain vine, kupa-o-a, was used to impart an agreeable odor to the malo of an alii. It also gave it a yellowish color. Mamake tapa was often treated in this way. Sandalwood and the fragrant mokihana berry were also used to impart an agreeable odor to tapa.

 

⁵ No mention is made by the author of the art of printing tapa by by means of stamps, which were generally made of bamboo. They were very extensively used and were in great variety of pattern. These printing blocks were named laau-ka-pala-pala.

 

⁶ Mats were made from a dozen other things besides the hala-leaf. Niihau was famed for producing the most beautiful mats. The mats of the Micronesian and Gilbert islands, the people of which belong to the class of weavers, are superior to those of the Hawaiian archipelago.

 

⁷ The Hawaiians distinctly belonged to that class of the Polynesians which may be called the tapa-beaters, in distinction from the weavers. When soiled or dirty, tapa was thrown away.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 17

The Stone Ax And The New Ax

The ax of the Hawaiians was of stone. The art of making it was handed down from remote ages. Ax-makers were a greatly esteemed class in Hawaii nei. Through their craft was obtained the means of felling trees and of cutting and hewing all kinds of limber used in every sort of wood-work. The manner of making an ax was as follows:

The ax-makers (poe ka-ko'i) prospected through the mountains and other places in search of hard stones suitable for ax-making, carrying with them certain other pieces of hard stone, some of them angular and some of them round in shape, called haku ka-koi, to be used in chipping and forming the axes.

After splitting the rock and obtaining a long fragment, they placed it in a liquor made from vegetable juices (wai-laau)¹ which was supposed to make it softer, and this accomplished, they chipped it above and below, giving it the rude shape of an ax.

The lower part of the ax which is rounded (e polipoli ana) is termed the pipi; the upper part which forms an angle with it is termed the hau-hana. When the shape of the thing has been blocked out, they apply it to. the grind-stone, hoana,² sprinkled with sand and water. The upper side and the lower side were ground down and then the edge was sharpened. The joiner's ax (koi kapili) had a handle of hau, or some other wood.

The next thing was to braid some string, to serve as a lashing, to fit the handle to the ax, to wrap a protecting cloth (pale) about it (in order to save the lashing from being cut by the chips), and lastly, to bind the ax firmly to the handle, which done, the ax was finished. The ax now became an object of barter with this one and that one, and thus came into the hands of the canoemaker.

The shell called o-le³ served as an ax for some purposes, also a hard wood called ala-hee. There were a few axes made from (scraps of) iron, but the amount of iron in their possession was small. It was with such tools as these that the Hawaiians hewed out their canoes, house-timber and did a great variety of wood-work. The ax was by the ancients reckoned an article of great value. How pitiful!

Now come new kinds of axes from the lands of the white man. But iron had reached Hawaii before the arrival of the foreigner, a jetsam iron which the chiefs declared sacred to the gods. (He hao pae, ua hai na 'lii i na kua kii.)

There was, however, very little iron here in those old times. But from the days of Kamehameha I down to those of Kamehameha III, iron has been abundant in this country.

 Iron is plentiful now, and so are all kinds of iron tools, including the kitchen-ax, the hatchet, the adze, broad-ax, chisel, etc.

These are the new tools which have been imported. The stone ax (koi-pohaku) is laid aside.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 17

 

¹ I am informed that this wai-laau was composed of the juice of the pala'e fern mixed with green kukui nuts. After keeping the stone in the liquor a few days it was thought to become softer and more easy to work.

 

² In spite of the resemblance of the word hoana to our word "hone," it seems to be a genuine Hawaiian word of ancient origin. In N. Z. it is hoanga, in Raro-tonga oanga.

 

³ "O ka ole ke koi o kai,

   O ke alahe'e ke koi o uka."

 

   The ole is the ax of the shore,

   The alahe'e is the ax of the inland.

 

The ole is a sea-shell, the alahee a hard wood found in the upland. The adzes made of these were not equal to the stone axes, but were useful in cutting soft woods, such as the wili-wili, kukui, etc.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 18

The Alii And The Common People

The physical characteristics of the chiefs and the common people of Hawaii nei were the same; they were all of one race; alike in features and physique.¹ Commoners and alii were all descended from the same ancestors, Wakea and Papa. The whole people were derived from that couple. There was no difference between king and plebeian as to origin. It must have been after the time of Wakea that the separation of the chiefs from the people took place.

It is probable that because it was impossible for all the people to act in concert in the government, in settling the difficulties, lifting the burdens, and disentangling the embarrassments of the people from one end of the land to the other that one was made king, with sole authority to conduct the government and to do all its business. This most likely was the reason why certain ones were selected to be chiefs. But we are not informed who was the first one chosen to be king; that is only a matter of conjecture.

The king was appointed (hoonoho ia mai; set up would be a more literal translation) that he might help the oppressed who appealed to him, that he might succor those in the right and punish severely those in the wrong. The king was over all the people; he was the supreme executive, so long, however, as he did right.

His executive duties in the government were to gather the people together in time of war, to decide all important questions of state, and questions touching the life and death of the common people as well as of the chiefs and. his comrades in arms. It was his to look after the soldiery. To him belonged the property derived from the yearly taxes, and he was the one who had the power to dispossess commoners and chiefs of their lands.

It was his to assess the taxes both on commoner and on chiefs and to impose penalties in case the land-tax was not paid. He had the power to appropriate, reap or seize at pleasure, the goods of any man, to cut off the ear of another man's pig, (thus making it his own). It was his duty to consecrate the temples, to oversee the performance of religious rites in the temples of human sacrifice, (na heiau poo-kanaka, oia hoi na luakini) that is, in the luakini, to preside over the celebration of the Makahiki festival, and such other ceremonies as he might be pleased to appoint.

From these things will be apparent the supremacy of the king over the people and chiefs. The soldiery were a factor that added to the king's pre-eminence. It was the policy of the government to place the chiefs who were destined to rule, while they were still young, with wise persons, that they might be instructed by skilled teachers in the principles of government, be taught the art of war, and be made to acquire personal skill and bravery.

The young man had first to be subject to another chief, that he might be disciplined and have experience of poverty, hunger, want and hardship, and by reflecting on these things learn to care for the people with gentleness and patience, with a feeling of sympathy for the common people, and at the same time to pay due respect to the ceremonies of religion and the worship of the gods, to live temperately, not violating virgins (aole lima koko kohe),² conducting the government kindly to all.

This is the way for a king to prolong his reign and cause his dynasty to be perpetuated, so that his government shall not be overthrown. Kings that behave themselves and govern with honesty, their annals and genealogies will be preserved and treasured by the thoughtful and the good.

Special care was taken in regard to chiefs of high rank to secure from them noble offspring, by not allowing them to form a first union with a woman of lower rank than themselves, and especially not to have them form a first union with a common or plebeian woman (wahine noa).

To this end diligent search was first made by the genealogists into the pedigree of the woman, if it concerned a high born prince, or into the pedigree of the man, if it concerned a princess of high birth, to find a partner of unimpeachable pedigree; and only when such was found and the parentage and lines of ancestry clearly established, was the young man (or young woman) allowed to form his first union, in order that the offspring might be a great chief.

When it was clearly made out that there was a close connection, or identity, of ancestry between the two parties, that was the woman with whom the prince was first to pair. If the union was fruitful, the child would be considered a high chief, but not of the highest rank or tabu. His would be a kapu a noho, that is the people and chiefs of rank inferior to his must sit in his presence.

A suitable partner for a chief of the highest rank was his own sister, begotten by the same father and mother as himself. Such a pairing was called a pi'o (a bow, a loop, a thing bent on itself); and if the union bore fruit, the child would be a chief of the highest rank, a ni nau pi'o, so sacred that all who came into his presence must prostrate themselves. He was called divine, akua. Such an alii would not go abroad by day but only at night, because if he went abroad in open day (when people were about their usual avocations), every one had to fall to the ground in an attitude of worship,

Another suitable partner for a great chief was his half sister, born, it might be of the same mother, but of a different father, or of the same father but of a different mother. Such a union was called a naha. The child would be a great chief, niau-pio; but it would have only the kapu-a-noho (sitting tabu).

If such unions as these could not be obtained for a great chief, he would then be paired with the daughter of an elder or younger brother, or of a sister. Such a union was called a hoi (return). The child would be called a niau-pio, and be possessed of the kapu-moe.

This was the practice of the highest chiefs that their first born might be chiefs of the highest rank, fit to succeed to the throne.

It was for this reason that the genealogies of the kings were always preserved by their descendants, that the ancestral lines of the great chiefs might not be forgotten; so that all the people might see clearly that the ancestors on the mother's side were all great chiefs, with no small names among them; also that the father's line was pure and direct. Thus the chief became peerless, without blemish, sacred (kuhau-lua, ila-ole, hemolele).

In consequence of this rule of practice, it was not considered a thing to be tolerated that other chiefs should associate on familiar terms with a high chief, or that one's claim of relationship with him should be recognized until the ancestral lines of the claimant had been found to be of equal strength (manoanoa, thickness) with those of the chief; only then was it proper for them to call the chief a maka-maka (friend, or intimate maka means eye).

Afterwards, when the couple had begotten children of their own, if the man wished to take another woman or the woman another man even though this second partner were not of such choice blood as the first, it was permitted them to do so. And if children were thus begotten they were called kaikaina, younger brothers or sisters of the great chief, and would become the backbone (iwi-kua-moo) , executive officers (ila-muku) of the chief, the ministers (kuhina) of his government.

The practice with certain chiefs was as follows: if the mother was a high chief, but the father not a chief, the child would rank somewhat high as a chief and would be called an alii papa (a chief with a pedigree) on account of the mother's high rank.

If the father was a high chief, and the mother of low rank, but a chiefess, the child would be called a kau-kau-alii.³ In case the father was a chief and the mother of no rank whatever, the child would be called a kulu, a drop; another name was ua-iki, a slight shower; still another name was kukae-popolo. (I will not translate this). The purport of these appellatives is that chiefish rank is not clearly established.

If a woman who was a kaukau-alii, living with her own husband, should have a child by him and should then give it away in adoption to another man, who was a chief, the child would be an alii-poo-lua, a two-headed chief.

Women very often gave away their children to men with whom they had illicit relations.⁴ It was a common thing for a chief to have children by this and that woman with whom he had enjoyed secret amours. Some of these children were recognized and some were not recognized.

One of these illegitimates would be informed of the fact of his chiefish ancestry, though it might not be generally known to the public. The child in such case, was called an alii kuauhau (chief with an ancestry), from the fact that he knew his pedigree and could thus prove himself an alii.

Another one would merely know that he had alii blood in his veins, and on that account perhaps he would not suffer his clothing to be put on the same frame or shelf as that of another person. Such an one was styled a clothes-rack-chief (alii-kau-holo-papa) , because it was in his solicitude about his clothes-rack that he distinguished himself as an alii.

If a man through having become a favorite (punahele) or an intimate (aikane) of an alii, afterwards married a woman of alii rank, his child by her would be called a kau-kau-alii,⁵ or an alii maoli (real alii).

A man who was enriched by a chief with a gift of land or other property was called an alii lalo-lalo, a low down chief. Persons were sometimes called alii by reason of their skill or strength. Such ones were alii only by brevet title.

The great chiefs were entirely exclusive, being hedged about with many tabus, and a large number of people were slain for breaking, or infringing upon, these tabus. The tabus that hedged about an alii were exceedingly strict and severe. Tradition does not inform us what king established these tabus. In my opinion the establishment of the tabu-system is not of very ancient date, but comparatively modern in origin.

If the shadow of a man fell upon the house of a tabu-chief, that man must be put to death, and so with any one whose shadow fell upon the back of the chief, or upon his robe or malo, or upon anything that belonged to the chief. If any one passed through the private doorway of a tabu-chief, or climbed over the stockade about his residence, he was put to death.⁶

If a man entered the alii's house without changing his wet malo, or with his head smeared with mud, he was put to death. Even if there were no fence surrounding the alii's residence, only a mark, or faint scratch in the ground hidden by the grass, and a man were to overstep this line unwittingly, not seeing it, he would be put to death.

When a tabu-chief ate, the people in his presence must kneel, and if any one raised his knee from the ground, he was put to death. If any man put forth in a kio-loa⁷ canoe at the same time as the tabu-chief, the penalty was death.

If any one girded himself with the king's malo, or put on the king's robe, he was put to death. There were many other tabus, some of them relating to the man himself and some to the king, for violating which any one would be put to death.

A chief who had the kapu-moe, as a rule, went abroad only at night; but if he travelled in daytime a man went before him with a flag calling out "kapu! moe!" whereupon all the people prostrated themselves. When the containers holding the water for his bath, or when his clothing, his malo, his food, or anything that belonged to him, was carried along, every one must prostrate himself; and if any remained standing, he was put to death. Kiwalao was one of those who had this kapu-moe.

An alii who had the kapu-wohi⁸ and his kahili-bearer, who accompanied him, did not prostrate himself when the alii with the kapu-wohi came along; he just kept on his way without removing his lei or his garment.

Likewise with the chief who possessed the kapu-a-noho, when his food-calabashes, bathing water, clothing, malo, or anything that belonged to him, was carried along the road, the person who at such a time remained standing was put to death in accordance with the law of the tabu relative to the chiefs.

The punishment inflicted on those who violated the tabu of the chiefs was to be burned with fire until their bodies were reduced to ashes, or to be strangled, or stoned to death. Thus it was that the tabus of the chiefs oppressed the whole people.

The edicts of the king had power over life and death. If the king had a mind to put some one to death, it might be a chief or a commoner, he uttered the word and death it was.

But if the king chose to utter the word of life, the man's life was spared.

The king, however, had no laws regulating property, or land, regarding the payment or collection of debts, regulating affairs and transactions among the common people, not to mention a great many other things.

Every thing went according to the will or whim of the king, whether it concerned land, or people, or anything else not according to law.

All the chiefs under the king, including the konohikis who managed their lands for them, regulated land-matters and everything else according to their own notions.

There was no judge, nor any court of justice, to sit in judgment on wrong-doers of any sort. Retaliation with violence or murder was the rule in ancient times.

To run away and hide one's self was the only resource for an offender in those days, not a trial in a court of justice as at the present time.

If a man's wife was abducted from him he would go to the king with a dog as a gift, appealing to him to cause the return of his wife, or the woman for the return of her husband, but the return of the wife, or of the husband, if brought about, was caused by the gift of the dog, not in pursuance of any law. If any one had suffered from a great robbery, or had a large debt owing him, it was only by the good will of the debtor, not by the operation of any law regulating such matters that he could recover or obtain justice. Men and chiefs acted strangely in those days.

There was a great difference between chiefs. Some were given to robbery, spoliation, murder, extortion, ravishing. There were few kings who conducted themselves properly as Kamehameha I did. He looked well after the peace of the land.

On account of the rascality (kolohe) of some of the chiefs to the common people, warlike contests frequently broke out between certain chiefs and the people, and many of the former were killed in battle by the commoners. The people made war against bad kings in old times.

The amount of property which the chiefs obtained from the people was very great. Some of it was given in the shape of taxes, some was the fruit of robbery and extortion.

Now the people in the out-districts (kua-aina) were as a rule industrious, while those about court or who lived with the chiefs were indolent, merely living on the income of the land. Some of the chiefs carried themselves haughtily and arrogantly, being supported by contributions from others without labor of their own. As was the chief, so were his retainers (kanaka).

On this account the number of retainers, servants and hangers-on about the courts and residences of the kings and high chiefs was very great. The court of a king offered great attractions to the lazy and shiftless.

These people about court were called pu-ali⁹ or ai-alo (those who eat in the presence), besides which there were many other names given them. One whom the alii took as an intimate was called ai-kane. An adopted child was called keiki hookama.

The person who brought up an alii and was his guardian was called a kahu; he who managed the distribution of his properly was called a puu-ku. The house where the property of the alii was stored was called a hale pa-paa (house with strong fence). The keeper of the king's apparel (master of the king's robes), or the place where they were stored, was called hale opeope, the folding house.

The steward who had charge of the king's food was called an 'a- i-puu-puu, calloused-neck. He who presided over the king's pot de chambre was called a lomi-lomi, i.e., a masseur. He who watched over the king during sleep was called kiai-poo, keeper of the head. The keeper of the king's idol was called kahu-akua.

The priest who conducted the religious ceremonies in the king's heiau was a kahuna pule. He who selected the site for building a heiau and designed the plan of it was called a kuhi-kuhi puu-one.¹⁰ He who observed and interpreted the auguries of the heavens was called a kilo-lani. A person skilled in strategy and war was called a kaa-kaua. A counselor, skilled in statecraft, was called a kalai-moku (kalai, to hew; moku, island.) Those who farmed the lands of the king or chiefs were kono-hiki.

The man who had no land was called a kaa-owe.¹¹ The temporary hanger-on was called a kua-lana (lana, to float. After hanging about the alii's residence for a time, he shifted to some other alii. TRANSLATOR); another name for such a vagrant was kuewa (a genuine tramp, who wheedled his way from place to place). The servants who handled the fly-brushes kahili, about the king's sleeping place were called haa-kue; another name for them was kua-lana-puhi; or they were called olu-eke-loa-hoo-kaa-moena.¹²

Beggars were termed auhau-puka¹³ or noi (a vociferous beggar), or makilo (a silent beggar), or apiki.¹⁴

One who was born at the residence of the king or of a chief was termed a kanaka no-hii-alo, or if a chief, alii no-hii-alo (noho i ke alo). A chief who cared for the people was said to be a chief of aau-loa¹⁵ or of mahu-kai-loa. A man who stuck to the service of a chief through thick and thin and did not desert him in time of war, was called a kanaka no kahi kaua, a man for the battle-field. This epithet was applied also to chiefs who acted in the same way.

People who were clever in speech and at the same time skillful workmen were said to be noeau or noian. There are many terms applicable to the court, expressive of relations between king and chiefs and people, which will necessarily escape mention.

As to why in ancient times a certain class of people were ennobled and made into aliis, and another class into subjects (kanaka), why a separation was made between chiefs and commoners, has never been explained.

Perhaps in the earliest times all the people were alii¹⁶ and it was only after the lapse of several generations that a division was made into commoners and chiefs; the reason for this division being that men in the pursuit of their own gratification and pleasure wandered off in one direction and another until they were lost sight of and forgotten.

Perhaps this theory will in part account for it: a handsome, but worthless, chief takes up with a woman of the same sort, and, their relatives having cast them out in disgust, they retire to some out of the way place; and their children, born in the back-woods amid rude surroundings, are forgotten.¹⁷

Another possible explanation is that on account of lawlessness, rascality, dishonorable conduct, theft, impiousness and all sorts of criminal actions that one had committed, his fellow chiefs banished him, and after long residence in some out of the way place, all recollection of him and his pedigree was lost.¹⁸

Another reason no doubt was that certain ones leading a vagabond life roamed from place to place until their ancestral genealogies came to be despised, (wahawaha ia) and were finally lost by those whose business it was to preserve them. This cause no doubt helped the split into chiefs and commoners.

The commoners were the most numerous class of people in the nation, and were known as the ma-ka-aina-na; another name by which they were called was hu (Hu, to swell, multiply, increase like yeast.) The people who lived on the windward, that was the back, or koolau side of any island, were called kua-aina or back-country folks, a term of depreciation, however.

The condition of the common people was that of subjection to the chiefs, compelled to do their heavy tasks, burdened and oppressed, some even to death. The life of the people was one of patient endurance, of yielding to the chiefs to purchase their favor. The plain man (kanaka) must not complain.

If the people were slack in doing the chief's work they were expelled from their lands, or even put to death. For such reasons as this and because of the oppressive exactions made upon them, the people held the chiefs in great dread and looked upon them as gods.

Only a small portion of the kings and chiefs ruled with kindness; the large majority simply lorded it over the people.

It was from the common people, however, that the chiefs received their food and their apparel for men and women, also their houses and many other things. When the chiefs went forth to war some of the commoners also went out to fight on the same side with them.

The makaainana were the fixed residents of the land; the chiefs were the ones who moved about from place to place. It was the makaainanas also who did all the work on the land; yet. all they produced from the soil belonged to the chiefs; and the power to expel a man from the land and rob him of his possessions lay with the chief.

There were many names descriptive of the makaainanas. Those who were born in the back districts were called kanaka no-hii-kua (noho-i-kua) , people of the back. The man who lived with the chief and did not desert him when war came, was called a kanaka no lua-kaua, a man for the pit of battle.

The people were divided into farmers, fishermen, house-builders, canoe-makers (kalai-waa), etc. They were called by many different appellations according to the trades they followed.

The (country) people generally lived in a state of chronic fear and apprehension of the chiefs; those of them, however, who lived immediately with the chief were (to an extent) relieved of this apprehension.¹⁹

After sunset the candles of kukui-nuts were lighted and the chief sat at meat. The people who came in at that time were called the people of lani-ka-e,²⁰ Those who came in when the midnight lamp was burning (ma ke kui au-moe) were called the people of pohokano. This lamp was merely to talk by, there was no eating being done at that time.

The people who sat up with the chief until day-break (to carry-on, tell stories, gossip, or perhaps play some game, like konane. TRANSLATOR) ) were called ma-ko-u²¹ because that was the name of the flambeau generally kept burning at that hour.

There were three designations applied to the kalai-moku, or counselors of state. The kalaimoku who had served under but one king was called lani-ka'e. He who had served under two kings was called a pohokano, and if one had served three kings he was termed a ma-ko'u. This last class were regarded as being most profoundly skilled in state-craft, from the fact that they had had experience with many kings and knew wherein one king had failed and wherein another had succeeded.

It was in this way that these statesmen had learned by experience that one king by pursuing a certain policy had met with disaster, and how another king, through following a different policy had been successful. The best course for the king would have been to submit to the will of the people.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 18

 

¹ Much has been said about the physique of the Hawaiian 'alii class, its quality, the probability that they were of a different and superior stock, &c., &c. Such talk is a mixture of flattery and of bosh. One might as well talk of the superiority of the breed of aldermen. When one considers to what extent the blood of the lower classes found its way into the veins of the alii-class, in spite of all tabus and precautions, and vice versa, all attempts to account for the rotund athleticism of the Hawaiian alii by any such theory are off the track. Feeding and grooming are sufficient to account for all the facts.

 

² Aole lima koko kohe. The literal translation of this would be non manibus sanguine vaginae pollutis. To lie with a woman at the time of her infirmity was a greater offense than to commit a rape.

 

³ Kau-kau-alii: A Hawaiian explains the use of this phrase as meaning a step, stepping up to be an alii. Kau means a stepping place, or a foot-rest.

 

⁴ Such relations might be known and approved by the husband. The unfruitfulness of a marriage relation was a frequent cause of this practice.

 

⁵ The figure in this appellation is that of a flight of steps, kau, kau, step, step. Such is the explanation given of it by an intelligent Hawaiian.

 

⁶ When Umi went to the court of Liloa to claim that king as his father, following his mother's instructions, he climbed the outside pa and then entered into the king's presence by the king's private entrance, thus by his defiance of tabu asserting his rank.

 

⁷ The kioloa was a long, elegant, swift canoe, used for display and for racing. If any one were to show himself in one 'of these while the chief or king was also on the water, he would be chargeable with arrogance, lese majeste, in vying with him in display and thus detracting from the honor due the chief. This tabu did not apply to an ordinary fishing craft. It was in force until the chief had returned to his residence.

 

⁸ One informant says the kapu-wohi was possessed by a young chief who had not yet known carnal intercourse. I do not trust this statement. Kanipahu, a king of Puna, is said to have been a very kapu-chief, to have combined in his own person kapu-moe, kapu ku and kapu-hele at the same time. How this could be I cannot see. His son, Kalapana, is said to have had the same range of kapu.

 

⁹ In the original the word is pualii, but that is evidently a mistake and it should be puali, the literal meaning of which is band or cohort or company. Pualii is a term specially applied .to orphans who were adopted by a chief or the king.

 

¹⁰ Kuhikuhi-puu-one. One who pointed out the sand heaps. The design for a heiau was first shown rudely in sand.

 

¹¹ An allusion to the rustling of his paper-like robe or blanket of tapa as he turned from side to side while lounging on his mat.

 

¹² The author has not mentioned the class to whom was given the expressive name hoopili-mea-ai, hangers-on-for-something-of-eat.

 

¹³ Full form auhau-puka-a-pae, a slang phrase meaning to send one on a fool's errand, that being the way in which some of these gentry were treated.

 

¹⁴ Apiki. Tricky; one, for instance, who, on receiving food, perhaps from several places, instead of taking it to his family, shared it with his pals.

 

¹⁵ Aau-loa, literal meaning long shanks, derivative longsuffering.

 

¹⁶ The development of this thought would have explained the whole mystery of why one became a king and the others remained commoners, kanaka or makaainana.

 

¹⁷ The tacit theory on which this explanation rests is that the passport to recognition as having a standing in the papa alii, or as being entitled to recognition as of the alii class, was that one's pedigree should be vouched for by the genealogist. One's pedigree being forgotten he must fall to the rank of the commoner.

 

¹⁸ It seems impossible to suppose that in the narrow limits of any of the Hawaiian islands any one could have wandered far enough to have become lost to the knowledge of the genealogists.

 

¹⁹ That may have been because they had nothing to lose. The terror of death was passed perhaps. The people in the out-districts also were more timid and retiring in their manners.

 

²⁰ Lani-ka'e, or lain-ka'e'e'e. Later and towards the middle of the night, light was given by the pohokano, which was simply a hollowed stone containing oil and a wick.

 

²¹ Ma-ko'-u. This flambeau was for the accommodation of the fishermen who returned from the sea at this early hour in the morning. The ma-ko'u was generally a torch of three strings of kukui nuts, ihoiho. Ma-ko-u is the name also given to the castor oil bush, whose seed was sometimes in later times used as lamp-oil.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 19

Life In The Out-Districts And At The King's Residence

The manner of life in the out-districts was not the same as that about the residence of the chief. In the former the people were cowed in spirit, the prey of alarm and apprehension, in dread of the chiefs man.

They were comfortably off, however, well supplied with everything. Vegetable and animal food, tapa for coverings, girdles and loin-cloths and other comforts were in abundance.

To eat abundantly until one was sated and then to sleep and take one's comfort, that was the rule of the country. Sometimes, however, they did suffer hunger and feel the pinch of want The thrifty, however, felt its touch but lightly; as a rule they were supplied with all the comforts of life.

The country people were well off for domestic animals. It was principally in the country that pigs, dogs and fowls were raised, and thence came the supply for the king and chiefs.

The number of articles which the country (kua-aina) furnished the establishments of the kings and chiefs was very great. The country people were strongly attached to their own homelands, the full calabash,¹ the roasted potatoes, the warm food, to live in the midst of abundance. Their hearts went out to the land of their birth.

It was a life of weariness, however; they were compelled at frequent intervals to go here and there, to do this and that work for the lord of the land, constantly burdened with one exaction or another.

The country people² were humble and abject; those about the chiefs overbearing, loud-mouthed, contentious.

The wives of the country people were sometimes appropriated by the men about court, even the men were sometimes separated from their country wives by the women of the court, and this violence was endured with little or no resistance, because these people feared that the king might take sides against them. In such ways as these the people of the kua-aina were heavily oppressed by the people who lived about court.³

Some of the country people were very industrious and engaged in farming or fishing, while others were lazy and shiftless, without occupation. A few were clever, but the great majority were inefficient. There was a deal of blank stupidity among them.

These country people were much given to gathering together for some profitless occupation or pastime for talk's sake (hoolua nui), playing the braggadocio (hoo-pehu-pehu), when there was nothing to back up their boasts (oheke wale). The games played by the country people were rather different from those in vogue at court or at the chief's residence. Some people preferred the country to the court.

Many people, however, left the country and by preference came to live near the chiefs. These country people were often oppressive toward each other, but there was a difference between one country district and another.

The bulk of the supplies of food and of goods for chiefs and people was produced in the country districts. These people were active and alert in the interests of the chiefs.

The brunt of the hard work, whether it was building a temple, hauling a canoe-log out of the mountains, thatching a house, building a stone-wall, or whatever hard work it might be, fell chiefly upon the kua-ainas.

Life about court was very different from that in the country. At court the people were indolent and slack, given to making excuses (making a pretense of) doing some work, but never working hard.

People would stay with one chief awhile and then move on to another (pakaulei). There was no thrift; people were often hungry and they would go without their regular food for several days. At times there was great distress and want, followed by a period of plenty, if a supply of food was brought in from the country.

When poi and fish were plentiful at court the people ate with prodigality, but when food became scarce one would satisfy his hunger only at long intervals (maona kalawalawa. Kawalawala is the received orthography). At times also tapa-cloth for coverings and girdles, all of which came from the country, were in abundance at court.

At other times people about court, on account of the scarcity of cloth, were compelled to hide their nakedness with rnalos improvised from the narrow strips of tapa (hipuupuu)⁴ that came tied about the bundles of tapa-cloth. A man would sometimes be compelled to make the kihei which was his garment during the day, serve him for a blanket by night, or sometimes a man would sleep under the same covering with another man. Some of the people about court were well furnished with all these things, but they were such ones as the alii had supplied.

Of the people about court there were few who lived in marriage. The number of those who had no legitimate relations with women was greatly in the majority. Sodomy⁵ and other unnatural vices⁶ in which men were the correspondents, fornication and hired prostitution⁷ were practiced about court.

Some of the sports and games indulged in by the people about court were peculiar to them, and those who lived there became fascinated by the life. The crowd of people who lived about court was a medley of the clever and the stupid, a few industrious workers in a multitude of drones.

Among those about court there were those who were expert in all soldierly accomplishments, and the arts of combat were very much taught. Many took lessons in spear-throwing (lono-maka-ihe⁸,) spear-thrusting, pole-vaulting (ku-pololu⁹) , single-stick (kaka-laau¹⁰), rough-and-tumble wrestling (kaala¹¹), and in boxing (kui-alua).¹² All of these arts were greatly practiced about court.

In the cool of the afternoon sham fights were frequently indulged in; the party of one chief being pitted against the party of another chief, the chiefs themselves taking part.

These engagements were only sham fights and being merely for sport were conducted with blunted spears, (kaua kio) or if sharp spears were used it was termed kaua pahu-kala. These exercises were useful in training the men for war.

In spite of all precautions many of the people, even of the chiefs, were killed in these mock battles. These contests were practiced in every period in the different islands to show the chiefs beforehand who among the people were warriors, so that these might be trained and brought up as soldiers, able to defend the country at such time as the enemy made war upon it. Some of the soldiers, however, were country people.

One of the games practiced among the people about court was called honuhonu¹³. Another sport was lou-lou¹⁴. Another sport was uma¹⁵. Hakoko, wrestling; kahau¹⁶, lua¹⁷. The people who attended the chiefs at court were more polite in their manners than the country people, and they looked disdainfully upon country ways. When a chief was given a land to manage and retired into the country to live, he attempted to keep up the same style as at court.

The people about court were not timid nor easily abashed; they were not rough and muscular in physique, but they were bold and impudent in speech. Some of the country people were quite up to them, however, and could swagger and boast as if they had been brought up at court.

There was hardly anybody about court who did not practice robbery, and who was not a thief, embezzler, extortionist and a shameless beggar. Nearly every one did these things.

As to the women there was also a great difference between them. Those who lived in the country were a hard-working set, whereas those about court were indolent.

The women assisted their husbands; they went with them into the mountains to collect and prepare the bark of the wauke, mamake, maaloa and bread-fruit, and the flesh of the fern-shoot (pala-holo¹⁸) to be made into tapa. She beat out these fibres into tapa and stamped the fabrics for paus and malos, that she and her husband might have the means with which to barter for the supply of their wants.

The country women nursed their children with the milk of their own breasts, and when they went to any work they took them along with them. But this was not always the case; for if a woman had many relations, one of them, perhaps her mother (or aunt), would hold the child. Also if her husband was rich she would not tend the child herself; it would be done for her by some one hired for the purpose, or by a friend.

The indolent women in the country were very eager to have a husband who was well off, that they might live without work. Some women offered worship and prayers to the idol gods that they might obtain a wealthy man, or an alii for a husband. In the same way, if they had a son, they prayed to the idols that he might obtain a rich woman or a woman of rank for his wife, so that they might live without work.

It was not the nature of the women about court to beat tapa or to print it for paus and malos. They only made such articles as the alii specially desired them to make.

All the articles for the use of the people about court, the robes, malos, paus, and other necessaries (mea e pono ai) were what the chiefs received from the people of the country.

One of the chief employments of the women about court was to compose meles in honor of the alii19 which they recited by night as well as by day.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 19

 

¹ "Ipu ka eo, or umeke ka eo" was an epithet applied to the full calabash. An empty calabash was "umcke pala ole," i.e., an unripe calabash.

 

² This remark does not apply to the people of the Kau district on Hawaii. They had a reputation for being quick to assert their rights. Kau was called the rebellious district.

 

³ If an insolent courtier were to see that a country clown had a beautiful woman for a wife he would say to her, "You come along with me," and the country clown would be too spiritless to make any resistance. Or one of the women about court, meeting a handsome young countryman whom she fancied, would turn his head with flattery and try to win him to herself, saying, ''Why does such a fine fellow as you condescend to live with such a fright of a creature as that wife of yours? You'd better come along with me."

 

⁴ These hipuu-puu were only two or three inches wide, and it took several of them knotted together to go about a man and cover his nakedness.

 

⁵ Aikane, now used to mean an honest and laudable friendship between two males, originally meant the vice of that burnt-up city.

 

 ⁶ Hoo-ka-maka, a bestial form of vice in which man confronted man.

 

⁷ Moe hoo kuli-hoo-kuli, to shut one's mouth with a bribe.

 

⁸ Lono-maka-ihe. In this the spear was discharged from the hand.

 

⁹ Ku-pololu. In this the assailant used the long spear, pololu, as a vaulting-pole with which to pursue his opponent. The same weapon served him both offensively and defensively.

 

¹⁰ In Kaka-laau a short staff or sword-like stick was used to strike, thrust, and parry, as in single-stick.

 

¹¹ Kaala was a rough and tumble form of wrestling, in which each man sought to down the other.

 

¹² Kui-alua was a most savage form of combat, combining, in addition to wrestling and boxing, bone-breaking and maiming.

 

¹³ Honuhonu. Two men sat a la Turc, facing each other, the hands of each resting on the shoulders of his opposite, knees touching. The game consisted in rocking alternately backward and forward, thus causing each player in turn to be placed now above and now below the other.

 

¹⁴ Loulou. Two men sat facing each other with legs intertwined arid attempted to tip each other over sideways.

 

¹⁵ Uma. Also called kulakula'i. The two players kneeled facing each other, right hands grasped elbows of the same side firmly planted on the ground. Each one now strove to tip the fore-arm of his opponent over and bring the back of his hand onto the ground.

 

¹⁶ Kahau. A wrestling contest between two persons mounted on stilts.

 

¹⁷ Lua. A famous style of contest which combined boxing wrestling, rough-and-tumble tossing and gripping, maiming and bone breaking.

 

¹⁸ Palaholo was mixed with the fibre of mamake in making tapa after being steamed in the oven. N. B. The language of this as well as the preceding chapter is full of technical expressions which few Hawaiians of the present day know the meaning of.

 

¹⁹ The mele inoa was a mele in adulation of a prince or king, reciting the glories of his ancestry.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 20

Concerning Kauwa

There was a class of people in the Hawaiian Islands who were called kauwa, slaves. This word kauwa had several meanings. It was applied to those who were kauwa by birth as well as those who were alii by birth.

Kauwa was a term of degradation and -great reproach. But some were kauwa only in name; because the younger brother has always been spoken of as the kauwa of the elder brother. But he was not his kauwa in fact. It was only a way of indicating that the younger was subject to the older brother.

So it was with all younger brothers or younger sisters in relation to their elder brothers or elder sisters, whether chiefs or commoners.

Those who had charge of the chief's goods or who looked after his food were called kauwa. Their real name was 'a-'i-pu'u-pu'u and they were also called kauwa; but they were kauwa only in name, they were not really slaves.

There were people who made themselves kauwa, those who went before the king, or chief, for instance, and to make a show of humbling themselves before him said, "We are your kauwa." But that was only a form of speech.

Again people who lived with the rich were sometimes spoken of as their kauwa. But they were not really kauwa; that term was applied to them on account of their inferior position.

Mischievous, lawless people (poe kolohe) were among those who were sometimes called kauwa, and it was the same with the poor. But they were not the real kauwa; it was only an epithet applied to them.

When one person quarreled with another he would sometimes revile him and call him a kauwa; but that did not make him a real kauwa, it was only an epithet for the day of his wrath, anger and reviling.

The marshals or constables (ilamuku) of the king were spoken of as his kauwa, but they were not really kauwa. There were then many classes of people called or spoken of as kauwa, but they were kauwa only in name, to indicate their inferior rank; they were not really and in fact kauwa. The people who were really and in fact kauwa were those who were born to that condition and whose ancestors were such before them. The ancestral line of the people (properly to be) called kauwa from Papa down is as follows:

Wakea had a kauwa named Ha'akauilana. We are not informed in what way Ha'akauilana became a kauwa to Wakea. He may have been obtained by purchase. We don't know how it came about. After Wakea deserted his wife Papa, she lived with .their kauwa Ha'akauilana.

 

In time there was born to the couple a son named Kekeu. Kekeu lived with Lumilani and they begot Noa. Noa lived with Papa the second, and they begot Pueo-nui welu-welu. Pueo-nui-welu-welu lived with Noni. Their first born was Maka-noni, their last K_____ , and these were the ancestors of the actual and real kauwa in the Hawaiian Islands.

 

The descendants of Makanoni and of K_____ were the real kauwa in Hawaii nei. If persons of another class, a chief perhaps, married one of these people and had children, the children were real kauwa.

The name kauwa was an appellation very much feared and dreaded. If a contention broke out between the chiefs and the people and there was a fracas, pelting with stones and clubbing with sticks, but they did not exchange reviling epithets and call each other kauwa, the affair would not be regarded as much of a quarrel.

But if a man or a chief contended with his fellow or with any one, and they abused each other roundly, calling one another kauwa; that was a quarrel worth talking about, not to be forgotten for generations.

The epithet kauwa maoli, real slave, was one of great offense. If a man formed an alliance with a woman, or a woman with a man, and it afterwards came out that that woman or that man was a kauwa, that person would be snatched away from the kauwa by his friends or relatives without pity.

If a chief or a chiefess lay with one who was a kauwa, not knowing such to be the fact, and afterwards should learn that the person was a kauwa, the child, if any should be born, would be dashed to death against a rock. Such was the death dealt out to one who was abhorred as a kauwa.

The kauwa class were so greatly dreaded and abhorred that they were not allowed to enter any house but that of their master, because they were spoken of as the aumakua of their master.

Those who were kauwa to their chiefs and kings in the old times continued to be kauwa, and their descendants after them to the latest generations; also the descendants of the kings and chiefs,  their masters, retained to the latest generation their position as masters. It was for this reason they were called aumakua, the meaning of which is ancient servant (kauwa kahiko). They were also called akua. i.e., superhuman or godlike (from some superstitious notion regarding their power). Another name applied to them was kauwa lepo, base-born slave (lepo, dirt. "Mud-sill"); or an outcast slave, kauwa haalele loa, which means a most despised thing.

Those kauwa who were tattooed on the forehead were termed kauwa lae-puni, slaves with bound foreheads; or they were called kauwa kikoni, the pricked slave; or kauwa makawela, red-eyed slave. These were most opprobrious epithets.

If a person of another class had a child by one of these au-makuas or kauwas, the term no'u was applied to it, which meant that it also was a kauwa to the same master.

Some people of other classes, and of the alii class as we'll, formed connections with kauwas, either through ignorance or through concupiscence, or because they happened to have met a fine-looking woman or man of the kauwa class. In this way some aliis, as well as others, became entangled (hihia). Children begotten of such a union were termed ula-ula-ili, red skin (from the sun-burn acquired by exposure through neglect and nakedness). Men and women who were kauwa were said to be people from the wild woods (nahelehele) , from the lowest depths no lalo liio loa).

It was for this reason that the rank of the first woman or man with whom a great chief or chiefess was paired, was so carefully considered beforehand by those skilled in genealogies (kuauhau), who knew the standing of the woman or man in question, whether an alii or a kauwa.

For the same reason great chiefs were sometimes paired with their elder sisters (or elder brothers, as the case might be), with some member of their own family, lest by any chance they might unite with a kauwa.

It was for this reason also that the genealogies of the aliis were always carefully preserved, that it might be clear who were free from the taint of kauwa blood, that such only might be paired with those of alii rank.

It was a matter likely to cause the death of a high chief to have it said of him that he was an alii kauwa. In such a case the most expert genealogists would be summoned to search the matter to the bottom. Genealogists were called the wash-basins of the aliis, in which to cleanse them. The kauwa class were regarded as a defilement and a stench.

A female kauwa was an outcast and was not allowed to enter the eating house of a female chief.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 20

 

The Hawaiians are still very sensitive about this matter of the kauwa. To this day people in reviling each other will occasionally fling out the epithet kauwa. The institution itself, however, has gone by.

 

I am informed that kauwa were marked by means of the tattoo on the parts of the face about the eyes and on the forehead, as indicated in the accompanying cuts.

 

 

No 1 is a round spot in the middle of the forehead.

 

No. 2 is a curved figure arched over the root of the nose from one eye to the other.

 

No. 3 represents two curved figures which are placed like two halves of a bracket-mark outside of and so as to include the eyes.

 

Kapule of Molokai informs me that in his childhood he knew a family on Molokai in which there were several fine girls, but as they were said to be kauwa no one wanted to marry them, and they were neglected in the matrimonial market, in spite of their attractions. His grandmother explained to him the reason for their being so much avoided and despised. He said that he used to be informed that a kauwa was thought to be the offspring of a bestial alliance. The same informant said he never had heard of such a thing as a kauwa being marked or tattooed in any way.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 21

Wrong Conduct And Right Conduct (Na Hewa Me Na Pono)

The Ancient Idea of Morality.

There are many kinds of wrong committed by men, if their number were all told; but a single stem gives birth to them all. The thought that proceeds from, the mind is the parent that begets a multitude of sins.¹

When the heart proposes to do wrong then doubtless it will commit a sin; and when it purposes to do right, then no doubt, it will do right; because from the heart (naau, bowels) comes good and from the heart also comes evil. But some evils light down of themselves (lele wale mai), and so do some good things.

If the eye sees a thing, but the heart does not covet it, no wrong is done. But if the eye observes and the heart covets a certain thing, a great many thoughts will arise within having inordinate desire (kuko) as the root, a restless yearning (lia), a vehement desire (uluku), and a seizing (hookaha); or duplicity (hoo-maka-uli'i) and covetousness (iini), which make one look upon a thing with deep longing and the purpose to take it secretly and appropriate it to one self. These faults are to be classed with theft.

Coveting the property of another has many aspects to it, a spying upon another, lying in ambush on his trail, plotting, treachery, deceit, trickery with the intent to murder secretly in order to get someone's goods. All of these things come under the head of robbery and are of the nature of murder (pepehi wale) .

If one has determined to enrich himself at another's expense the evil has many shapes. The first thing is covetousness (pakaha), filching, thrusting one's self on the hospitality of one's neighbor (kipa wale), stripping another of his property (hao wale), appropriating his crops (uhuki wale), theft, robbery and other wrong deeds of that nature.

If a man wishes to deal truthfully with another and afterwards finds that things have been misrepresented to him, there are many things involved in that. In the first place there is deceit (hoo-punipuni), lying (waha-he'e), slander (alapahi) , falsehood (palau), the lie jestful (ku-kahe-kahe) t the lie fluent (palolo). the lie unclothed, (kokahe), the lie direct, (pahilau), and many other things of like sort.

If a person seeks to find fault with another there are many ways of doing it, the chief of which is slander (aki, biting), defamation (ahiahi), making false accusations (niania), circulating slanders (holoholo oleo), vilifying (makauli'i) , detraction (kaa-mehai, belittling (kuene), tale-bearing (poupou-noho-ino), ensnaring (hoowalewale), misleading (luahele), treachery (ku-makaia), fault-finding (hoolawehala) , malice (opu-inoino) , scandal-mongering (lawe-olelo-wale) , reviling (paonioni) and a host of other things of the same sort.

If one has evil thoughts against another there are a great many ways in which they may express themselves. The first is anger (huhu), indignation (inaina), sarcasm (a-aka), scolding (keke), fault-finding (nana), sourness (kukona), bitterness (na-hoa), fretfulness (makona) , rudeness (kalaea) , jealousy (hoo-lili) , scowling (hoomakue), harshness hookoikoi), intimidation (hooweliweli) and many other ways.

If a man wished to kill an innocent person there are many ways in which he can do it, first to simply beat him to death (pepehi wale), by stoning (hailuku), whipping (hahau) r knocking him down (kulai), garroting (umiwale), pounding; with his fists (kuku'i wale), smiting (papa'i), wrestling (hako'o-ko'o), stirring up a fight (hookonokono) , and many other similar ways.

These were all sins, clearly understood to be very wrongs but those who did these things were not suitably punished in the old times. If any one killed another, nothing was done about it there was no law. It was a rare thing for any one to be punished as at the present time.²

t should be remarked here that in ancient times indiscriminate sexual relations between unmarried persons (moe o na mea kaawale), fornication, keeping a lover (moe ipo), hired prostitution (moe kookuli), bigamy, polyandry, whoredom (moe hoo-kama-kama), sodomy (moe aikane), and masturbation were not considered wrong, nor were foeticide and idol-worship regarded as evils.

The following things were held to be wrong, hewa, both in men and women: to change husband or wife frequently; (ko-aka); to keep shifting from place to place, to be a glutton or to in men and women: to change husband or wife frequently; gossip (palau-alelo); to be indolent and lazy, to be an improvident vagabond (aea, kuonoono-ole); to be utterly shiftless (lima-liina-piiau); to go about getting food at other people's houses (koalaala-make-hewa) these and other like actions were really wrong, hewa.

The following practices were considered hewa by the landlord, that one should give himself up to the fascinations of sport and squander his property in puhenehene; sliding the stick (pahee); bowling the ulu-maika; racing with the canoe, on the surf-board or on the holua-sled, that one should build a large house, have a woman of great beauty for his wife, sport a fine tapa, or gird one's self with a fine malo.

All of these things were regarded as showing pride, and were considered valid reasons for depriving a man of his lands, because such practices were tantamount to secreting wealth.

If a landlord, or land agent, who farmed the land for an alii (kono-hiki) had to wife a woman who did no work, neither beating out or printing tapa, doing nothing in fact, but merely depending on what her husband produced, such a non-producer was called a polo-hana-ole, and it would be counted a hewa, and a sufficient reason why the man should be turned out of his lands.

Mere complaining and grumbling, with some other misfortunes are evils that come of themselves. There are other ills of the same sort which I have not mentioned.

There was a large number of actions that were considered essentially good (pono maoli) , and the number of persons who did them was very considerable, in spite of which there lighted down upon them the misfortune that when they looked upon the things belonging to another their heart lusted after them. The right course in such a case is to resist the temptation, not to pursue the object of one's desire, to cease thinking about it and touch it not.

To act justly without trespassing or deceiving, not frequenting another's house, not gazing wistfully upon your neighbor's goods nor begging for anything that belongs to him that is the prudent course.

The following actions were considered worthy of approbation; to live thriftily, not to be a vagabond, not to keep changing wives, not to be always shifting from one chief to another, not to run in debt.

It was reckoned a virtue for a man to take a wife, to bring up his children properly, to deal squarely with his neighbors and his landlord, to engage in some industry, such as fanning, fishing, house-building, canoe-making, or to raise swine, dogs and fowls.

It was also deemed virtuous not to indulge in sports, to abstain from such games as puhenehene, pahee, bowling the maika, running races, canoe-racing, surf-riding, racing on the holua-sled, and to abstain from the tug-of-war and all other games of such sort.

The practice of these virtues was a great means of bettering one's self in this life and was of great service.

The farmer and the fisherman acquired many servants and accumulated property by their labors. For this reason the practice of these callings was regarded as most commendable.

The worship of idols was regarded as a virtue by the ancients, because they sincerely believed them to be real gods. The consequence was that people desired their chiefs and kings to be religious (haipule) . The people had a strong conviction that if the king was devout, his government would abide.

Canoe-building was a useful art. The canoe was of service in enabling one to sail to other islands and carry on war against them, and the canoe had many other uses.

The priestly office was regarded with great favor, and great faith was reposed in the power of the priests to propitiate the idol-deities, and obtain from them benefits that were prayed for.

The astrologers, or kilo-lani, whose office it was to observe the heavens and declare the day that would bring victory in battle, were a class of men highly esteemed. So also were the kuhi-kuhi-puu-one, a class of priests who designated the site where a heiau should be built in order to insure the defeat of the enemy.

The kaka-olelo, or counselors who advised the alii in matters of government, were a class much thought of; so also were the warriors who formed the strength of the army in time of battle and helped to rout the enemy.

Net-makers (poe ka-upena) and those who made fishing lines (hilo-aha) were esteemed as pursuing a useful occupation. The mechanics who hewed and fashioned the tapa log, on which was beaten out tapa for sheets, girdles and loin-cloths for men and women were a class highly esteemed. There were a great many other actions that were esteemed as virtuous whether done by men and women or by the chiefs; all of them have not been mentioned.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 21

 

¹ What did the ancient Hawaiians seriously regard as wrong?

 

First: Any breach of tabu or of ceremonious observance.

 

Second: Failure to fulfill a vow to the gods or to make good any religious obligation.

 

Third: Any failure in duty towards an alii, especially an alii kapu.

 

Fourth: For the kahu of an idol to have neglected any part of his duties, as feeding it or sacrificing to it. Under this same head should be put the duties of the keeper of the bones of the dead king; to have neglected such a duty would put a terrible load on the conscience. It is owing to the fidelity of the kahu that the hiding place of the great Kamehameha's bones is to this day a profound secret. The fidelity with which such obligations as these were kept, is proof enough that this people had all the material of conscience in their make up. It will be seen that the duties and faults that weighed most heavily on the conscience of the Hawaiian were mostly artificial matters, and such as in our eyes do not touch the essence of morality. But that is true of all consciences to a large extent. It should be remarked that the Hawaiian was a believer in the doctrine of the divine right of kings to the extremist degree. His duties to his alii, or lam, as the poets always styled him, was, therefore, on the same footing with those due to the akuas.

 

Fifth: I believe that the Hawaiian conscience would have been seriously troubled by any breach of the duties of hospitality.

 

² The lex talionis was the rule. Friends often took up the matter and enacted something like a vendetta.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 22

The Valuables And Possessions Of The Ancient Hawaiians

The feathers of birds were the most valued possessions of the ancient Hawaiians. The feathers of the mamo were more choice than those of the o o because of their superior magnificence when wrought into cloaks (ahu). The plumage of the i'iwi, apapane and amakihi were made into ahu-ula, cloaks and capes, and into mahi-ole, helmets.

The ahu-ula was a possession most costly and precious (makamae), not obtainable by the common people, only by the alii. It was much worn by them as an insignia in time of war and when they went into battle. The ahu-ula was also conferred upon warriors, but only upon those who had distinguished themselves and had merit, and it was an object of plunder in every battle.

Unless one were a warrior in something more than name he would not succeed in capturing his prisoner nor in getting possession of the ahu-ula and feathered helmet of a warrior. These feathers had a notable use in the making of the royal battle-gods.¹ They were also frequently used by the female chiefs in making or decorating a comb called huli-kua, which was used as an ornament in the hair.

The lands that produced feathers were heavily taxed at the Makahiki time, feathers being the most acceptable offering to the Makahiki-idol. If any land failed to furnish the full tale of feathers due for the tax, the landlord was turned off (hemo). So greedy were the alii after fathers that there was a standing order (palala) directing their collection.

An ahu-ula made only of mamo feathers was called an alaneo and was reserved exclusively for the king of a whole island, alii ai moku; it was his kapa wai-kaua or battle-cloak. Ahu-ulas were used as the regalia of great chiefs and those of high rank, also for warriors of distinction who had displayed great prowess. It was not to be obtained by chiefs of low rank, nor by warriors of small prowess.

The carved whale-tooth, or niho-palaoa, was a decoration worn by high chiefs who alone were allowed to possess this ornament. They were not common in the ancient times, and it is only since the reign o-f Kamehameha² I that they have become somewhat more numerous. In battle or on occasions of ceremony and display (hookahakaha) an alii wore his niho-palaoa. The lei-palaoa (same as the niho-palaoa) was regarded as the exclusive property of the alii.

The kahili, a fly-brush or plumed staff of state was the emblem and embellishment of royalty. Where the king went there went his kahili-bearer (paa-kahili), and where he stopped there stopped also the kahili-bearer. When the king slept the kahili was waved over him as a fly-brush. The kahili was the possession solely of the alii.

The canoe with its furniture was considered a valuable possession, of service both to the people and to the chiefs. By means of it they could go on trading1 voyages to other lands, engage in fishing, and perform many other errands.

The canoe was used by the kings and chiefs, as a means of ostentation and display. On a voyage the alii occupied the raised and sheltered platform in the waist of the canoe which was called the pola, while the paddle-men sat in the spaces fore and aft, their number showing the strength of the king's following.

Cordage and rope of all sorts (na kaula), were articles of great value, serviceable in all sorts of work. Of kaula there were many kinds. The bark of the hau tree was used for making lines or cables with which to haul canoes³ down from the mountains as well as for other purposes. Cord aha made from cocoanut fibre was used in sewing and binding together the parts of a canoe and in rigging it as well as for other purposes. Olona fibre was braided into (a four or six-strand cord called) lino, besides being made into many other things. There were many other kinds of rope (kaula).

Fishing nets (upena) and fishing lines (aho) were valued possessions. One kind was the papa-waha, which had a broad mouth; another was the aei (net with small meshes to take the opelu); the kawaa net (twenty to thirty fathoms long and four to eight deep, for deep sea fishing); the kuu net (a long net, operated by two canoes); and many other varieties.

Fish-lines, aho, were used in fishing for all sorts of fish, but especially for such fine large fish as the ahi and the kahala. The aho was also used in stitching together the sails (of matting) and for other similar purposes.

The ko'i, or stone ax, was a possession of value. It was used in hewing and hollowing canoes, shaping house-timbers and in fashioning the agriculture spade, the o o, and it had many other uses.

The house was esteemed a possession of great value. It was the place where husband and wife slept, where their children and friends met, where the household goods of all sorts were stored.

There were many kinds of houses: the mua for men alone, the noa, where men and women met, the halau for the shelter of long things, like canoes, fishing poles, etc., and there were houses for many other purposes.

Tapa was a thing of value. It was used to clothe the body, or to protect the body from cold during sleep at night. The malo also was a thing of great service, girded about the loins and knotted behind, like a cord, it was used by the men as a covering for the immodest parts.

Another article of value was the pau; wrapped about the loins and reaching nearly to the knees it shielded the modesty of the women.

Pigs, dogs and fowls were sources of wealth. They were in great demand as food both for chiefs and common people, and those who raised them made a good profit.

Any one who was active as a farmer or fisherman was deemed a .man of great wealth. If one but engaged in any industry he was looked upon as well off.

The man who was skilled in the art of making fish-hooks (ka-makau) was regarded as fore-handed. The fish-hooks of the Hawaiians were made of human bones, tortoise shell and the bones of pigs and dogs.

The names of the different kinds of hooks used in the ancient times would make a long list. The hoonoho⁴ was an arrangement of hooks made by lashing two bone hooks to one shank (they were sometimes placed facing each other and then again back to back).

The kikii (in which the bend of the hook followed a spiral; the lua-loa (sometimes used for catching the aku); the nuku (also called the kakaka. It consisted of a series of hooks attached to one line), the kea'a-wai-leia (for ulna). The bait was strewn in the water and the naked hook was moved about on the surface); the au-ku'u (a troll-hook, having two barbs, used to take the ulna); the maka-puhi (about the same as the au-ku'u, but with only one barb); the kai-anoa (used in the deep sea composed of two small hooks, without barbs; the omau (about the same as the kea'a-wai-leia but more open, with no barb, for the deep sea); the mana (a hook for the eel); the kohe-lua (also called kohe-lua-a-pa'a, a hook with two barbs); the hulu (having a barb on the outside); the kue (a very much incurved hook, used to take the oio, &c.); the hui-kala (a large hook with two barbs, one without and one within); the hio-hio (a minute hook of mother o' pearl, for the opelu); the lawa which was used for sharks.

Such were the names of the fish-hooks of the ancients, whether made of bone or of tortoise shell (ea). In helping to shape them the hard wood of the pua and the rough pahoehoe lava rock were used as rasps.

The oo (shaped like a whale-spade) was an instrument useful in husbandry. It was made of the wood of the ulei, mamane, omolemole, lapalapa (and numerous other woods including the alahe'e).

Dishes, ipu, to hold articles of food, formed part of the wealth, made of wood and of the gourd; umeke to receive poi and vegetable food; ipu-kai, bowls or soup-dishes, to hold meats and fish, cooked or raw, with gravies and sauces; pa-laau platters or deep plates for meats, fish, or other kinds of food; hue-wai bottle-gourds, used to hold water for drinking. Salt was reckoned an article of value.

A high value was set upon the cowry shell, leho,⁵ and the mother o' pearl, pa⁶, by the fishermen, because through the fascination exercised by these articles the octopus and the bonito were captured.

Mats, moena (moe-na), constituted articles of wealth, being used to bedeck the floors of the houses and to give comfort .to the bed.

A great variety of articles were manufactured by different persons which were esteemed wealth.

At the present time many new things have been imported from foreign countries which are of great value and constitute wealth, such as neat cattle, horses, the mule, the donkey, the goat, sheep, swine, dogs, and fowls.

New species of birds have been introduced, also new kinds of cloth, so that the former tapa-cloth has almost entirely gone out of use. There are also new tools, books, and laws, many new things.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 22

 

The Hawaiians had no money, nor anything that stood as an accepted representative of value to take its place. In the barter carried on between them and the ships in the early days of intercourse with the foreigner, the value of the pig was reckoned by the Hawaiian in proportion to his length, so much for the pigling of the length of the forearm, so much hoop-iron for the three-foot porker, and so much for the full-grown, fathom long (anana) hog.

 

The one barrier that stood in the way of the invention and adoption of some tangible representative of value was the selfish and exclusive policy of the chiefs, which allowed the poor kanaka to possess nothing he might call his own, not even his mala or his wife.

 

¹ Akua kaai, literally a god with a sash. This was a carved staff with a tuft of feathers at the top. The color-bearer who carried this emblem into battle was called its kahu. The image, or staff already mentioned, was bound to the body of the kahu by this kaai, or sash, and the kahu wore upon his own head the mahiole or helmet which was said to be worn by the idol. This substitution of the kahu, or man who carried the idol, for the idol itself, was not an uncommon thing in Hawaiian cult. It was looked upon as an act of infamy to take the life of the kahu of an akua-kaai in battle.

 

Ku-kaili-moku, the war god of Kamehameha, was a feather god, akua-hulu-manu.

 

² Kamehameha in his wars. of conquest took a large number of these things as spoils of war. thus causing them to seem more plentiful. But it was merely that they were brought out of their hiding places. It cannot be that they were manufactured in any number during the troublous times of his reign.

 

³ The koa tree, felled in the depths of the forest, after being rudely shaped, was hauled up hill and down dale to the ocean, its real home, by means of strong lines of hau bark. This hauling was termed ko waa.

 

⁴ Hoonoho; there seem to have been two varieties of this kind of arrangement as represented in the two cuts.

 

⁵ A stone-sinker, carved in the shape of the cowry, was lashed with the shell to a straight staff to which was attached a hook. When this apparatus was let down into the ocean the squid, attracted by the rich color of the shell, wrapped his arms about it and was drawn up.

 

⁶ The pa was a plate of mother o' pearl with a hook of bone attached. It was used as a troll for the aku. The color and sheen of the pearl seemed to have some sort of fascination for the fish.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 23

The Worship Of Idols

There was a great diversity as to cult among" those who worshipped idols in Hawaii nei, for the reason that one man had one god and another had an entirely different god. The gods of the aliis also differed one from another.

The women were a further source of disagreement; they addressed their worship to female deities, and the god of one was different from the god of another. Then too the gods of the female chiefs of a high rank were different from the gods of those of a lower rank.

Again the days observed by one man differed from those observed by another man, and the things that were tabued by one god differed from those tabued by another god. As to the nights observed by the alii for worship they were identical, though the things tabued were different with the different alii. The same was true in regard to the female chiefs.

The names of the male deities worshipped by the Hawaiians, whether chiefs or common people, were Ku, Lono, Kane, and Kanaloa; and the various gods worshipped by the people and the alii were named after them. But the names of the female deities we're entirely different.

Each man worshipped the akua that presided over the occupation or profession he followed, because it was generally believed that the akua could prosper any man in his calling. In the same way the women believed that the deity was the one to bring good luck to them in any work.

So also with the kings and chiefs, they addressed their worship to the gods who were active in the affairs that concerned them; for they firmly believed that their god could destroy the king's enemies, safeguard him and prosper him with land and all sorts of blessings.

The manner of worship of the kings and chiefs was different from that of the common people. When the commoners performed religious services they uttered their prayers themselves, without the assistance of a priest or of a kahu-akua. But when the king or an alii worshipped, the priest or the keeper of the idol uttered the prayers, while the alii only moved his lips and did not say a word. The same was true of the female chiefs; they did not utter the prayers to their gods.¹

Of gods that were worshipped by the people and not by the chiefs the following are such as were worshipped by those who went up into the mountains to hew out canoes and timber: Ku-pulupulu² Ku-ala-na-wao³, Ku-moku-halii⁴, Ku-pepeiao-loa, Ku-pepeiao-poko, Ku-ka-ieie, Ku-palala-ke, Ku-ka-ohia-laka.⁵ Lea⁶, though a female deity, was worshipped alike by women and canoe-makers..

Ku-huluhulu-manu was the god of bird-catchers, bird snares (poe-ka-manu)⁷, birds limers and of all who did featherwork..

Ku-ka-oo was the god of husbandmen.

Fishermen worshipped Ku-ula⁸ also quite a number of other fishing-gods. Hina-hele was a female deity worshipped both by women and fishermen.

Those who practiced sorcery and praying to death or anaana worshipped Ku-koae, Uli and Ka-alae-nui-a-Hina⁹. Those who nourished a god, an unihi-pili⁸, for instance or one who was acted upon by a deity, worshipped Kalai-pahoa.

Those who practiced medicine prayed to Mai-ola, Kapu-alakai and Kau-ka-hoola-mai were female deities worshipped by women and practitioners of medicine.

Hula-dancers worshipped Laka; thieves Makua-aihue; those who watched fish-ponds, Hau-maka-pu'u; warriors worshipped Lono-maka-ihe; soothsayers and those who studied the signs, of the heavens (kilokilo) worshipped the god Kuhimana.

Robbers worshipped the god Kui-alua; those who went to sea in the canoe worshipped Ka-maha-alii. There were a great many other deities regarded by the people, but it is not certain that they were worshipped. Worship was paid, however, to sharks, to dead persons, to objects celestial and objects terrestrial. But there were people who had no god, and who worshipped nothing; these atheists were called aia.

The following deities were objects of definite special worship by women: Lau-huki was the object of worship by the women who beat out tapa. La'a-hana was the patron deity of the women who printed tapa cloth. Pele and Hiiaka were the deities of certain women. Papa and Hoohoku¹¹, our ancestors were worshipped by some as deities. Kapo and Pua had their worshippers. The majority of women, however, had no deity and just worshipped nothing.

The female chiefs worshipped as gods Kiha-wahine, Waka, Kalamaimu, Ahimu (or Wahimu), and Alimanoano. These deities were reptiles or Moo.

The deities worshipped by the male chiefs were Ku, Lono, Kane, Kana-loa, Kumaikaiki, Ku-maka-nui, Ku-makela, Ku-maka'aka'a, Ku-holoholo-i-kaua, Ku-koa, Ku-nui-akea, Ku-kaili-moku¹², Ku-waha-ilo-o-ka-puni, Ulu, Lo-lupe this last was a deity commonly worshipped by many kings. Besides these there was that countless rout of (woodland) deities, kini-akua, lehu-akua, and mano-akua¹³ whose shouts were at times distinctly to be heard. They also worshipped the stars, things in the air and on the earth, also the bodies of dead men. Such were the objects of worship of the kings and chiefs.

The following gods were supposed to preside over different regions: Kane-hoa-lani (or Kane-wahi-lani) ruled over the heavens; the god who ruled over the earth was Kane-lu-honua; the god of the mountains was Ka-haku-o; of the ocean Kane-huli-ko'a.

The god of the East was Ke-ao-kiai, of the West Ke-aohalo, of the North Ke-ao-loa, of the South Ke-ao-hoopua. The god of winds and storms was Laa-mao-mao.

The god of precipices (pali) was Kane-holo-pali, of stones Kane-pohaku, of hard basaltic stone Kane-moe-ala, of the house Kane-ilok'a-hale¹⁴ (or Kane-iloko-o) , of the fire-place Kane-moe-lehu¹⁵, of fresh water Kane-wai-ola.

The god of the doorway or doorstep was Kane-hohoio¹⁶ (Kane-noio according to some). The number of the gods who were supposed to preside over one place or another was countless.

All of these gods, whether worshipped by the common people or by the alii, were thought to reside in the heavens. Neither commoner nor chief had ever discerned their nature; their coming and their going was unseen; their breadth, their length and all their dimensions were unknown.

The only gods the people ever saw with their eyes were the images of wood and of stone which they had carved with their own hands after the fashion of what they conceived the gods of heaven to be. If their gods were celestial beings, their idols should have been made to resemble the heavenly.

If the gods were supposed to resemble beings in the firmament, birds perhaps, then the idols were patterned after birds, and if beings on the earth, they were made to resemble the earthly.

If the deity was of the water, the idol was made to resemble a creature of the water, whether male or female¹⁷. Thus it was that an idol was carved to resemble the description of an imaginary being, and not to give the actual likeness of a deity that had been seen.

And when they worshipped, these images, made after the likeness of various things, were set up before the assembly of the people; and if then prayer and adoration had been offered to the true god in heaven, there would have been a resemblance to the popish manner of worship. Such was the ancient worship in Hawaii nei, whether by the common people or by the kings and chiefs. There was a difference, however, between the ceremonies performed by the common people at the weaning of a child and those performed by a king or chief on a similar occasion.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 23

 

¹ There were important exceptions to this general statement by Mr. Malo which should be noted. The prayers offered in the Hula were, as a rule, uttered by persons, kahunas, specially consecrated or appointed for that office. The consecration of a house or of a wa'a, canoe, was done with the aid of a kahuna; and the common people did resort to kahunas of different classes. As regards their private worship and devotions, however, the statement of Malo as regards the common people is undoubtedly correct.

 

² These are all different forms of the god Ku. Pulupulu is a name applied to anything cottony; derived from the fibres that cover the fern; applied to any vegetable wool.

 

³ It seems as if there were a play on the word ku, which primarily means to stand. Ku-ala-na-wao may be translated, there stand the wildernesses.

 

⁴ Ku-moku-halii, Ku is here personified as the one who "clothes the island."

 

⁵ Ku-ka-ohia-laka. The epithet laka is the part of the name that is "difficult of explanation. The epithet ohia is evidently from the tree of that name. The tree was said to have a human voice, and a groan was audible when it was cut into.

 

⁶ Lea was said to present herself at times in the form of the elepaiio bird, a deity that greatly concerned canoe-makers.

 

⁷ Poe ka-manu; the word ka is used in a great many meanings, to catch, smite, etc., as in the following, "He uahi ke kapeku e hei ai ka ia-manu o Puoalii." The reference is to the fact that the people of Puoalii, Hamakau, Hawaii, were wont to make a smudgy fire at night on the coast, and as the birds flew in from the sea, coming into the reek of the smoke they became bewildered and were easily caught in scoop nets.

 

⁸ The idols of Kuula were numerous, most of them being uncarved stones.

 

⁹ Hina was the mother of the mythical hero Maui, who, according to one legend, learned the art of making fire from the red-headed mud-hen, alae, who was a brother to himself.

 

¹⁰ An unihi pili was a familiar spirit, or infernal deity, which was made resident in some object, very often the bones of an infant, through the agency of the persistent prayers and offerings of a sorcerer, who became its kahu, keeper or patron, and to whom the unihi pili held the relation of a benefactor, protector and infernal agent, ready when called upon to do any errand of vengeance, murder of body or soul, to which his kahu might commission him.

 

¹¹ Papa was the wife of Wakea, and Hoohokukalani their daughter. With the latter he committed incest and broke up the peace of the family.

 

¹² Ku-kaili-moku. Ku-the-land-grabber; this most appropriately, was the war god and favorite deity of Kamehameha I. the one who aided him in his expeditions of war and conquest, plunder and murder.

 

¹³ Kini, lehu and mano meant respectively 40,000 and 400,000, and 4,000, this being a set phrase used to indicate that countless multitudes of elves, sprites, gnomes and fairies with which the imagination of the Hawaiian peopled the wilderness. They were full of mischief and had their hands in every pie.

 

¹⁴ Kane-ilok'a-hale is no doubt a contraction from Kaneiloko-o-ka-hale. The man who built a house did well to make an offering to him.

 

¹⁵ Kane who lies in the ashes: Kane-moe-lehu.

 

¹⁶ The door-step was a very tabu place and it was looked upon as highly improper to sit or stand on it. This is also an Asiatic superstition.

 

REMARKS. "The Hawaiians usually worshipped their gods by means of idols, believing that by the performance of certain rites power, mana, was imparted to the idols, so that they became a means of communication with unseen divinities. They imagined that a spirit resided in or conveyed influence through the image representing it."

 

¹⁷ THE LEGEND OF KAUA KAHI-A-KAWAU

 

The following legend has been related to me apropos of the statement made by Mr. Malo:

 

Kauakahi-a-kawaii was an ancient king on Kauai who had his home in the mountains. One time when down at the coast he saw a deity in the form of a woman who, after disporting herself in the ocean, climbed upon a rock and began to braid and comb her hair. The charms of her person made such a vivid impression on him that on returning to his home in the mountains, he laboriously carved a figure in stone portraying the person of his goddess whom he called Ono'ilele. The real name of the woman, who was a kupua, creature of supernatural power, was Uli-poai-o-ka-moku. The woman was most beautiful and voluptuous, so that Kauakahi fell dead in love with her. He devoted himself with great attention to carving the figure, and succeeded in making a very perfect representation of the human body, even to the hair on the head, the figure being that of a woman.

 

When the work was done he brought the image down to the shore, and at the time of day when he thought she would be likely to appear he carried it down and placed it at the water's edge in a sitting- position on a rock, the attitude being that which a woman would assume in making her toilet after the bath, Kauakahi himself crouched behind the figure and awaited the appearance of the goddess. She soon showed herself in the midst of the waves, and climbing upon a large rock, busied herself in combing the sea-weed out of her long hair with her fingers.

 

Kauakahi immediately imitated her motions, passing his own fingers through the hair of the image in front of him. "It's nothing but a sham, an image," said the goddess disdainfully. Kauakahi at once shifted the position of the graven figure before him, and in a manner so lifelike, that the goddess, thinking she had been mistaken, said, "It is a woman after all, "Come over here and give me your company," said Kauakahi, and she, thinking it was the woman who addressed her, swam over and climbed upon the rock on which Kauakahi and the image were sitting.

 

As she came up out of the water, Kauakahi, using his magic power, caused the image to disappear and standing before her, a man, put his arms about her, and made hot love to her, saying, "Come with me and be my wife." The goddess consented to his proposition, and allowed him to lead her up into the mountains to the mystic region of Piha-na-ka-lani.

 

Entering the house they found the place full of beautiful birds of gay plumage, one bird standing upon another four tiers in height all about the apartment. In wonder Uli-poai turned to her lover for an explanation of the bewildering sight, but he had disappeared, having assumed the shape of an image. Thereupon the goddess, true to the woman in her, burst into tears and was in great distress. Presently an old woman came in and kindly asked her what was the matter, and she told her story from the beginning. "I will find your husband for you," said the old dame, and she took her into an adjoining house and showed her a large number of images ranged along the side of the apartment. "Which of these images would you choose for a husband, if you were to take one?" asked the old witch. After looking at them all she selected the one that pleased her and going up to it found it very heavy to lift. She then kissed it affectionately, and that which had been but an image smiled upon her it was a human being, her husband. "Who was it directed you to my place of hiding?" asked Kauakahi: "it was probably a kamaaina, was it not?" "Yes," said she, "it was an old woman named Kahi-hi-kolo." "An ancestor of mine." said Kauakahi, "but now let us return to the house." Their bed that night was quilted with bird's feathers.

 

Soon after this Kilioe, the god of precipices, na pali, sent an invitation to Kauakahi to come and visit him at Haena. Having accepted the invitation, Kauakahi and his bride were conveyed thither by the multitude of birds. Their stay at Haena was prolonged to the end of the anahulu, a period of ten days, after which taking their departure, they essayed to return by way of the region of Wailua, following the precipitous trails, that go inland to Kalalau. Now Kilioe had warned his friend Kauakahi, saying, "See to it that you keep your image at hand; for you must know that this wife of yours belongs to the ocean, and will ere long return thither; and when she does so she will seek to take you with her, in which case you will of course be drowned." By and by, having reached the Wailua river, while they were sitting on the bank of the stream talking together, of a sudden the woman seized him and plunged into the depths of the river. But Kauakahi, mindful of his friend's advice, succeeded in substituting the image in place of himself, and escaped from her embrace, half dead from his prolonged stay under water.

 

No sooner did the birds from the mountain note his disappearance, than they flew to his aid, reaching him just in time to pluck him out of the water as he rose exhausted to the surface. They bore him on their wings back to his mountain home, where Kauakahi was content to remain, enjoying the society of his good friend, Kilioe.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 24

Religious Observances Relating To Children

Here is another occasion on which worship was paid to the gods. After the birth of a child it was kept by the mother at the common house, called noa, and was nursed with her milk besides being fed with ordinary food.

When it came time for the child to be weaned, it was provided with ordinary food only, and was then taken from the mother and installed at the mua, or men's eating house. In regard to this removal of the child to the mua the expression was ua ka ia i mua. The eating tabu was now laid upon the child and it was no longer allowed to take its food in the company of the women.

When the child was separated from its mother, a pig was offered up by the father to the deity as a ransom (mohai pana'i) for the child, in order to propitiate the favor of the deity for the little one. The pig that was used as an offering was baked in an oven in the presence of the worshipping assembly, and being sacred, only those who went in to take part in the ceremony ate of it.

When the pig had been consecrated, its head was cut off and set apart for the deity, though still it was eaten by the people being placed on the altar or kua-ahu¹ (kuahu is the accepted orthography at the present time) where always stood images in the likeness of the gods.

This image had suspended from its neck a gourd, ipu, which was perforated to receive a wooden bail. This was called ipu o Lono², or Lono's gourd.

The ear of the pig was now cut off and placed in the gourd that hung from the neck of the image, and at the same time a prayer was recited.

This prayer, however, was not an extemporaneous supplication, dictated by the feelings and intelligence of the man, as in the case of a prayer addressed to Jehovah, but was committed to memory, as if it had been, a mele, a song or poem. Such was the nature of the prayers offered to their deities by the aliis as well as by the people.

When all was ready for the recital of the prayer, bananas, cocoanuts, awa-root, and awa prepared for drinking were set before the image. The father then took the awa-bowl and offered it to the idol with these words, "Here is the pig, the cocoanuts, the awa, O ye gods, Ku, L.ono, Kane and Kanaloa, and ye Au-makuas." At the close of this address he offered the prayer called:

PULE IPU

Ala mai, e Lono, i kou haina³ a-wa, haina awa nui nou, e Lono.

He' ulu mai, e Kea⁵, he pepeiao puaa, he pepeiao⁶ ilio, he pepeiao aina nui nou, e Lono I

Halapa i ke mauli! Kukala⁷ ia hale-hau! Mau, malewa i ka po; molia ia hai ka po.

O ku'u kaipu⁸; o ku'u hua i ka-ipu; hua i kakala⁹ ka ipu kakala; he kalana¹⁰ ipu.

O hua i na mo'o a¹¹ Hi'i! I au i'a ko¹² ia.

Ahia la anoano a ke ahi-kanu¹³ a kanu la, i pua i Hawaii?

A kanu la o ka ipu nei; a ulu; a lau; a pua; a hua la o ka ipu nei.

Hoonoho¹⁴ la o ka ipu nei. Kekela o ka ipu nei.

O uha'i o ka ipu nei. Kalai la o ka ipu nei.

O oki, o kua i o ka piha o ka ipu.

O ka ipu ka honua¹⁵ nui nei; o po'i o ka lani o Kuakini.

A hou i ka hakaokao¹⁶; kakai i ke anuenue⁷

O uhao¹⁸ i ka lili; o uhao i ka hala; o uhao i ka la mano-lele¹⁹ ona!

O ka ipu o ka lua mu-a-Iku²⁰, o ka ipu a makani koha, a kau ka hoku²¹ a'ia'i.

Owahi!²² o kani mai, a hea o ka uka manu!

Ka lalau a ha'a²³ ka manu: ka lalau kuli'a i Wawau²⁴

He malino²⁵ a po, e Lono, i ka haunaele;

Na lili la i ka haunaele, na hala la i ka haunaele o mau kahuna²⁶ o ke makala ulua.²⁷

Ulua²⁸ mai, o Lono, ulua kolea ino o Ma'a-ku-newa²⁹ awa lilelile!

O makia, Lono, a hano, a hano wale no!

Kila i nei; muli o hala, muli ke kani o Waioha!

Arise, O Lono, eat of the sacrificial feast of awa set for you, an abundant feast for you, O Lono!

Provide, O Kea, swine and dogs in abundance! and of land a large territory for you, O Lono!

Make propitious the cloud-omens! Make proclamation for the building of a prayer-shrine! Peaceful, transparent is the night, night sacred to the gods.

My vine-branch this; and this the fruit on my vine-branch. Thick set with fruit are the shooting branches, a plantation of gourds.

Be fruitful in the heaped up rows! fruit bitter as fish-gall

How many seeds from this gourd, pray, have been planted in this land cleared-by-fire? have been planted and flowered out in Hawaii?

Planted is this seed. It grows; it leafs; it flowers; lo! it fruits this gourd-vine.

The gourd is placed in position; a shapely gourd it is.

Plucked is the gourd; it is cut open.

The core within is cut up and emptied out.

The gourd is this great world; its cover the heavens of Kuakini.

Thrust it into the netting! Attach to it the rainbow for a handle!

Imprison within it the jealousies, the sins, the monsters of iniquity!

Within this gourd from the cavern of Mu-a-Iku, calabash of explosive wind-squalls, till the serene star shines down.

Make haste! lest the calabash sound, and the mountain bird utter its call!

Take hold of it and it crouches; take hold of it and it displays itself at Vavau.

It has been calm and free from disturbances into the night, O Lono, free from the turbulent enmities and bickerings of the kahunas, hunters after men.

Arrest them, O Lono! arrest the malicious sea-birds of Maa-ku-newa, with their flashing wings!

Confirm this and make it sacred, wholly sacred, O Lono!

Bind it securely here! The faults will be put in the background; the babbling waters of Waioha will take a second place.

The reference in this pule-ipu are to the gourd suspended from the neck of the idol and to the articles which had been put therein.

On the completion of this prayer the father took the dry awa-root and sucked it in his mouth. This was said to be the idol's drinking of it. It was not really imbibed (by the idol.) Then he took the strong awa (awa wai anu), and, mixing it with water, drank of it and ate of the vegetables and meats until he was satisfied; and, this done, he declared the ceremony noa, no longer burdened with a tabu, using these words: "Installed is the child, the awa smitten against the brain. Free is the awa; there is freedom to come and go; the tabu is entirely lifted. One is free to travel to the ends of the earth."

Then those who had taken part in the service ate the pork and the vegetables until they had satisfied their hunger, and thus the ceremony was accomplished. In this it was shown that the child had come under the eating-tabu, and would no longer be allowed to eat with the women. Such was the meaning of this service.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 24

 

¹ This kua-ahu, or ku-ahu was a rustic framework of wood, decorated with flowers and leaves.

 

² Ipu-o-lono is also the name applied to a variety or species of taro.

 

³ Haina awa: There have been numerous conjectures as to the meaning of the word haina. After considering them all, I have come to the conclusion that it means the feast (aha-aina), or what amounts to almost the same thing, the assembly gathered to sacrifice and do honor to the god.

 

⁴ He ulu mai: He is the equivalent of the causatives, ho, ho'o, ha, ha'a, all of which forms are found in the Hawaiian, or it may be an unusual, archaic, form of the imperative prefix, which is usually e.

 

⁵ Kea: This is probably the same beneficent goddess, or kupua, whose full name was Nua kea. She was the goddess of lactation. The name was also applied to the woman who acted as wet-nurse to a young prince or princess, and whose breasts were therefore sacred to that duty, kapu to others.

 

⁶ Pepeiao, puaa, pepeiao ilio, etc.: The reference is to the ear, or ears put into the gourd, which was suspended about the neck of the image. The ear is used as a symbol of ownership, as well perhaps as of abundance. When an alii cut off a pig's ear he marked it as his own. The petition is that an abundance of this world's goods be granted to the child.

 

⁷ ... kukala ia hale-hau: kukala seems to be used in the sense of making proclamation ordering a thing to be done. Such was the custom even after the coming of the white man. la should probably be i ... hale-hau: It has been a long hunt to trace this word to its burrow. I am informed that it means a house thatched with the leaves of the hau tree, the well known hibiscus of Polynesia. The house was of a temporary character and was used by the king and high chief for religious purposes.

 

⁸ Ka-ipu: The stem or stalk of a gourd-vine.

 

⁹ Kakala: From the same root doubtless as kala, or kala-kala, rough, bristling, in this case meaning beset with shoots.

 

¹⁰ Kalana, a small division of land; kalana ipu, therefore a field of gourd-vines.

 

¹¹ O hua i na moo a Hi'i: The expression moo a Hi'i seems to have almost the vogue of a proverb. Who this man, hero or god Hi'i was is more than I have been able to discover. I am informed that there was a god Hiki something in the Maori pantheon. The best explanation I can give of the passage is that the reference here is to the snake-like ridges in which the earth is heaped up about the vines.

 

¹² Au i'a; fish-gall. The best calabashes were from gourds that were exceedingly bitter.

 

¹³ Ahi-kanu, a probable reference to the use of fire to clear land for planting. There is probably a reference in the expression to the ravages of war, a war of conquest.

 

¹⁴ Hoonoho, to place, to put the immature gourd in a position favorable to symmetry.

 

¹⁵ O ka ipu ka honua, etc.: This comparison of the world and the sky to the body and cover of a calabash is a piece right out of Polynesian cosmogony. The seeds of the gourd, when scattered through the sky, become stars, and the pulpy mass inside the clouds, the cover belikened to the solid dome of heaven, ka lani. As to who was Kua-kini I have not been able to discover.

 

¹⁶ A hou i ka hakaokao; I am told that hakaokao is the name applied to the net that enclosed a calabash that was used as a kind of clothes trunk. The name is said to also have been applied to the net itself. Exactly how this kind of calabash differed from the ipu holo-holo-na, in which the fisherman was wont to stow his hooks, lines and small appurtenances, I am unable to say.

 

¹⁷ Kakai i ke anuenue: This might be more literally translated, make the rainbow a handle. By a bold and beautiful figure the poet compares the arched bail or handle of the net about the calabash to the rainbow.

 

¹⁸ O uhao i ka lili. O in this is the prefix of the imperative mood. Ka in the phrase ka lili is the singular form of the article which is here used instead of the plural. Such practice was specially common in archaic Hawaiian.

 

¹⁹ ... mano Iele i ona: In the text the words are fused into one continuous length manoleleiona much to the perplexity of the translator. Disentangled they array themselves thus: The mano lele, literally a flying shark, is doubtless figurative of a big sinner.

 

²⁰ ... ka lua mu a Iku: This would probably be a more correct reading than ka lua Mu-a-Iku. In the original the words are run together kaluamuwaiku, with the addition of a w It is impossible to make sense out of such a formless string of letters. Obedient to the duty of an editor, as well as of a translator, I have arranged the letters into words in such manner as to make the sense best agree with the context. The literal interpretation of ka lua mu a Iku would be something like the haunted cave of Iku.

 

²¹ ... a kau ka hoku aiai: It seems as if the shining of the star was so as to look into the mouth of the cave. The meaning is not evident.

 

²² Owahi, a word not to be found in the dictionary, and which I had never met until by inquiry I learned that it meant to hasten, be in a hurry, bestir one's self. 

 

²³ Ka lalau, a haa manu; &c. The figure is that of the hunter putting his hand on a bird probably in this case the uau, a fat bird, which, though frequenting the sea, nested in the mountains on which the bird instantly squats down, crouches; again he puts his hand on the bird and it stands forth, shows itself, (kuli'a) in....

 

²⁴ Wawau, the same as Vavau, an island in the northern part of the Tongan group. (In the Hawaiian W represents both the sound uay and the sound vay.)

 

²⁵ Malino: A clear sky was an omen of favorable significance in connection with the performance of any religious rite, or the utterance of any prayer.

 

²⁶ ... haunaele o mau kahuna: We have here an interior view of the wranglings and bickerings that went on among the body of kahunas.

 

^27. Makala ulua: Makala, a trail made by wild animals; makala ulua, a place frequented by those who fished for ulua: ulua, the name of a fish, was also a euphemism for a human body used in sacrifice.

 

²⁸ Ulua tnai, e Lono. .This repetitious use of the word ulna in an entirely new sense, of which the present example forms a capital instance, is one of the artifices that marks Hawaiian poetry.

 

²⁹ ...kolea ino o Maa-ku-newa: Mo-i, a kupua, or king of Molokai, sent Maka-ulili, the ruler of the ko-leas, to Vavau to bring an assortment of those birds, i.e., the plover. He returned with one Iau (400) kolea ulili, one lau of mischievous kolea, and one lau of good kolea. The birds were located on the hill Ha-upu, near Pele-kunu valley. It was then noticed that the hill at times sank below the surface of the ocean, and then as mysteriously rose from beneath waves. Mo'i sent a flight of the plover to learn the cause of this unusual phenomenon. They returned and reported that it was caused by the uneasy motions of a huge turtle, on which the hill was based, and they urged him to put an end to the disturbance by killing the turtle. Mo'i declined their advice and in revenge the kolea ino stole upon him while asleep, and tore his face with their talons; the hero, or wizard, Mo'i, then had all the mischievous birds, kolea ino, who had sought to tear his eyes out, banished to the barren hill of Maa-ku-newa.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 25

Concerning The Circumcision Of Children

After installation in the mua, when the boy had increased somewhat in size, was the time suitable for his circumcision. It was a religious rite and the ceremony resembled that of installation in the mua (ke ka ana i mua).

This rite of circumcising the foreskin was conducted in the following manner: A pig was offered to propitiate the deity and the friends of the child's parents were gathered in a religious assembly to celebrate the event.

When the pig that was used as an offering was baked to a turn, the operation of circumcision took place, and the manner of performing it was as follows:

Four men held the child fast. One was at the back of the child with the child held against his breast; at the same time the man held the little one's arms folded against his neck so that it could not move.

The length of the foreskin was measured from the extremity of the prepuce to its junction within, and at this point a black line was marked with charcoal. The length was also measured within to the point where the prepuce was reflected, and compared with the length indicated by the black mark made on the back of the penis.

Then one man held a thigh of the child with his left hand, and with his (right) hand seized one side of the preputial skin, and another man on the other side of the child did likewise, pulling the stretched prepuce taut.

Then the kahuna stood forth with his bamboo (ohe in place of a knife), and uttered the following hoohiki, prayer or blessing:

E kii ka ohe, i ho mai ka ohe, he ia ka ohe laulii a Kane, o kia i ke maka o ka mai; ua moku.

 

Bring the bamboo from Ho-mai-ka-ohe, here is the small-leafed bamboo of Kane, cut now the foreskin; It is divided.

Then the kahuna gave the bamboo to the one who was to perform the operation, and he thrust the bamboo into the preputial orifice until it reached the head of the penis, as far as had been measured with the bamboo within, and had been marked with the charcoal on the outside.

Then the foreskin was separated from its adhesions to the gland below and split lengthwise.¹ The blood was now removed by sucking, the foreskin was dressed with a medicinal leaf, and the child was arrayed in a white malo.

After this, a pig having been baked, worship was performed in a manner similar to that performed when the child was taken to the mua. Such was the worship and the prayer.

This was the way in which were treated the sons of the religionists, of the solid people, people of distinction, of the kahuna-class, and the sons of the lower ranks of chiefs. The rite was different (more elaborate) when it touched the sons of high chiefs; there were also certain people who had no such ceremony performed at the circumcision of their sons they were merely taken to the mua and circumcised with no religious ceremony whatever.

The children of kahunas and of aliis were not allowed, however, to partake of common food (ai noa) while they were being nourished on (their mother's) milk in the noa house. After being installed at the mua house they were allowed this common food, but while still at the noa they were fed only on (breast) milk. It was after this manner that some people acted towards their children.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 25

 

¹ The Hawaiian operation is, strictly speaking, not circumcision at all. The prepuce is merely slit up from its free edge or lip to the line of its attachment to the penis. The operation is still occasionally practiced by the Hawaiians.    Back to Contents

CHAPTER 26

Religious Worship For Healing Of The Sick

When a husband, a wife, a child, or a beloved friend became ill it was an occasion that called for religious ceremonies (hoomana).

The offering, mohai, of the sick person it might be a pig, a fowl, or set of tapa sheets (kuina kapa) was laid before the gods.

It was some friend of the sick man who took the offering and presented it to the gods and at the same time he uttered this petition:

"O God, be kind to the one who is afflicted with illness; freely pardon his sins and impurities, his ceremonial faults, his faults of the heart, his faults of speech and his non-fulfillment of vows to thee.

 

"Let your anger be appeased by these offerings. Look with favor upon him and prosper him all the days of his life. Keep in health his body, until he shall have passed the age of walking shall be blinked-eyed (hau-maka-iole) , and then bed-ridden (pala-lau-hala). Keep him in health until the last trance-vision (a kau i ka pua-ane-ane). That is thy benefit to us, O God, and thus do I worship thee."

Now this was because there was a strong belief that animal sacrifices were the right means with which to propitiate the deity and obtain his forgiveness for the sins of men, and healing for men's bodies not for their souls.

If the malady did not abate, a house was erected to the deity and a pig was sacrificed and exposed as an offering on a frame-work, called a lele, where it was allowed to remain (until it moldered away.) Another pig also was oven-baked and its head offered in sacrifice, but the body of this one was eaten.

Supplication was again made to the deity to heal the sick one, and if he recovered that ended the ceremonies and the worship addressed to the deity, and if he died, then also was there an end to the praying and worshipping.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 26

 

N. B. Kane and Lono were the deities most commonly addressed by those who offered prayers for the restoration of any one to health. The practice of medicine and the Hawaiians had some proficiency in certain branches of the healing art was always accompanied by religious ceremonies of some kind.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 27

Concerning Dead Bodies

A corpse was a very tabu thing in Hawaii nei. It was the ancients themselves who imposed this tabu; but the reason for it and the author of it have not been made known. The mere fact of the tabu was all that was known in Hawaii nei.

The tabu that applied to the dead body of an alii continued in force longer than that which concerned the dead bodies of others; it might be ten days or even longer before the ban of uncleanness would be removed. If it concerned the body of a person of more than ordinary distinction, perhaps it would be three days before the ban of uncleanness would be removed; but if it were a person of low class it would be only a day or two before the tabu would be lifted (noa). When the corpse was buried out of sight then the period of tabu came to an end. The modus operandi of the tabu that concerned corpses was as follows:

On the death of a person in a house in which other people were living, those who were not blood-relatives of the deceased were driven out (kipaku ia), but relatives were allowed to remain with the body.

Those who remained with the corpse were considered defiled, haumia, and must not on any account enter another house, eat of the food of other people, touch any one else, or do any work, during the days of their defilement.

If the deceased had other friends outside, they were permitted to come and mourn, but other people might not enter the house in which was the dead body, nor eat of the food, nor touch any one within, lest they should be defiled.

The ceremonies for the dead were as follows: If the dead person was much beloved, or had died in full vigor and health, i.e. suddenly, the ceremony of kuni¹ would be performed on the body by the kahuna anaana, on the supposition that (in such a case) the death was from natural causes (make maoli no).

Again if the body was that of a person much beloved, husband, or wife, it was the custom to keep it a good many days before burial.

The body was first cut open² and the inner parts removed, and it was then filled with salt to preserve it. A body treated in this manner was termed i'a loa, long fish. It was a common thing to treat dead bodies in this way.

The manner of arranging a corpse for burial I will describe. A rope was attached to the joints of the legs and then being passed about the neck was drawn taut until the knees touched the chest. The body was then done up in a rounded shape and at once closely wrapped in tapa and made ready for burial.

Sepulture was done at night, so that by morning the burial was accomplished. Then in the early morning all who had taken part in the burial went and bathed themselves in water, and on their return from the bath seated themselves in a row before the house where the corpse had been.

The priest was then sent for to perform the ceremony of huikala, or purification. A sorcerer or kahuna anaana,³ could not officiate at this service of purification. It was only a temple priest, kahuna pule heiau, who could purify one from the uncleanness of a corpse or any other source of defilement.

The kahuna brought with him a dish filled with sea-water, which also contained a sea-moss called limu-kala and turmeric; and standing before the people who sat in a row, he prayed as follows

Lele Uli e! Lele wai e!

He Uli, he Uli, he wai! he wai!

Lele au i ke ahua e Kane me'hani.

O Nehelani, nehe ia pika'na ka lani.

A lama. He mu oia.⁵

 

Hasten, O Uli! hasten, O water!

Here is Uli, Uli, here is water! here is water!

I fly to thy shrine, O Kane, the approachable one.

A rustling in heaven, it rustles with the sprinkling.

Light appears. The deity is silent.

 

Then the people respond: He mu. (The deity is silent.)

 

The Kahuna resumes:

 

He-mu ka aiku

He-mu ka aia,

He-mu ka ahula,

He-mu ka paani,

He-mu koko lana,

I koko pua'a!

I koko ilio!

I koko kanaka make!

He mu oia!

 

Silent and attentive are the rude and unceremonious,

Silent are the wicked and unbelievers,

Silent are the hula-dancers,

Silent are those given to sports and games,

Silent are the hot-blooded ones.

Give us now the blood of swine!

Give us now the blood of dogs!

The blood of the human sacrifice!

The deity is silent.

 

The people respond: He mu. (The deity is silent.)

 

The kahuna says: Elieli. (Profoundly.)

 

The people respond: Kapu. (Tabu.)

 

The kahuna says: Elieli. (Entirely, profoundly.)

 

The people: Noa. (Free.)

 

The kahuna: Ia e! (O la!)

 

The people: Noa honua. (Freedom instant and complete.)

The kahuna then sprinkled the water mixed with turmeric on all the people, and the purification was accomplished, the defilement removed.

After this each one departed and returned to his own house. When a corpse was buried in such a secret place that it could not be discovered it was said to be huna-kele.

Sometimes a person would secretly exhume the body of a beloved husband or wife, and remove the four leg-bones and the skull, washing them in water until they were clean.

They were then wrapped up and enclosed within the pillow, and the friend took them to bed with him and slept with them every night. The number of corpses treated in this way was considerable among those who were fond of each other.

Instead of the bones just mentioned, perhaps the palm of the hand would be cut off, dried in the sun and taken to bed with one. Or, if not the hand, the hair of the head, the teeth, or the finger nails.

These parts of the corpse were preserved by the fond lover until such time as the love came to an end, when they were neglected.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 27

 

¹ Kuni, an incantation and sorcery for the purpose of revealing and bringing to punishment him who prayed to death (anaana) the person concerned.

 

² Access to the cavities of the body was gained through a transverse cut made just below the ribs.

 

³ The kahuna anaana was feared and shunned as an assassin would have been. He was from the nature of the case disqualified for performing such a beneficent ceremony. It would have been like setting the wolves to guard the sheep.

 

⁴ This was the favorite way of dealing with the bones of a very high chief by sepulture in caves and secret places. These were known only to the kahu, and it was an act of perfidy for him to betray the secret.

 

⁵ Mu. I am not sure that I have found and expressed the true meaning of the word mu. As ordinarily used it means either a bug: that lives in wood or an odious official whose duty it was to procure human victims to be used as sacrifices in the dedication of a heiau or other important building. Neither of those uses will suit the meaning in this case. The language is evidently quite archaic, and it seems probable that the word is no longer used in the same meaning. Such was my conclusion after much searching for a clue as to the probable meaning of this term. On referring the matter to a learned Hawaiian, one who had giver me many useful points, he expressed it as his opinion that the word meant to be silent. The generic meaning of the word agrees well with my friend's opinion. Mumule is to sulk in silence; Kamumu is to murmur, the gentle, breezy inarticulate sound that comes from a multitude. Mumu is to hum, to make an indistinct sound; to be silent; etc., etc. In an ancient story I find the word mu to be applied to the buzzing of the flies about, a dead body.

 

The meaning of the verse 'He-mu ka aiku'," is that the one who had been unruly, eating in an unceremonious manner, had now become quiet, i.e., the assembly is now in order, attentive to the service in hand.

 

In Maori mu-hore means unlucky; mu-tie silence.

 

(S. P. S.) In Hawaiian mu-ki' expresses the action of kissing, and is used to signify the act of sucking a tobacco pipe.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 28

Concerning The Ceremony Of Kuni¹

On the death of a rich or distinguished person, or of one greatly beloved, it would (very frequently) be said that he came to his death through anaana, that is through being prayed to death, for the reason that he was envied for his property, or hated on account of his distinction. Under such circumstances the ceremony of kuni would be performed on the body of the dead person.

The affair, was conducted in the following manner: The friend or interested party, having provided himself with a pig, went before the kahuna kuni and offered it to the deity with these words:

"Here is the pig, o Uli² in the heavens. This pig is offered to purchase the death of him who prayed to death my friend. It devolves upon you, o Uli and upon Maka-ku-koae,³ and upon Ka-alae a-hina⁴ to perform the funeral of this man."

 

"Is this the pig to procure anaana?" asks the kahuna. "Yes."

 

"Then let him go, and observe in what direction he moves." The pig was then released, and if he went to rooting in the earth, the kahuna declared that the one who had anaanaed the man was himself a doomed one, and it would not be long before he would meet with his death; "because the pig roots in the earth."

If it did not act in this way, but went to the left side of the kahuna, he would declare, "it seems the death was caused by your wife's relatives;" and if the pig went to the right of the kahuna, he would declare, "so it seems the death was due to the younger brother's people."

If, again the pig passed behind the kahuna he declared the deceased came to his death through the agency of some outside party, or, if the pig raised his snout in the air, the kahuna declared that the death was chargeable to some alii; and if the pig came and stood before the man who brought him, he declared he responsibility for the man's death lay with the man's hoa ai, his table-companions. This was the gist of the remarks made by the kahuna.

The kahuna thereupon instructed the man to prepare the kukui nuts, gourds, and all the other paraphernalia of kuni.

Then the man who took the offering returned and reported the prediction of the kahuna kuni, that the one who had caused the death of the victim by anaana would soon die himself.

The friends of the deceased rejoiced greatly when they heard that the one who had anaanaed their friend was himself soon to die, and they went to work with alacrity to execute the commands of the kahuna kuni, so as to have everything ready to hand before his arrival. By the time the kahuna arrived, everything was in readiness.

The kahuna conducted his operations as follows:

A stone, wrapped in a tapa of the kind called ae-o-kaha-loa⁵ having been set before him, the dead body was laid with its head close to the stone.

The kahuna then stood up with the cluster of kukui nuts and the gourd in his hands and repeated an incantation called the pule hui which runs thus:

"Tis cluster, sacred cluster, utters its meaning, and it is this: the cluster this with which the aumakua invokes death upon him who anaanaed this one, praying that his destruction be turned back upon himself. Behold this cluster breaks up and scatters, and so it symbolizes its meaning. This is the compact of Uli, Kaalae-a-Hina, and Ku-koa'e; it pledges death to the one who anaanaed him; his incantation shall be turned back upon himself.

 

"Behold the cluster breaks up and utters its meaning thus the sacred cluster!"

Then the kahuna struck the bunch of kukui nuts against the table of stone which was called the papa ka hui, and the kukui nuts and gourd were broken and scattered in all directions.

From the direction in which the kukui nuts flew the kahuna again pointed out the locality of those who caused the death, it being indicated by the direction taken by the nuts. Thus ended this office of the kahuna kuni.

Then a fire-place for the kuni ceremony, called a kapuahi kuni, was constructed. It was of large size and when built was wreathed with auhuhu⁷ and gourds and a flag⁶ was displayed at each corner of it, after which a fire was lighted in the fire-place.

Then a number of fowls and dogs were brought as kuni offerings. Men, probably two in number, selected and detailed for the purpose, then opened the dead body and having cut the liver into small pieces, stuffed them into each fowl and dog as a manu-kuni⁸ that is a charm to bring the victim under the spell of the incantation.

The two men who dissected the dead body were (of course) utterly defiled, and were therefore not permitted to touch food with their hands, so that it was necessary for others to feed them.

As soon as the body of a fowl or dog had been charged with its portion of liver it was thrown into the fire in the fireplace; at the same time the man called aloud, "Here comes John Doe,⁹ seeking the one who caused his death by anaana."

After that the kahuna stood up and offered his kuni prayer, using great fervor and continuing until sunset without eating or drinking. The prayer might come to and end only when the sacrifices were reduced to ashes.

While the fire burned the kahuna prayed and his prayer ran thus:

A-a ke ahi, ke ahi a ka po o Lani-pili.¹⁰

A i hea ke ahi, ke ahi a ka po o Lani-pili?

A i ka lani; make i ka lani;

Popo i ka lani; ilo i ka lani;

Punahelu i ka lani.

Hoolehua i ka lani ka make o kahuna anaana.

Me ka lawe-maunu, e Kane.

Ahi a Ku o ke ahi.

Kupu malamalama o ke ahi o ka po a,

Ahi a Kulu-alani e a ana.

Ku o Wakea, a ke ahi, he ahi no keia pule.

The fire burns, fire of the night of Lani-pili.

Where burns the fire, fire of the night of Lani-pili?

It burns in the heavens.

Death in the heavens; corruption in the heavens;

Maggots in the heavens; mildew in the heavens.

Heaven speed the death of the. kahuna anaana,

And of the one who got for him the maunu, o Kane.

It is the fires of Ku that burn.

Flash forth light of the burning night,

The fires of Kulu-a-lani are burning.

Wakea stands up and the fire burns, fire for this prayer.

By the time the kuni offerings were reduced to ashes it was night. The ashes were then carried down to the ocean and thrown into a spout-hole together with all the appurtenances of the fire-place; the fire-place itself was buried.

The next morning a boy and a girl were made to walk naked about the fire-place, not covering their parts of shame as they walked.

As they made their round about the fire place the kahuna kuni stood and prayed, and when the kahuna had finished his prayer the ceremony of kuni was completed. Then it was that the kahuna declared the name of the one who had anaanaed the deceased one.

"I have seen," said he, "the wraith or kahoaka of him who anaanaed this man coming this way, his head down, his eyes, closed, as good as dead. And it will not be long before this one also shall die.

The death to which I consign him is a swelling, a dropsy, a bloody flux, a vomiting of blood, a broken back. That is the manner of death I predict for him. Take you note of this."

The body was then buried and a different kahuna came, the one previously spoken of to whom belonged the ceremony of purification. After this the kahuna kuni received his pay, and it was a large amount.

If after this, any one died of one of the diseases mentioned by the kahuna, the kahuna in question would be in great demand and at the same time much feared for his power (mana).

The number of alii that were prayed to death was about the same as of the common people. As to kuni sacrifices, the number of those that were required of an alii was greater than what was required of an ordinary person, because this function of kuni (anaana in the text) was a ceremony of worship (hoo-mana). Ordinarily the number of dogs required for a sacrifice was forty, with double that number of fowls, but an alii was required to offer a lau, four hundred dogs, and of fowls an immense number.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 28

 

¹ The subject of this chapter is kuni, not anaana, and I have accordingly substituted the word kuni for that of anaana in the title, and the same has been done as necessary throughout the chapter. It goes almost without saying that a kahuna anaana would not be the one to avenge the foul work of his own craft.

 

² e Uli i ka hoolewa, which is the reading in the text, have ventured to amend so as to read e Uli ke aolewa, or olewa. Ao-lewa is the atmosphere, the space beneath the solid dome (ao paa) of heaven. Uli may be described as the judicial spirit, as well as the detective one, fitted therefore to discover the one whose incantations had anaanaed and brought death to the deceased. Uli was addressed in prayer:

E Uli nana pono (O Uli that discerns the right)

 

E Uli nana hewa (O Uli that discerns the wrong)

³ Maka-ku-koae, or Ka-maka-ku-koae as it is in the text, was a male deity who induced craziness (pupule), raving insanity (hehena) , or palsy and imbecility (lolo). He was therefore a very appropriate being to call upon for aid in such an emergency as this.

 

⁴ Ka-alae-a-Hina, the mud-hen of Hina, a deity who induced sudden death. Hina had a numerous family of sons, all of them kupuas, i.e., supernatural beings. Maui, the discoverer of fire, was one of them. So also was the mud-hen, from whom Maui forced the secret of fire.

 

⁵ A'e-o-kaha-loa, a wauke tapa of pinkish color.

 

⁶ These were of white tapa.

 

⁷ Auhuhu, Tephrosia piscatoria, a small shrubby plant which is used as a fish-poison.

 

⁸ Maunu-kuni: this might be a shred of clothing, a bit of hair, finger or toe-nail, or any exuviae from the victim's body. Maunu literally means bait, but originally it meant something molted or sloughed off, like feathers, etc.

 

⁹ In the original prayer of the kahuna the name of the postulant would be given.

 

¹⁰ Lani-pili was the name of a deity; it meant literally a close, dark, night, a night when the heavens shut down close over the earth as before they were lilted up and separated from the earth, a clear reference 'to the ancient mythology.

 

The following is communicated to me as a kuni pule used by Wailiilii, a distinguished kahuna in the old times on the Island of Molokai:

 

la Awaiku* ka ua i Lanikeha**

Ka ua maawe au e Kane,

E Kane pakanaka,

Kane pamahana,

Mahana kaua ia oe, e Kane.

E make ka mea nana i kolohe i ku'u keiki,

Make emoole, naha ke kua, eu ka ilo,

Popopo a helelei,

Kau make, e Kane.

 

The spirits Awaikau send rain from the heavens of Lanikeha,

The fine rain of you, o Kane,

Kane who touches humanity,

Who warms us by his presence.

You and I warm to each other Kane.

Send death to him who dealt mischievously with my boy.

Let his be a speedy death, a broken back with rapid decay,

Rotting and falling to pieces.

This is the death I ask you to inflict, o Kane.

 

*Awa-iku: These were spirits that acted as the messengers, spies, and agents to do the bidding of Kane. They were also guardian spirits, shielding and warding off from people the malign influences of the mu, who were a mischievous set of sprites, up to all kinds of minor deviltries according to their power. These Awa-iku managed the rain, the winds and the weather and a great many other things, and were beneficent in their conduct.

 

**Lani-keha: an epithet applied to some part or district of heaven, the solid heaven. The residence of Kamehameha III at Lahaina was called Lanikeha.

 

N.B. The first part of this prayer has the marks of greater age than the remainder of the prayer. It was a common trick of the kahuna to impose on people as well by high- sounding phrases as by other tricks.     Back to Contents

CHAPTER 29: Ceremonies on the Death of a King