HISTORY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS – CHAPTER 2

The early history of the Hawaiian nation, like that of all savages, derived only through the uncertain medium of oral traditions, is vague, and but slightly calculated to reward the researches of the curious. Their origin is involved in an obscurity, on which their own fables, and historical and sacred meles or songs, are calculated to throw but little light.

A certain uniformity in the earliest traditions and manners of the most savage nations exists, which would seem to indicate a common origin; or it may be the result of necessities, which, under like circumstances, adopt the same means to effect corresponding ends. This may account for customs of a common character, so frequently observed in tribes widely separated by geographical limits, and without any means of communication.

The barrenness of the savage intellect affords but partial scope for observation and improvement. The same idea or necessity which would call into existence certain forms or habits of life in one latitude, would equally arise in another. Hence, but little confidence can be placed in deductions founded upon a conformity in a few isolated customs, among different barbarous communities. But, when affinities of language, physiological resemblances, corresponding manners and religious belief, and more particularly, well established traditions, pointing to a common origin, appear among tribes, which, in modern times, have lost all means of communication, the inquirer finds tenable grounds for believing in a general relationship.

This appears to be the case throughout Polynesia. The language spoken in the groups so widely diffused over the Pacific Ocean, has the same common structure, with but such differences as may be resolved into dialects; the result of long non-intercourse; while other peculiarities are to be attributed to difference of soils, climates, governments and other local causes. The New Zealander and Hawaiian, though more than four thousand miles apart, with all the intermediate tribes, are members of one family, and require but a short period to acquire the faculty of a free exchange of ideas.

The fact that intercourse formerly existed between the various groups is tolerably well authenticated. According to traditions, voyages were of common occurrence. In those days their canoes were said to be larger and better constructed than at present. From some of the circumstances told concerning them, it is not improbable that they were the very boats, or proas perhaps of Malay origin which brought the first inhabitants to Hawaii, and which continued to be employed in keeping up intercourse with the other groups as long as they were sea-worthy. Certain it is the frail canoes of modern times are ill adapted to voyages of two and three thousand miles. The weather is often very tempestuous even within the influence of the trade winds. At the most favorable season canoes might perform the voyage in safety, by stopping at the numerous intervening coral islands for rest and refreshment. Still it would be more a matter of accident than skill. Even with better means of conveyance, and no other source of navigation than their imperfect knowledge of the stars, it is not to be wondered that these voyages should have been discontinued, as no traffic existed and curiosity or the love of relatives were the only impelling motives.

It is impossible to ascertain at what period these adventurous voyages were relinquished. Judging from the indefiniteness of the recollections concerning them, it must have been many ages since. Certain points of departure, as the southern extremities of Kahoolawe and Hawaii, were designated as the "foreign roads." In Hawaiian meles the names of Nuuhiva and Tahuata, two islands of the Marquesan group, Upolu and Savaii, of the Samoan, and Tahiti and others in that neighborhood, frequently appear. Names of head-lands and towns in many of these are also common to others. Allusions are frequent to voyages made from Oahu and Kauai to islands far west. Tahiti or Kahiki, which are synonymous, were the names most commonly known, and appears to have been the island most visited. Popular opinion points to it as the source whence Hawaii was peopled. However, their ideas had become so vague in this respect, that it was applied to any foreign country, and to this day its actual signification answers to the English term "abroad." Bolabola, the name of an adjoining island, is usually applied to Tahiti.

The meaning thus attached to Tahiti arose, no doubt, from the circumstance, that the latest voyages were made there, and after they ceased it was the only country the knowledge of which remained among the common people. The names of the others were preserved among the priests and chiefs, though with an indistinctness that ultimately must have consigned them to oblivion. Even with the advantage of written language, the knowledge of America was lost, or but obscurely remembered by the adventurous Northmen. Hoopahaohao was the term used to express a different or foreign dialect.

Few only of the traditions relative to the earliest history of the islands are worthy of recital. The first inhabitants are related to have brought with them from Tahiti, a hog, a dog, and a pair of fowls. Before landing, they asked and obtained permission of the gods, then the sole denizens of this region, to remain. The arrival of a chief at Hawaii is spoken of, who finally settled on Kauai, and sent for his son. This son it seems was something of a mechanic, for he improved upon the construction of their canoes, or perhaps introduced the more recent improvements of Tahiti.

Other voyages are spoken of. One of these was made by a priest, in obedience to a communication from his god, revealing to him the existence, situation, and distance, of Tahiti, with the command to proceed thither. Obeying this injunction, he set sail from Hawaii, with forty companions, in four double canoes. After an absence of fifteen years, they returned and gave an interesting account of a country they had visited, called Haupokane, bordered with fine sandy beaches, abounding in shell-fish and delicious fruits. The inhabitants were comely and possessed much wealth.

The name of this Hawaiian Columbus was Kamapiikai, "a child running over the sea." He afterwards made three voyages to the same place, accompanied by numerous trains of followers, who were tempted by his glowing description of the newly discovered land, to share his fortunes. As he never returned from the fourth, he is supposed to have perished at sea.

The most remarkable feature of this tale, is what was related of the wai-ola-loa, "water of enduring life," a fountain or stream, said to exist in the land of Haupokane. If we may credit Kamapiikai, it possessed more marvelous properties than even the far-famed "Fountain of Youth," which Ponce De Leon vainly sought for, in Florida, in 1512. By bathing in its miraculous waters, people, however aged or infirm, deformed or ugly, maimed or diseased, were immediately restored to youth, strength, and beauty. Such being the reputation of this stream, it is no matter of surprise that Kamapiikai was able to entice numbers to brave with him the dangers of the ocean. Report does not say, whether his crews were composed only of those, whose necessities required such a bath. If they were, it will more readily account for his final loss, than his previous success, it is not altogether improbable that the Hawaiians derived this story from some of their early Spanish visitors, who had received it from the Indians of Cuba; or it may have been a superstition common to both races.

An opinion was prevalent that the first inhabitants descended from the gods, or were created on the islands. But this may be referred to a still earlier period, and different locality. Such traditions being found to exist among all nations, they evidently point to the common origin of the human species. Each nation, as it became isolated and lost knowledge of its primeval history, would naturally consider its own territory as the site of the miraculous creation, and themselves as divinely descended.

A tradition of the flood likewise exists, which states that all the land, except the summit of Mauna Kea, was overflowed by copious rains and risings of the waters. Some of the inhabitants preserved themselves in a "laau," a vessel whose height, length and breadth were equal, and which was filled with men, food and animals. This "laau," after floating awhile, finally rested upon Mauna Kea. The waters then subsided and the people went forth and again dwelt in the land. This flood is called Kaiakahinalii, the great deluge of Hinalii.

Their traditions, like those of the Hebrews, refer to a period of perpetual night, or a state of chaos, before the world existed. Nothing that now is, was then created, except some of the gods. The present state was called the"state of light," and creation was a transition from darkness to light. Any reference to existence from the earliest time was expressed thus, "from the state of confusion or darkness, until now." Hawaii was said to have been produced from a large egg, deposited by an immense bird upon the water, which bursting, formed the present island.

Maui, a superhuman being or god, is said to have laid his hand upon the sun, and arrested its course, to give his wife time to finish work, which she was anxious to complete before dark. This was certainly carrying gallantry to an extent never dreamed of by the chivalry of Europe, accustomed as they were to do brave deeds and incredible feats for their lady loves. The analogy however to be observed in this story, with the miracle of Joshua, is striking. According to Earnest Dieffenback in his recent travels in New Zealand, this Maui was a being of no little repute in that country, for to him the natives attribute the formation or fishing up of their island.

They also derive their origin from countries called Hawaiki and Tawaii, in which names that author recognizes Hawaii and Kauai. Dogs and taro were brought in the first canoes from the eastward. As further confirmation of his idea of the Hawaiian origin of the New Zealanders, he states that shrubs and trees of the same genus, though differing in species, bear similar names in both countries.

The query, "whence the Polynesian family," has been much discussed. Dr. Lang's "View of the Origin and Migration of the Polynesian Nation," throws some light upon this perplexing question. There is no difficulty in accounting for the manner of peopling the islands; for it has been found that frail canoes and boats, either by accident or design, have performed voyages of sufficient extent to have arrived at the most remote lands in the Pacific. Japanese junks have been blown to sea, and finally stranded with their occupants upon distant islands, and have reached even the continent of America, in the 46th degree of north latitude. In December, 1832, one was wrecked on Oahu, after having been tossed upon the ocean for eleven months. But four, out of a crew of nine, survived. Similar accidents, no doubt, happened centuries since. Lord North's island, a mere rock, of scarcely two miles circuit, and upwards of a thousand miles distant from any other land, has a numerous population, which must have originated from a similar casualty. Canoes, crowded with occupants of both sexes, are annually picked up at sea, far away from their places of departure, and drifting about at the mercy of the weather.

The continent of Asia, owing to the numerous intervening islands, affords more facilities for reaching Polynesia in this manner, than America; though stragglers from the latter have doubtless from time to time added to the population, and thus created a mixture of customs, which, to some extent, indicate a mixed origin. The probabilities are in favor of Asia, both from affinity of language, and from striking resemblances in manners, idols, clothing, and physical conformation. But all conclusions, with the present light upon this subject, must necessarily be speculative, and of little practical utility. China was known to Egypt more than two thousand years before the birth of Christ, and a commercial intercourse maintained between the two countries. Africa was circumnavigated by the ancient Egyptian mariners; and among the relics of their high primary civilization, indications of an acquaintance with the continent of America are to be traced. Upon further development of the history of the earliest records of our race, it may be found that the geography of the world was better known than we are at present aware of and the peopling of isolated positions and the migrations of nations, to have been performed with a definite knowledge of the general features of the globe.

This, as well as their purer forms of faith, became obscured in the night of ages, when darkness and ignorance settled upon the nations of the earth. After a lapse of four thousand years, glimmerings only of the truth are revealed, in the fables of a multitude of distinct tribes of men; the general coincidence of which points to a common parentage.

Whatever may have been the origin of the Hawaiians, we find in their traditions, ground for the belief that they once possessed a simpler ritual and purer ideas of divinity than when discovered by Cook. The ideas embodied in these traditions appear to be the fragments of a faith or teachings not unlike those of the Hebrews. Perhaps like theirs, they came down to them from primeval ages, before mankind had become wholly corrupt; when the sons of God walked with the children of men. But others, and particularly several customs point to a later period, when the Israelites had become a nation under the ceremonial law. Ingenious minds may find a pleasure in tracing the parallel between customs and traditions of the Hawaiian race and the ceremonies and scripture of the Jews. But it requires further research and more proof before we can adopt the conclusion that they sprung from the lost ten tribes. Dibble, in his History of the American Mission, favors this idea. He was intimately acquainted with all there was to be known concerning Hawaiian traditionary history and customs, and has succinctly enumerated the parallelisms. He writes:

"It is frequently remarked that every barbarous nation has some traditions more or less distinct of ancient events narrated in the Holy Scriptures, and some customs and practices also that indicate the common origin of the human race. The remark is certainly true of the inhabitants of these islands, and to such an extent that it is not difficult to imagine, that the Hawaiians are a part of the scattered tribes of the children of Israel. "In the regular division of time and the occurrence of sacred seasons, at intervals, four times a month, there may be some trace of an ancient weekly Sabbath. There were also yearly feasts, and feasts of the new moon, which were observed with much religious ceremony. "There is a very ancient tradition, dated back in the reign of Owaia, the second in genealogy of the Hawaiian chiefs, which may be introduced here, as it seems to bear some trace of a knowledge formerly existing, but since lost, of a superintending power above. The tradition is of a head having been seen in the heavens, which looked out of a cloud and made the following inquiry: 'Who among the kings of the earth has behaved well?"

The men here below replied,” Kahiko, one of the kings of this lower world, was a most worthy personage, a wise man, a priest, and an astrologer, promoting the prosperity of his land, and the best interests of his people." The head again inquired, “What earthly king has been notoriously vicious?” Men responded, “His name is Owaia, an impious man, devoid of skill in divination or in war, indifferent to the prosperity of the realms and the happiness of his subjects. His every thought is absorbed in sensual pleasure, and the gratification of his avarice. He exalts himself by trampling on his subjects, whose felicity he of course tails to consult, in a word, he pays no regard to the counsels and example of his excellent father.”

Then said the voice, “It is no wonder, truly, that the kingdom is driven to ruin, when he who holds the reins is a champion in crime.” Upon this the head disappeared. The tabu system, making sacred certain times, persons and places, and containing many restrictions and prohibitions, may easily be interpreted as a relic much changed and corrupted, from the ancient ceremonial observances of the Jews.”

The Hawaiians offered their first fruits to the gods. Among the Hawaiians, till the arrival of the missionaries, the practice of circumcision was common. The act was attended with religious ceremonies and performed by a priest. An uncircumcised person was considered mean and despicable. The practice did not cease till formally prohibited by Kaahumanu.

"Every person and thing that touched a dead body was considered unclean, and continued so a certain season, and till purified by religious ceremonies." Females after child-birth and after other periods of infirmity, were enjoined strict separation, and were subjected to ceremonies of purification similar to those of the Jews, on penalty of death. "The Hawaiians had cities of refuge for the same purpose and under similar regulations with those of the Jews.”

Hawaiian tradition says that man was originally made of the dust of the earth by Kane and Kanaloa, two of their principal deities. "They have the tradition of one Waikelenuiaiku, an abridged story of whom I will here introduce, that the reader may judge for himself how much it resembles the history of Joseph:

"Waikelenuiaiku was one of ten brethren, who had one sister. They were all the children of one father whose name was Waiku. Waikelenuiaiku was much beloved by his father, but his brethren hated him. On account of their hatred they carried him and cast him into a pit belonging to Holonaeole. The oldest brother had pity on him and gave charge to Holonaeole to lake good care of him."

Waikelenuiaiku escaped and fled to a country over which reigned a king whose name was Kamohoalii. There he was thrown into a dark place, a pit under ground, In which many persons were confined for various crimes.

Whilst Waikelenuiaiku was confined in this dark place, he told his companions to dream dreams and tell them to him. The night following four of the prisoners had dreams. The first dreamed that he saw a ripe ohin (native apple) and his spirit ate it; the second dreamed that he saw a ripe banana and his spirit ate it; the third dreamed that lie saw a hog and his spirit ate it; and the fourth dreamed that he saw awa, (a native herb producing intoxicating liquor,) pressed out the juice, and his spirit drank it. The three first dreams (those pertaining to food) Waikelenuiaiku interpreted unfavorably and told the dreamers that they must prepare to die. The fourth dream (that pertaining to drink) he interpreted to signify deliverance and life.

The three first dreamers were slain according to the interpretation and the fourth was delivered and saved. Afterwards, this last dreamer told Kamohoalii the king of the land how wonderful was the skill of Waikelenuiaiku in interpreting dreams, and the king sent and delivered him from prison and made him a principal chief in his kingdom.

They have a tradition of a certain person who was swallowed by a fish and afterwards cast out upon dry land, which may be referred to the history of Jonah.

It may be added, that the poetry of the Hawaiians bears a greater resemblance to that of the Hebrews than to any other, that the structure of the two languages is very similar, and especially that the causative form of the Hawaiian verb is precisely the same with the Hiphil of the Hebrew. Very few words however can be found in the two languages that resemble each other.

A genealogy of the kings of Hawaii and their wives, exists from a period long antecedent to 1778, though but few facts of an interesting nature have been preserved. Kahiko, (ancient,) the first man and Kupulanakahau, the first woman, gave birth to a son, called Wakea. Among the first settlers from abroad were Kukalaniehu, and his wife Kakulaua, whose daughter married Wakea.

This couple became the progenitors of the whole Hawaiian race. The names of seventy-seven generations of kings have been preserved in their historical meles, from the last of whom Kamehnmeha claimed descent. Many marvelous and absurd things are related of these men and their consorts. Papa was believed to be the mother of the islands, and to have created the kalo plant, by planting a deformed child, from which it grew. In the history of Papa is found the eastern idea of transmigration of souls, as she is said to have inhabited different bodies by passing from one to another.

Kana was a famous warrior, and of him marvelous deeds are told. He was so tall that he could wade the ocean, and, colossus-like, stand with one foot upon Oahu and the other upon Kauai, seventy miles apart. On one occasion, the Hawaiians gave offence to the king of Tahiti, who, in revenge, deprived them of the sun. Kana, disliking the darkness, walked through the sea to Tahiti, where the maker of the sun, Kahoaalii, lived. Having obtained it, he returned and placed it where it still remains. But stories like these, originating in the imaginations of the bards, or superstitions of the people, have neither interest nor value. Those given are a specimen of the better class. As a whole, they are characterized by wonder and absurdity, from which it seems impossible to extract any truth worth preserving. In their mental twilight the past assumed a dim and undefined appearance, and was filled with vague shadows which became more hideous and disproportioned as their night drew on. The lives of the rulers were stained with the usual crimes of heathenism, and occupied with wars and dissensions. But one, Luamuo, retained his power and died a natural death. This was justly considered as a reward for his extraordinary virtue. Another, by the name of Puiakalani, becoming disgusted with the continued dissensions among his subjects, which he was called on to adjust, resigned his power, saying to the people, "I am tired of ruling over the land, and will no longer have care of it. It will be better for you, my subjects, to look after your own lands in a way to suit yourselves; while I take care of my own.'' The land soon fell into great confusion, and the people petitioned their prince to resume his former station, which he consented to with the proviso of additional power. To him is attributed the originating of the feudal principle, that the whole country belonged exclusively to the king. From his time, all lands were held in fief. The great increase of tyranny arose from the consideration given to the martial profession.

The most illustrious warriors, dreaded from their prowess and cruelty, were esteemed as superior beings, and sought after as leaders in their petty skirmishes for territory or plunder. In this manner, despotic power soon became the inheritance of the warlike chiefs; as for the people, they ceased to exist except as serfs, apportioned out with their lands to the favorites or dependents of the conquerors. New and more rigorous laws were enforced, until every vestige of former liberty was extinguished.

It is probable that the political condition of the country, during this period, was much the same as when first visited by Captain Cook: wars and famine, peace and plenty, alternating according to the dispositions of the ruling princes. The prevalence of such a system must effectually have checked mental or physical advancement.

Before the conquest of Kamehameha, the several islands were ruled by independent kings, who were frequently at war with each other, but more often with their own subjects. As one chief acquired sufficient strength, he disputed the title of the reigning prince; if successful, his chance of permanent power was quite as precarious as that of his predecessor. In some instances the title established by force of arms remained in the same family for several generations, disturbed, however, by frequent rebellions. The rich valleys were claimed by separate tribes, whose principal occupation was to prey upon their neighbors; the highlands were arrayed against the lowlands; robbers infested all the public paths, or lurked amid the recesses of the forest. The smallest trifle of property was a sufficient temptation to murder; and no individual was safe away from the immediate precincts of his own village. The traveler of the present day hears from the lips of their descendants many a tale of horror, as they direct his notice to the haunts of these men of blood and lust. These dark features will however be found to be relieved by lighter shades, when the general character of the ancient government is explained.

It was a complete despotism, modified, to some extent, by certain customs or regulations, which had been promulgated in the early periods of their history, by the high chiefs, and which, from their general usefulness and antiquity, were considered in the light of a traditionary code. These related principally to the tenure of lands, personal security, right of property and barter. Such was the force of public sentiment upon these subjects, that the chiefs hesitated to violate the spirit of their meaning.

By them the amount of taxes or labor due the chiefs from their dependants, and his duties to them, were, to some extent, regulated. This species of common law was particularly binding in regard to the means of irrigation, on which the whole value of their crops depended. It regulated, for each plantation, the amount of water which varies according to the dryness of the season. In barter, no bargain was considered as binding until the articles were exchanged and both parties expressed themselves satisfied; after which, no withdrawal was permitted, whatever might be the consequence. A common practice existed of paying workmen in advance, Should they then refuse to perform the stipulated work, their property was seized and their plantations destroyed. In criminal cases, the law of retaliation prevailed, except toward their immediate chiefs, who could commit any trespass, or even murder, at their option.

In other cases, the injured party retaliated to the extent of their desires, unless they were too weak in which event, an appeal to the king, or the chief of the district, ensured some light punishment to the offender. Life was held in no great estimation, for murder was punished simply by banishment. Theft was more severely dealt with; those who had suffered in their houses or farms, repaired to the property of the guilty party, even if they were the strongest, and seized upon every available article. Whether there was anything approaching the form of a trial to prove the guilty party does not appear. Public opinion was however so fixed on this subject, that the whole people would sustain those who thus desired to obtain redress. This species of les fallout seems in no way calculated to have improved their morals, though perhaps suited to their circumstances.

In their social relations the greatest hospitality prevailed. So freely were gifts bestowed, that almost a community of property existed; and no man would refuse food to his bitterest enemy, should he enter his house. Thus the temptation to theft was much diminished, and the heinousness of the offence aggravated. If a robbery were committed on the property of a high chief, the offender was sometimes bound hand and foot, placed in a decayed canoe, and committed to the waters, to await a lingering death.

Such were the nature of some of their regulations, which, while they tended, to some extent, to create a security of property and person among the common people, in their transactions with each other, afforded but little safety against oppression on the part of their chiefs. The king could dispense with any of them, and the chiefs likewise though an appeal to the king afforded some security against this latter abuse.

The will of the monarch constituted the supreme law; consequently, the government partook of his personal character, being more or less arbitrary, according to his disposition. The general character of the chiefs, as might be expected, was such as despotic power, engrafted upon savage dispositions and sensual appetites, would be calculated to produce. Kumalai, an ancient king of Maui, is noted in their annals for his oppression, and his memory is still preserved among the people, on account of a road of flat stones which he caused to be made around the island, part of which exists to this day. Another of these Caligulas, whose memory was universally execrated, was Huakau, a king of Hawaii.

His disposition was so malicious, that if he saw the leg of a man more handsomely tatooed than his own, he immediately ordered it cut off. A good looking face or handsome hair, if unfortunate enough to attract his attention, were sufficient to cause the possessor to be beheaded; the bleeding head was brought to him, to be mangled and hacked in a most wanton manner. He was finally slain, in a conspiracy, by Umi, a rival king, and two aged men, whom he had abused. The kingly authority extended over life, liberty and property. It was frequently delegated to the governors of the islands, or great districts, and from them to inferior officers. No chief could interfere with the tenant of another, and should he desire revenge or justice, it could only be obtained through the legitimate lord, unless he chose to risk a contest.

The greatest safeguard of the people consisted in the self-interest of their masters, whose wealth and power depended chiefly on the number of their bondmen. The king was chief magistrate, and the ultimate source of appeal. No regular police existed. The immediate attendants of the chiefs executed their orders. These attendants were very numerous, every person of rank being supplied according to his grade. A certain number were bosom friends, who always remained privileged idlers about the persons of their lords, having no voice in political affairs, but living upon his revenues: the others held different offices in the household, more or less menial, and constituted a permanent establishment. Among them were "pipe lighters," "spittoon carriers," "kahili bearers," "executioners,""purloiners,”  "assassins," "cooks," etc.

These retinues were formed immediately upon the birth of a chief of either sex, and were designated by titles, generally of a whimsical character, as "the fragments,” "musquitoes," "umbrellas," etc. The care of the children devolved upon kahus or nurses, who assumed the sole direction, until the child was capable of exercising its own will; a period which, as no contradiction to its caprices was allowed, soon arrived. Rank was hereditary, and descended chiefly from the females, who frequently held the reins of government in their own right. This custom originated in the great license existing between the sexes; no child, with certainty, being able to designate his father, while no mistake could be made in regard to the mother.

Three distinct orders of nobles existed. The first embraced the kings, queens, and all branches of the royal family. It also included the chief advisers, or counselors, though of inferior birth. Governors, or chiefs of large districts, were included in the second, and the third embraced the lords of villages, priests, and those who held estates, by payment of regular taxes, which were raised by their own dependants, or those to whom they farmed lands.

Servile homage was paid to superiors, particularly to priests and chiefs of the highest rank. Neither their persons could be touched, nor their houses entered, without permission. All must prostrate themselves when they appeared. Death was the penalty of the slightest infringement of any degree of etiquette which the law required to be exercised towards them, or their rites. The people were attached to the soil, and transferred with the land, like the serfs of modern times. They had no voice in the government. The advice of the principal chiefs was taken in matters of importance by the king, though he was responsible to no one. No regular council existed, but the political deliberations were conducted with considerable diplomatic skill and secrecy. The results were promulgated to the people by heralds and messengers, whose offices were hereditary, and considered highly honorable. Public meetings for discussing national affairs were sometimes held. Professed orators and counselors, whose offices were also hereditary, spoke on these occasions, and with a degree of natural eloquence, not uncommon among savages.

Among the chiefs a considerable degree of courtesy prevailed, with a refinement of language and demeanor which betokened conscious rank. Perhaps in nothing else was the exclusiveness of the aristocracy so strongly characterized.

In every department of life a distinction was made, as if contact with the serfs, by touch, use of the same articles, houses, "food or bathing places, would produce contamination. From such rules and deportment, so great a physical difference arose, that superficial observers have considered the two as distinct races. To carry this distinction to its farthest limit, the chiefs formed a conventional dialect, or court language, understood only among themselves, if any of its terms became known by the lower orders, they were immediately discarded and others substituted. Towards the common people the chiefs conducted themselves most oppressively. Respect to their persons or property was unknown, when in conflict with the whims or desires of a superior.

Their security lay in avoiding them. To use the expressive language of modern Hawaiians, " their restrictions were like the poisoned tooth of a reptile." If a common man made use of any consecrated property belonging to a chief; or if a man walked in the shade of the house of a chief, with his head besmeared with clay, or with a wreath about it, with it wet, or wearing a kihei, a kapa mantle, or violated any one of numerous other regulations, equally whimsical and absurd, his life was the forfeit. At sea, if their canoes interrupted their progress, they were overturned; on land, if the shadow of an individual fell upon the king, or he did not prostrate himself when anything was carried to or from him. the punishment was death. This was also the case, should any one place his hand upon his head, or be found in a more elevated position. To render this system more unjust and cruel, if it were possible, its laws were of the most varied and uncertain nature, emanating frequently from sheer caprice, ignorance or innocence were equally unsafe, justice and humanity being of slight consideration; though, as before remarked, the personal disposition of the sovereign greatly affected the whole system of government. The humane character of the few could afford but slight relief from the cruel and capricious desires of the many. Priestcraft lent all its adventitious aids to support this system, from which it derived its own existence.

But two classes existed, the oppressor and oppressed, those who labored, and those who reaped. Lands were held in fief. The great landlords derived them direct from the king, and in turn subdivided them among their followers, the inferior tenants being apportioned with the soil. The slightest failure of duty from one class to its immediate superior, was followed by dispossession. It was on the great chiefs that the king relied for military support, which they gladly rendered him as the title by which they retained their possessions. Not unfrequently lands were divided out to the seventh degree, and it is owing to this system that, now as the rights of each begin to be acknowledged, so much confusion in titles has arisen. Tenant, landlord, chief and king have each an interest in the same spot. Then, however, such matters were easily adjusted. The strongest took it. Nor more than one-third of the laborer's industry ever benefited him. The other two-thirds went in taxes, rents and exactions to his chiefs and to the king. Worse than this, his own third was never safe from some unforeseen exaction. If his lands were flourishing and a stock of hogs or poultry repaid his care, they were never secure from the covetous eyes of a superior.

The decree had but to go forth, and house, farm and all that his labor had made his, passed irrevocably into the hands of another. Even when the good nature of one class of chiefs rendered the peasant's property comparatively secure, no reliance could be placed on its continuance. The death of a king or landlord, or even a new favoritism, caprice, or the most trivial motive, sufficed to produce a change of masters throughout. Thus one moment was no security against the next. Not to be entirely at the mercy of one man. tenants were desirous of securing small patches under several chiefs, so that when plundered by one they could repair to another. This system was an effectual bar to general improvements and the acquisition of property by the mass. It may account somewhat for their profuse hospitality, by leading every man the more willingly to bestow upon his neighbor, what he felt but slight rights of property to in himself; for food, even when prepared for the family meal, was no exception to a chiefs rapacity. Beside this lion's right to property, the chief or king could assess labor upon the entire community, when and how he pleased.

In cases of litigation, some appearance of judicial forms was preserved. Both parties were generally summoned before the king or chief and heard before judgment was pronounced, the execution of which was prompt. Ordinarily, cases were left to the priests, whose examinations appealed rather to the superstitious fears of the real or fancied criminal, than to any direct evidences of guilt. Ordeals of a singular nature were practiced. One was the "wai haalulu" shaking water, a large dish of which was placed before the culprit, while a prayer was offered by the priest. Both hands were required to be held over the fluid, the priest gazing steadfastly upon it. If the water shook, an event, by a little legerdemain, very likely to occur, the fate of the victim was sealed.

The delusion of "praying to death" exercised a powerful influence over their minds. Chiefs and common people alike felt its force, though the former, it is to be supposed, seldom came under its baneful operation. Even to this day this superstition exists, though rapidly wearing away. Like the remembrance of goblin tales, the fear remains after the faith is destroyed. As a powerful engine of government and priesthood, it was deprecated equally by the innocent as by the guilty.

Sorcery and witchcraft were also extensively practiced, and exerted a power not inferior to the above, which may be considered as a kindred practice, depending for its success upon the same credulity and ignorance. Kilo was the term applied to the class that predicted future events, from the appearances of the heavens, crowing of cocks, or barking of dogs. It was analogous, and perhaps co-eval with the practice of soothsaying among the more polished nations of antiquity. The professors of practices so fatal to the people were regarded with great aversion, and seldom came to a natural end. Indeed they were looked upon rather as bad spirits than appertaining to the human race. The priests were frequently called upon to detect those guilty of theft.

The complainant was required to pay a fee, generally a pig, in advance. The following ceremonies were then enacted. Two sticks of green wood were rubbed together, until the friction produced a kind of powder, resembling snuff, sufficiently hot, upon being blown upon, to kindle dry grass into a flame. This was used to fire a pile of wood. Three kukui nuts were then broken, arid one of the kernels thrown into the fire. While this was burning, a prayer was uttered, accompanied with an anathema, "to kill the fellow." The same ceremony was repeated until the nuts were consumed, unless the thief appeared and made restitution, which generally happened. The offence was then punished with a heavy fine. Should the culprit have neglected, to appear, his fate was considered as inevitable. A proclamation was made throughout the island by the king, that theft had been committed and the guilty prayed to death. So firm was their belief in the power of these prayers to arouse the avenging deity, that the miserable victim generally pined away and fell a sacrifice to his fears. When we ! consider the powerful influence which ! the church of Rome exercised over those ! who acknowledged her authority, throwing, by her paper interdicts, a whole j kingdom into a state of distress, scarcely ; conceivable in modern times, we find little to excite wonder in the "praying to death" of the untutored savage.

No spirit of benevolence pervaded their religion. It was a gloomy and fearful system, abounding in punishments for the present life and dark threatenings for the future. Among the I lowest orders no distinct idea of futurity prevailed. A general opinion that there was a future state existed, and with it vague expectances of rewards and punishments. In their corrupted minds the simple truth of one all-creative power, the " Great Spirit " of the American Indians, had no being. Their traditions referred to the creation of the world, and the deluge; but even then, according to their ideas, a multiplicity of gods existed.

The knowledge of the true God was lost among many families soon after the world became peopled; else was buried amid a mass of superstitions and heathen ceremonies, which each successive generation increased. This was emphatically the case with the Hawaiians.

However simple their faith originally had been, almost all traces of truth were lost at their discovery. Every age had become more corrupt, and, at that date, the cup of heathenism was full. Savage rites and blood-loving deities, a cruel priesthood and rapacious governments, inhuman faiths and absurd superstitions, were the burdens which the people were required to believe and sustain.

From the perusal of the stories of this dark era, as gathered from their own lips, it would seem as if human depravity had reached its acme, and that the people were gradually wasting away, like a mass of corruption. A religion which inculcates some degree of morality, however small, or allows latitude for the better principles of humanity, even if choked and almost destroyed by surrounding depravity, will exert an influence sufficient to temper the general evil. This was the case with the Buddhistic creed and the simple faith of the ancient Peruvians. But here no such light prevailed. The system had degenerated into unmixed evil, and the good, like that derived from government, was the result of individual action.

Fortunately for humanity, the most barbarous beliefs will, at times, yield to the natural instincts of man; and faiths, however cruel m theory, often become comparatively mild in their application. The religion of the Hawaiians, as it existed when they became known to the civilized world, incorporated no abstract principles of belief. It was rather a system of worldly despotism, better calculated to perpetuate the power of the priests, than to direct the ideas of the people to concerns of eternal interest or temporal improvement. Deities, ceremonies and restrictions, had been indefinitely multiplied till it presented a confused mass of dark superstitions, based upon the slavish fear and ignorance of the people.

The contradictory ideas that prevailed in regard to a future state, attest the indefiniteness of their belief on this point. Their revelations were derived from dreams and pretended visions of the priests. By some, it was supposed that the souls of the departed went to Po, (place of night,) where they were annihilated, or eaten by the gods. Others considered the regions of Akea and Milu their final resting places. These were former kings of Hawaii, who, after death, went below and founded kingdoms, which became the Hades of the Hawaiian Islands. Darkness prevailed here, and lizards and butterflies were the only diet. The spirits of the departed were sometimes sent back with messages to the living. These pretended messages were expounded, greatly to their own interest, by the priests, and were received as divine commands by the people. There were two gods, one of whom was called Kaonohiokala, the eye-ball of the sun, who conducted the spirits of the chiefs to a place in the heavens, where it was supposed their rulers dwelt after death. They sometimes returned to the earth and watched over the welfare of their survivors. By this belief, it will be seen that the spiritual destinies of the nobles were well provided for by the complaisant priests, in return, probably, for favors received from them while living. Servitude was the lot of the common people in this life, and no hope enlivened their souls for the future.

Hawaiians in their gods worshiped mere physical attributes; their conceptions of divinity being limited to deeds of strength, lust and revenge, with perhaps an occasional dash of good nature. In this they differed not materially from the popular opinions of the polished Greeks and Romans. Indeed, a uniformity of ideas, though varied in application by mental cultivation and moral sentiment, is found to exist among all nations unenlightened by revelation. Man deified man. His fertile imagination peopled proves, shores, and ocean, with beings of wonderful natures; with some, the objects of fear; with others, of companionship and protection. Each individual, according to his prominent characteristic, selected his protecting deity; thus their qualities became as various as the tastes and dispositions of mankind; so that man, reversing the primeval creation, fashioned gods after his own image. In the Hawaiian mythology, little exists to interest or instruct. It is a record of depravity necessary, though painful, to examine, that a proper judgment of their aboriginal condition may be formed.

Their gods were many, and received constant additions from the most trivial circumstances. Every object of fear, or from which harm could be derived, was worshipped. Sharks, volcanoes, and any singular appearance in the natural kingdom, had each their devotees. There were household deities, some of ludicrous and obscene character, like the Roman Penates; gods of war, the seasons, crops, and of the winds; also of precipices, or dangerous places in traveling. Images were placed on such to receive the offerings of the devout.

Among the principal deities were Lono, Ku, Kane and Kanaloa, male gods. Those of the other sex were common; of which Papa, Hukoku, Walina and Kahawahine were the most celebrated. A human origin is ascribed to all.

The several islands had favorite idols. On Maui, Kealoewa, an image of wood, covered with "tapa," was much worshiped. The head, which was disfigured with an enormous mouth, was formed of fine basket-worh, curiously and neatly I wrong) it with red feathers, so as to resemble the plumage of a beautiful bird. This was surmounted by a helmet, to the crown of which long tresses of human hair were attached. Kihu was a famous female idol of the same island, and received equal adoration with Kealoewa.

On Lanai, two large stone images, personifying the deities supposed to preside over the sea, were much honored by fishermen. Moaalii a shark, was a celebrated marine god of Molokai. Numerous temples were built on projecting headlands for his homage, and to them the first fruits of the fishermen's labors were dedicated.

Kalaipahoa, a carved, wooden image, was much feared. Its arms were extended, with spread fingers, its head decorated with human hair, and its gaping mouth ornamented with rows of shark's teeth. The wood of which this idol was made, to increase the horrid effect of its appearance, was fabled to be deadly poisonous.

One of the most popular gods of Hawaii was Lono, an ancient king, who, according to the tradition, became offended with his wife, and murdered her. His contrition brought on derangement, and he traveled through the islands, boxing and wrestling with all he met. Not long after, he sailed in an oddly constructed canoe for a foreign land, from which he never returned. He was deified, and annual athletic exercises held in his honor.

This was the God for whom Cook was mistaken upon his arrival; which delusion was not altogether removed after his death.

The most fearful of all their deities was Pele, a goddess. Her habitation, the famous volcano of Kilauea, well accorded with her reputed character. Here, with her attendant spirits, she reveled in the flames; the unearthly noises of the burning mass were the music of their dance, and they bathed in the red surge of the fiery billows, as it dashed against the sides of the crater. This fire-loving family is said to have emigrated from Tahiti, soon after the deluge.

Their names, as given by Ellis, were characteristic of their habits, and show how readily the native intellect metamorphosed natural phenomena into personal qualities.

Pele was the chief goddess. Her principal followers were Ka-ma-hu-alii, the king of steam and vapor. Ka-poha-i-kahi-ola, the explosion in the palace of life. Ke-ua-ke-po, the rain of night. Kane-hekili, thundering god. Ke-o-ahi-kama-kaua, fire-thrusting child of war. These were brothers, and like Vulcan, two of them were deformed. Makole-wawahi-waa, fiery-eyed canoe breaker. Hiaki-wawahi-lani, heaven dwelling cloud breaker. And several others of longer names, and similar definitions.

These latter were sisters. The whole family were regarded with the greatest awe. The volcano was their principal residence, though occasionally they renovated their constitutions amid the snows of the mountains. On such occasions, their journeys were accompanied by earthquakes, eruptions, heavy thunder and lightning. All were malignant spirits, delighting in acts of vengeance and destruction. The numerous eruptions with which the island has been devastated, were ascribed to their enmity.

Many tributes were assessed to avoid or appease their anger; the greater part of which went to support the numerous and wealthy priesthood and their followers, who regulated the worship of Pele. These were held in the highest reverence, as holding in their power the devouring fires of the all-powerful goddess. To insult them, break their taboos, or neglect to send offerings, was to call down certain destruction. At their call, Pele would spout out her lava and destroy the offenders. Vast numbers of hogs, both cooked and alive, were thrown into the crater, when any fear of an eruption was entertained, or to stay the progress of one commenced. Offerings were annually made to keep her in good humor, and no traveler dared venture near her precincts without seeking her good will.

Wonderful monsters and giants abound in their traditions, showing how prevalent was the love of the marvelous. Events and people, not remarkable in themselves, in the course of time have been converted into miracles and heroes; in the nature of which the ridiculous, rather than the sublime, predominates.

Pele and her family are said to have had a contest, in which they were almost overpowered, with Kamapuaa, half hog and half man; a gigantic animal, the Centaur of Hawaii. He traveled from Oahu to countries beyond the heavens, or where they supposed the sky to join the sea. In his route he visited Kilauea, and desired to pay his addresses to Pele. She rejected him with contempt, impolitely calling him "a hog, and the son of a hog." In endeavoring to drive him away, a fierce battle took place. Pele fled to her house, and her fires were nearly extinguished by great quantities of water, which Kamapuaa poured into the crater. The thirsty family, however, soon drank it up, and finally obtained the mastery over the demi-hog, forcing him into the sea, amidst a shower of fire and stones. This tale probably originated from an eruption, in which the lava of the volcano came in contact with the ocean. Another account states that he conquered Pele, and they were quietly married; in consequence of which no more islands were formed, or extensive eruptions took place.

This same character, forgetful of his former prowess, was guilty of stealing fowls of a king of Oahu, who, to revenge himself, sent and captured him. However, he soon released himself and killed all the party but one, whom he sent back with the news of the death of his companions.

This mightily enraged the monarch, and he summoned all his force for a fresh attack. Success attended this effort, and Kamapuaa, with his followers, were pent up in a narrow gorge, between two mountains, all sides of which, but the entrance, were bounded by stupendous precipices. Seeing no outlet for escape, he reared upon his hind legs, and placing his fore feet upon the summit of one of the perpendicular rocks, formed a bridge, by which his defeated army, scrambling over his back, reached the top in safety, while the monster himself, with one bound, readily surmounted the difficulty. At Hauula, where this is said to have occurred, the natives still point out the smooth channels in the rock, made by his efforts on this occasion, but which incredulous whites believe to have been water courses.

Idols were of every variety imaginable, from hideous and deformed sculptures of wood, to the utmost perfection of their art. The features of their religion were embodied in these images; the most desired object in their manufacture being to inspire fear and horror, sentiments which, in a more refined people, would from such exhibitions have been converted into disgust. Much ceremony took place when a new idol was to be made. A great procession, headed by the highest priests and chiefs, marched in state to the tree selected for the purpose.

After it was felled, a man or hog was sacrificed on its site. The rocks of a beach at Ninole, Hawaii, were in high repute among the manufacturers of stone images and adzes. They were believed to have been of different sexes, and therefore to have had the power of propagation, and were generally used in the fabrication of gods which presided over games. When a suitable stone for this I design was found, it was taken to the "heiau," and certain rites performed; after which it was properly fashioned and carried to the arena where the games were held. If the party to which it belonged were frequently successful, it was regarded as a god; but if not, it was thrown aside. When victims were required in honor of Moa-alii, the divine shark, or it was supposed to be hungry, the priests sallied out and ensnared with a rope any one whom they could catch, ' who was immediately strangled, cut in pieces and thrown to the rapacious fish. Another ingenious mode of entrapping the unwary was by uttering piteous cries, like a wounded or sick individual. Those attracted to the spot were seized and sacrificed.

Temples or heiaus were commonly erected upon hills, or near the sea, and formed conspicuous objects in the landscapes. They were works of great labor, built of loose stones, with sufficient skill to form compact walls. Their usual shape was an irregular parallelogram.

That of Kawaihae, on Hawaii, is two hundred and twenty-four feet long and one hundred feet wide, with walls twelve feet thick at the base. Its height is from eight to twenty feet, two to six feet wide at the top, which, being well paved with smooth stones, formed, when in repair, a pleasant walk. The entrance was narrow, between two high walls. The interior is divided into terraces, the upper of which is paved with flat stones. The south end constituted an inner court, and was the most sacred place. Here was placed the chiefs idol, surrounded by a multitude of inferior deities. A small frame of wicker work, hollow and in the shape of an obelisk, stood in the centre of the inner court; in this the priest stationed himself when in consultation with the god. All affairs of importance were brought before him, and he, pretending divine inspiration, like the sibyls of classic mythology, answered distinctly, though ambiguously. The king and chiefs who received his responses, went outside and caused them to be proclaimed to the people. The sacrificial altar was near the entrance to this court. The high chiefs and priests only were allowed to reside within the precincts of the temple.

The external walls were crowned with hideous idols of all shapes and sizes. This temple was built by Kamehameha I. previous to his conquest of the leeward islands, and dedicated to his favorite war god Kaili, a large wooden image richly ornamented with red feathers. On the day it was completed, eleven men were immolated on its altar, and great quantities of fruit, hogs and dogs presented. The other heiaus, the ruins of which still remain, resemble this, but were not all constructed on a scale of equal grandeur.

There is one in tolerable preservation, called Kaili, in the interior of Hawaii, about equi-distant between the three mountains, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai. It was the work of Umi, the most noted in traditionary lore of the kings of Hawaii, and imposed by him as a tribute of labor on his several conquered districts. The main building is 92 feet long by 71 wide. The walls are 6 feet 9 inches high, 7 feet thick at the top, and quite perpendicular. Adjoining it are a number of rough pyramids 18 feet high and the remains of a house said to have been built by Umi for his wife. This temple has an elevation of 5,000 feet above the sea, and is built of compact unhewn lava, without cement.

The enclosures sacred to Lono, were built of the ki leaf, and four distinct houses erected for the accommodation of the idols. Fronting these was a handsomely made, high, wooden fence, called the Anuu surmounted by numerous images. The Lama was the only timber allowed in this enclosure, except the Ohia, of which the idols were made.

No priests except those attached to Lono, could officiate in this enclosure. This was a universal rule; each temple being sacred to some special deity, for whose service distinct orders of priests were maintained. These orders were sub-divided into classes, each attending to some specified duty. The king alone had free access to all.

Upon the consecration of a temple, or an appointed period for worship, the day was made sacred and the most profound silence enforced. All animals that were not removed, were ordered to be confined and kept quiet; otherwise they were seized and offered up in sacrifice.

Chiefs and priests, entering the most sacred house, united in prayer for many successive hours, with their arms extended toward heaven. On important occasions, several days were spent in this manner, and were succeeded by rites of a different character. The priests went through various maneuvers, singing songs and chanting praises to their deity. Distinct sacrifices, laid upon altars and lofty scaffolds, were offered for the gods, the priests and the people. Women were not permitted to be present at these seasons, and the restrictions were extremely severe. The two sexes were forbidden all intercourse; if they but spoke to each other, or accidentally came in contact, the penalty was death. Any infringement of the laws, however trivial, brought the same punishment. On the eighth day of the dedication the last hog reserved for this occasion, called the puaa-heat or "hog to be entirely consumed," was sacrificed. If any one refused to partake of its flesh, he lost his life, as it was supposed if any portion of his body remained undevoured, the whole company would perish by some awful judgment.

Festivals of a more pleasing description were frequently held, accompanied by sports, trials of skill, dancing and other amusements.

Human sacrifices were common, and occurred previous to going to war, upon the death of any high chief, or any other occasion of importance. It is said of Umi, that being victorious in battle, he commenced sacrificing human victims to his god. After a number had been slain, the insatiate god called for more, which were granted, until none were left except Umi and the priest. In this instance, eighty victims perished. An equal number are said to have been sacrificed on other occasions. These stories show the frequency of the practice, and the prodigal waste of human life attending it. All criminals, and those who had broken any religious requirements, were slain and offered to the gods. Those who were destined for slaughter for any great event were frequently selected for months or years beforehand. They were, probably, such as were obnoxious to the priests or chiefs, whose policy prompted them thus to dispose of them, rather than by undisguised murder. Unconscious of the fate that awaited them, the victims pursued their daily avocations in apparent security, the first intimation of their danger being the fatal blow. Sometimes they were seized and carried to the temple, and there slain to avoid mangling their limbs. Their bodies were then stripped and placed on an altar before the idol, with their faces downward. If hogs were offered at the same time, they were piled at right angles upon their bodies; after which prayers were repeated, and the whole mass left in that position to putrefy. In minor affairs, animals, fruits or vegetables only were offered. The former were slain by diviners, who observed the manner of their death, the looks of their entrails, and other signs. The face of the heavens, clouds and rainbows were also examined, and, according to their appearance, more or less favorable auguries given. It is probable, however, that the wishes of the chief had the most influence in dictating the answers.

The priesthood was hereditary, and formed a numerous and powerful body. They owned much property in people and lands, which were heavily taxed for their support. Each chief had his family priest, who followed him to battle, carried his war-god, and superintended all the sacred rites of his household. The priests took rank from their gods and chiefs; the worship of the latter usually determining the popularity of the former. The keeper of the national war god, and the one immediately attached to the person of the most powerful ruler, was the great high priest. The power of the priest, though it partook more of a religious character, was scarcely inferior to that of the chief. Their persons were sacred, from their supposed familiarity with the gods. It sometimes happened that a chief took the sacred offices upon himself; though, perhaps, from the nature of the intimate connection existing between the two orders, the absolute power, both in politics and religion, centered in the head of the clan. When the supreme sovereignty is resolved into the whims and caprices of one individual, and is constantly changing by death or warfare, no regular system, either in government or religion, can be developed.

From all that has transpired of their early history, it would appear, that while chiefs and priests maintained their power in all its absoluteness, the rites and ceremonies, and even the deities of their faith, were ever varying. The desires of the moment being the law of the land, there is, consequently, but little of permanent interest to be recorded. One fact is everywhere apparent: the spiritual, like the temporal lords of the people, amid all their vagaries, never neglected their own interests. Every ceremony or superstition was framed to aid their already overgrown power; humanity, or a regard for the rights of their inferiors, would have been received as monstrous deviations from the true policy of government.

Perhaps they governed no more harshly than could have been expected from a privileged order, nursed in selfishness and brutality. Their very superiority of station and feeling, incidentally developed a slight courteousness of manner, when compared with the dark mass beneath them. Among equals, much ceremony prevailed, and an external degree of artificial politeness, which served to disguise the most odious features of their characters.

Even over the warrior-chiefs, the priests, at times, were enabled to exercise a powerful influence, and made their religious fears and blind devotion subservient to their selfish purposes. In sickness, or fear of sorcery, their aid was to be purchased only by gifts, in proportion to the rank of the applicant. Great prices were exhorted for incantations to be practiced upon enemies, or counter ceremonies, to avoid such phantoms as their imaginations had not only given birth to, but which they pretended to the exclusive power to allay.

Offerings to the gods, or, more properly, to the priests, were required at all religious ceremonies, and on every occasion the people desired their services. The wants of the priesthood regulated the amount; when the regular taxes failed in supplying their desires, the wishes of the god were called into requisition, and the coveted articles tabooed for his use. Orisons, chants and offerings were made by the priests at their meals. Even in the care of their fowls and quadrupeds, they enjoyed remarkable privileges. Hogs received alive, were dedicated to the god of the order, received his marks, and turned loose to fatten upon the plantations of the poor cultivators; none daring openly to injure or drive away the sacred animals.

The expression taboo, or, according to Hawaiian orthography, Kapu, which, from its usefulness, has now become incorporated into most modern tongues, requires some explanation. Originally, it meant sacred, it implies no moral quality, but is indicative of a particular distinction, or separation from common purposes, for some special design, and also expresses an unlimited restriction.

Formerly, it was applied exclusively to persons or things in a sacred sense, and was strictly a religious ceremony, imposed only by the priests; but has since come into common use in the every-day concerns of life. Anciently, those chiefs who pretended to derive their descent from the gods were called alii kapu, sacred chiefs. A temple, exclusively devoted to the abode and worship of gods, was said to be wahi kapu sacred place.

Anything dedicated or reserved for the exclusive use of gods, chiefs, or priests, was considered as ~kapu for them. Certain lands and islands were kapu, as well as hunting-grounds, fish, fruit, or whatever the sacred classes chose to reserve for themselves. These kapus were occasional, or permanent particular fish, fruits and vegetables being sometimes taboo both from men and women for several successive months. The idols, temples, persons and names of their kings, and members of the royal family; persons and property of the priests; everything appertaining to the gods; religious devotees; the chiefs' bathing-places, or favorite springs of water; and everything offered in sacrifice, were strictly kapu.

Trees of which idols were made were taboo, so whatever an individual chose as his object of worship became ever afterwards taboo to him, though it were a fish, fowl, dog or vegetable. In modern times, this rnagic term has become the property of all. A common man can taboo his house, lands, or make any partial restrictions, and all would respect the prohibition. Any forbidden article or action is called tabooed; hence its common use in the domestic circle, and its application to laws. A captain can taboo his ship, and none dare approach. Tabooed property is generally marked by small white flags, or other signs which are well understood. At the present time, any individual can impose such taboos as suits his necessities or convenience, provided they do not infringe personal rights or the laws of the kingdom.

Formerly a religious motive was necessary for its assignment, but as the power of the chiefs increased, its use was greatly corrupted, while its influence remained the same, and may be said to have partaken of the preternatural. The bans of the Romish church, in the proudest days of that hierarchy, were not more powerful or obligatory. Every will of a chief, however monstrous, was promulgated as a taboo, and officers were appointed to see that it was observed.

This institution, unknown elsewhere, is general with slight variations throughout the Polynesian groups. Its antiquity is co-eval with the superstitions which it so materially strengthened, and it may be regarded as one of the profoundest productions of heathen ingenuity. A more cogent principle of religious despotism, at once capable of great utility and equal abuse, could not have been devised.

Its application was adapted to all wants and circumstances, and no civil or ecclesiastical government ever possessed a more refined, yet effective weapon. Its influence, among the common people, was universal and inflexible. Its exactments were of the most humiliating and troublesome description, and if anything had been wanting to complete their bondage, this, like the key-stone to an arch, was made to perfect and perpetuate their degradation. Religion like government emanating from the higher classes, fitted them loosely and easily, and could be set aside or put in motion at their option.

The penalties partook both of a temporal and supernatural character, the victims, like those of the Inquisition, being equally delivered to the terrors of the secular arm, and the judgments of offended gods. Unless powerful friends interfered, the slightest breach of any of its requisitions, however absurd or artificial, was punished with death. Some were burnt, others strangled, despatched with clubs or stones within the temples, or sacrificed in a more lingering and dreadful manner. Eyes were scooped out, limbs broken, and the most exquisite tortures inflicted for several days, before the final stroke was given.

Particular seasons were taboo; as on the sickness of a high chief, preparations for war, or the approach of important religious ceremonies. Their duration was indefinite, sometimes for a day only, then for months, and occasionally for years. Thirty to forty days was the ordinary period before Kamehameha's reign, when they were much reduced.

These taboos were either common or strict, and were proclaimed by criers or heralds. Men only were required to abstain from their common pursuits, and to attend prayers morning and evening at the heiau, during the former. But when the season of strict taboo was in force, a general gloom and silence pervaded the whole district or island. Not a fire or light was to be seen, or canoe launched; none bathed; the mouths of dogs were tied up, and fowls put under calabashes, or their heads enveloped in cloth; for no noise of man or animal must be heard. No persons, excepting those who officiated at the temple, were allowed to leave the shelter of their roofs. Were but one of these rules broken, the taboo would fail and the gods be displeased.

When the sacred chiefs appeared in public, all the common people prostrated themselves, with their faces upon the earth. The food of chiefs and priests, they being interdicted from handling anything during this taboo, was put into their mouths by their attendants.

The only feature in the religious system which can be regarded with a degree of satisfaction, arid that only partially, was the Puuhonua, or city of refuge, which gleams amid rapidly increasing darkness, like the last faint ray of a setting sun. There were two on Hawaii; one at Waipio, the other at Honaunau. Those who fled from an enemy, the manslayer, those who had transgressed taboo, the thief, and even the vilest criminal, if they could reach their precincts, were in an inviolable sanctuary. They were free to all of every tribe, or condition, though the flying party could be pursued to their very gates, which were perpetually open. The rescued party repaired immediately to the idol, and offered a thanksgiving for his escape.

They also afforded safe retreats during war. All the non-combatants of the neighboring districts, men, women and children, flocked into them, and there awaited the issue of the struggle. To them also the vanquished fled. If they could reach a spot, a short distance outside the walls, where, during war, a white banner was displayed, they were safe. Should a victorious warrior venture further, he would be put to death by the attendant priests and their adherents.

Those once within the pale of the sanctuary were under the protection of Keawe, the tutelar deity of the enclosure. Houses were erected for the accommodation of all within their walls. After a short period, they were permitted to return unmolested to their homes, the divine protection being supposed still to abide with them.

These places of refuge were very capacious, and built after the manner of their temples. The one at Honauna'u is seven hundred and fifteen feet in length, and four hundred and four feet wide. Its walls are twelve feet high and fifteen thick, and were formerly surmounted with images, four rods apart, over their whole extent. Three large heiaus were erected within, one of which presented a solid pyramid of stone, one hundred and twenty-six feet by sixty, and ten feet high. In several parts of the wall are large masses of rock, weighing two or more tons, each raised six feet above the ground. This Puuhonua was built for Keawe, who reigned in Hawaii, two hundred and seventy years ago, and destitute as the islanders were of any machinery, must have been a herculean task, requiring the labor of a vast number of people.

These sanctuaries are somewhat analogous to the Israelitish cities of refuge, and originated, doubtless, from the barbarous and sanguinary customs, common to both nations, which required a safeguard from the effects of evil passions, constantly kept in excitement by the universal prevalence of the law of retaliation, and the bloody character of their warfare.

While considerable difference in government, and certain customs, originating from local circumstances, prevailed throughout Polynesia, a general uniformity in religion existed. The earliest traditions are strikingly similar, and the rites and priesthood are of the same sanguinary character. A more refined barbarism prevailed among the Society and Samoa islanders, the former of which have aptly been called the French of the Pacific. Still, when a general comparison is drawn, not a doubt of their common origin can be entertained. The structure of their languages, their physical characteristics, analogous religious systems, and a general conformity in all the arts and customs of life, clearly demonstrate the fact. While the Hawaiian, in certain points, appeared to more advantage than his southern brother, in religion and government he was behind him. In New Zealand, the Marquesas, Samoa and Tonga groups, an approach to republican freedom prevailed, which I here found no counterpart. The power of the chiefs was more restricted, varying much in the different groups. The religion of the Tahitian, Samoan and Tongan constituted a better defined system, and was founded on certain well established traditions and maxims, handed down from their forefathers.

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