Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands -  Part 9 - The Ancients

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Historical Collections of Hawaii
Keepers of the Cultures
Influnce of Foreigners on the Ancients 
Part 9, The Revolution -
Aspects of the traditional religion and 
Kapu System.

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Part 9.

Previously in 1819, the Hawaiians were in the situation of the
abandonment of the old Kapu system and the idols of their old religion.
For those who do not understand the system, herewith, I will try and
explain what the system meant to the Hawaiian. 

Gods.--

Religion was the paramont aspect of Hawaiian life, permeating every
daily activity, every aspect of secular affairs, and every significent
event, such as birth, marriage, death, house construction, fishing,
agriculture, and war. Also important were the regular calendrical
celebrations to ensure the people's prosperity and well-being. All
activities were accompanied by appropriate rites, religious ceremonies,
and prayers to establish and maintain proper reations with the spirits.
The ancient Hawaiians believed these spirits, who pervaded the world and
shaped events, had the power to inflict injury if directed or if angered
by the breaking of their kapu, but could be approached and persuaded to
act in one's behalf. The Hawaiians worshiped a vast number of deities,
of which there were two main catagries. AKUA represented nature's
elements -- they were the personifications of great natural forces. The
'AUMAKUA were the familiar ancestral protective gods.

All parts of nature were thought to be manifestations or particular
functions of one of these gods. A distinctive difference in their
personalities was reflected in the kind of phenomena and natural
processes with which they were associated. A particular manifestation of
one of a god's functions was regarded as a separate being. One god, in
his different aspects, could be a patron of various crafts and
activities and was usually referred to with an epithet attached to the
name describing the particular as being invoked
( e.g., Ku-of fishing, Ku-of war ). These aspects of the major gods were
worshipped as separate entities. The was god Ku-ka'ila-moku, the special
god of the Kings of Hawaii Island, became of great importance during the
latter era of Hawaii's ancient history, especially in the reign of
Kamehameha. At the time Ku-ka'ili-moku ( Ku-the-snatcher-of- 
islands), Kamehameha's personal god, was established as the principal
deity of the realm, a kind of state god. Demigods such as Pele, the
volcano goddess, were less powerful than the four major ones and were
associated with definate places, forces, or beings, as they are today.
Their worship was mainly a private affair, while that to the great
deities was publically carried out inlarge temples by noble priests and
their superiors. The four all-
powerful cosmic deities, or akua, in Polynesian mythology were Kane, the
primary god, representative of the supreme being, creator of nature and
men, concerned with life and procreation;
Kanaloa, associated with the sea and death, but of little importance in
the hierarchy; Ku, who assisted in strenuous activities, generally
controlled the fruitfulness of the earth, politics, and as the power
behind war, was a special god of the chiefs; and Lono, god of rain and
agriculture and hence of fertility, the most benevolent of the four.

The general welfare of the land, its occupants, and the chiefdoms was
considered dependent on the careful and proper observance of the several
calendric cycles of temple ritual. The strength and prosperity of a
chiefdom, in other words, was directly related to the religious fervor
the paramount chief displayed. Although the paramount chief exerted the
ultimate political authority of the chiefdom, the resting place of
supreme power and authority lay with the gods, or usually one specific
god, who provided the paramount cief with the mana to rule. The divine
mandate was considered revoked if there were a sucessful coup d'etat or
victorious invasion, or on other hand, was interpreted as divine
confirmation of the status quo.

Priests --

The ancient Hawaiians considered themselves always in the midst of gods,
spirits, and supernatural beings who frequented the mountains, woods,
shores, and the sea, wo entered into objects, stone, and wood images,
and living things such as birds an sharks as well as people. According
to Hawaiian belief, the success of all human activities depended on
maintaining the proper relations with these spirits, and the  vehicles
for accomplishing this included shrines, temples, and images as well as
rituals and prayers. The latter work was carried on by kahuna. In family
worship, the male head of the family acted as priest, but at the
elaborate, prescribed rituals in the temples of the chiefs, professinal
priests presided. It was they alone who knew the proper rituals for
winning the favor of the gods and obtaining the purity necessary to
survive the ever present dangers of life. Closely associated with the
ruling chiefs, and next in rank and authority to them, stood the kahuna
pule, a distinct group of officiateing priests that presided over each
facet or cult of the religion. Although the chiefs were more closely
descended from the gods, these kahuna were also very powerful because
their direct contact with the gods and could best determine ways to gain
or perpetuate power, maintain rapport with the major gods, and intercede
with them for a particular purpose.

The worship of the gods named earlier comprised a state religion
characterized by large, influential cadres of priests, complex rituals,
and specific places where ceremonies took place. Each major god had his
own hereditary priesthood, distinct ceremonies, and specific temples (
heiau ) where appropriate rituals were performed and offerings made.
Each priestly family was, by tradition, devoted to the service of a
particular god and could not officiate at the temple of another deity.
Only the king had free access to all sacred enclosures. In addition to
their religious duties, the priesthood had charge of the chronologies,
historical songs, traditions, and legends of Hawaiian society. On the
island of Hawaii, at least, two hereditary hierarchial orders of priests
existed, those of Ku and those of Lono, with the former being of highest
rank and therefore most powerful. The high priest ( kahuna nui ), one of
the supreme chief's two senior advisors, headed the cult of the war god
Ku. The KG rituals were only held in luakini ( a sacrificial heiau ) of
the independant ruling chiefs, which will be described later, and were
held in connection wit war and other national emergencies. The Lono
rituals were for maintaining peace and the fruitfulness of the land.

Kapu --

The ancient Hawaiian culture's system of law, derived from religious
authority, in-
fluenced social organization by dictating an individual's appropriate
behavior within this highly rigid and ranked society. The universe of
the native Hawaiian can be viewed as having been a delicately balanced,
tri-state system composed of the supernatural, the natural, and the
cultural ...... Hawaiian culture demanded that the balance be maintaned
in order for the universe to function smoothly, efficiently, and
abundantly.

The kapu system was based in part on a dualistic conception of nature
that separated the things which were believed to be inferior ( the
common and unsacred, the physical, passive, female, darkness,
destruction, and death, ignorance, westerly direction, ( left side) from
the things which were believed to have a supernature ( the sacred, the
psychic, mana, male, light, life, ocult knowledge, easterly direction,
right side).

This system, was " sanctioned avoidance " behavior conforming to
specific rules and prohibitions ( kapu ) prescribed the type of daily
interactions among and between the classes, between the people and their
gods, and between the people and nature.
By compelling avoidance between persons of extreme rank difference, it
reinforced class divisions by protecting mana ( spiritual power ) from
contamination while at the same time preventing the mana from harming
others.
Kapu not only separated the nobility from the lower classes, but also
prevented contact with such spiritually debasing or defiling things as
corpses and evil spirits. The Kapu system preservd the Hawaiian culture
not only by maintaining social control through the prevention of chaos
caused by the confusion of societal roles and by reinforcing political
power, but also by providing environmental controls through the
conservation of natural resources, which maintained a balance in nature
and enabled maintenance of a subsistence.

The Kapu system was practiced throughout Polynesia, indicating that the
early Hawaiians brought its basic tenets from their homeland. Certain
religious kapu were permanent and unchange-
able, relating to customary rites, observances, ceremonies, and methods
of worship, and to the maintenance  of the gods and their priests. They
were familiar and understood by all, having been practiced from
childhood. Civil kapu were more capricious, erratic, and often
temporary, depending on the whims of the chiefs and priests. The kapu
system comprised a vast number of prohibitions with dire penalties for
infractions, intentional or not, that included execution by being
stoned, clubbed, strangled, drowned, or burned alive. The strict
observance of the kapu system and its punishments were necessary to
preserve the power and prestige of the priesthood and the rulers. This
intricate system that supported Hawaii's social and political
organization directed every activity of Hawaiian life, from birth
through death, until its overthrow by King Kamehameha II in 1819.

The feature of the Hawaiian culture which made the deepest impression
upon most of the early foreign visitors, who saw only the outer
manifestations of the system and who in their descriptions emphasize its
bizarre restrictions and cruel sanctions. One of these early visitors,
the reverend William Ellis, noted that an institution so universal in
its influence, and so inflexible in its demands, contributed very
matrially to the bondage ad oppression of the natives in general. The
king, sacred chiefs, and priests appear to have been the only persons to
whom its application was easy; the great mass of the people were at no
period of their existance exempt from its influence, and no circumstance
in life could excuse their obedience to its demands. The females in
particular felt all its humilitating and degrading force.

Whether or not the Hawaiians believed the kapu restrictions bizarre,
inflexible, humilitating, or oppressive is questionable. Certainly it
was a system that impressed all foreign visitors as being shocking and
cruel in the context of their experiences.

Many things were kapu under Hawaiian culture. Anything connected with
the gods and their worship was considered sacred, such as idols, heiau,
and priests. Because Chiefs were believed to be descendants of the gods,
many kapu related to chiefs and their pesonal possessions, such as
clothes, mats, and houses. Certain objects were also kapu, and to be
avoided, either because they were sacred or because they were defiling.
Seasons and places could also be declared kapu.

The Hawaiian kapu can be grouped into three categories. The first
evolved from the basic precepts of the Hawaiian religion and affected
all individuals, but were considered by foreign observers to be
especially oppresive and burdensome to women. One of the most important
and fundimental of this type of proscription forbade men and women from
eating together and also prohibited women eating most foods offered as
ritual sacrifices to the gods. For example, it was kapu for women to eat
pork, pigs being a frequent sacrificial offering, and they could only
eat dog meat or other kapu foods on special occasions. They also could
not eat fowl, coconuts, bananas, turtle, shark meat, or certain kinds of
fruits and fish that were offered in sacrifice, these being kapu to
anyone but the gods and men. In addition, foods for husbands and wives
had to be cooked in separate ovens and eaten in separate structures.
During the four principal kapu periods of each month, women were
forbidden to ride in a canoe or have intimate relations with the other
sex. During her pregnancy, a woman had to live apart from her husband.

A second category of kapu were those relating to the inherited rank of
nobility and were binding on all those equal to or below them in status.
Regarding kapu relative to the ruling class. the kapus of prerogative
associated with the high chiefs were in effect safegaurds to their mana.
They took severa forms, but all were designed to prevent loss of a
chief's mana through contact with common things, on the one hand, and to
protect ordinary mortals from the dire consequences of exposure to his
god-like
radiations of mana, on the other. The kapus of prerogative were
inherited, and were observed in recognition of the degree of mana
inherent in the chiefs who held them. These kapu posed enormous
difficulties for the high ali'i because it restricted their behavior and
activites to some degree. An individual of high rank could have
considerable mana, but it was extremely dangerous to a commoner or an
outcast when, by contagion, he contracted a supercharged amount of mana
from an exceptional high ali'i. For this reason those chiefs who were in
the direct descendants of the great deities and who were thought to be
in some ways the incarnation of these gods, were so charged with mana
that in some situations they could not even walk about the land without
rendering all they touched, or upon which their shadow fell, prohibitd
to commoners. Because these kapu prohibited the highest-ranking chiefs
from easily walking around during the day, some of them traveled in
disguise to protect the people and themselves from the difficulties
presented by this custom.

This category included the deferential patterns that lower-ranking
people had to follow in the presence of those of higher rank. Commoners
had to prostrate themselves with their faces touching the ground before
the most sacred chiefs when they ventured out in public. and neither
king nor priests could touch anything themselves. All personal
possessions of a person of the highest chiefly rank ( resulting from a
brother-sister marriage ) were definately kapu, and contact with them by
a commoner meant certain death.

The third category were governmental edicts issued randomly by a
paramount chief or his officials that were binding on all subjects and
included such acts as the placing of kapu on certain preferred surfing,
fishing, or bathing spots for the chief's exclusive use. Any place or
object could be declared kapu by the proper person affixing near it or
on its perimeters a pole or stakes bearing a bit of white kapa cloth or
a bunch of bamboo leaves, signifying tat the locality or thing should be
avoided. The important temples and the permanent housing complexes of
high chiefs were surrouned by dry-laid masonry walls or wooden palings
that created a sacred stockade. However, not all stockades were
physical. Some were invisible lines that were as effective as rock walls
or picket fences. Walls and fences apparently marked lifetime or
permanent taboo areas. Invisable lines marked enclosures guarded by
temporary taboos. real or invisable, they excluded commoners.

In addition, the chiefs proclaimed certain kapu seasons s conservation
measures to regulate land use and safegaurd resources. These had the
same force as other kapu, but pertained to the gathering or catching of
scarce foodstuffs, such as particular fruits and species of fish; to
water usage; and to farming practices. Thes kapu were designed to
protect resources from overuse. Through the kapu system, Hawaiian chiefs
played a major role in controlling the food supply by restricting
consumption of certain types of food to certain classes and sexes. The
restriction on the types of food women could eat, for example " would
have moderated demand for domsticated mamal meat and may have played a
major role in perserving herds. At certain times, also, particular
fruits, animals, and fish were kapu for several months to both sexes.
Other kapu seasons observed were at the approach of a great religious
ceremony, before going to war, or when  chief was sick.

High officials declared general kapu and had them publically announced.
On specific nights of every lunar month, rituals and sacrifices took
place at the temple of each major deities, absolute silence was mandated
in order not to break the spell of the rites. All human activity ceased,
no fires were built, domestic animals were shut away or muzzled, and
everyone except priests remained indoors. Common kapu only required
males to stop their work an attend temple ceremonies, while the time it
lasted was considered a holiday.

The Hawaiian kapu system not only hindered the freedom of the commoners
and women in general, but also restricted the activities of the highest
ranking chiefs. It was also open to periodic abuse. The kapu system was,
nonetheless, enforced throughout Kamehameha's reign. According to
William Ellis. " Tamehameha always supposed his success, in every
enterprise, to be owing to the strict attention he paid to the service
and requirements of his god. " According to Lt. George Peard, crewman on
the H.M.S. Blossom, who visited Hawaii in 1826-27, 
" Tamehameha [ Kamehameha ] himself had even been averse to the change
in religious practices, and refused several applications to allow
missionaries to settle onhis estates, although he was well aware of the
absurdity of Paganism. When questioned by Kuakini about it, and more
particularly concerning human sacrifices,  he responded " You don't
think me such a fool as to put any faith in their efficacy. I only
suffer them,because I find thm useful in keeping my people in
subjection."
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Which takes us back to the date of 1819 when the tabu was broken on
November 6th. It is true the revolution was not complete. There were a
number who refused to cast aside their old practices; and many idols,
instead of being burned, were merely hidden from sight. Even among those
who outwardly conformed to the new order were many who secretly clung to
their idols; the old gods of Hawaii had their devotees for a long time
after 1819. Kekuaokalani looked upon the action of his cousin as most
heinous offense. With him agreed most of the priests, as was natural,
and many of the common people. The disaffected chief took his position
at Kaawaloa and a formidable party gathered about him. While matters
were in this state, an insrrection broke out among the people of
Hamakua. Thus the royal court at Kailua was menaced from both sides. A
council was held to decide on a course of action. Some were for making
an attack on the Hamakua rebels, but Kalanimoku said:
" It is not good policy to carry on the war in that quarter; for
Keakuaokalani, the source of the war, is at Kaawaloa. To that place let
our forces be directed. The rebellion at Hamakua is a leaf of the tree.
I would lay the axe at the root; tat being destroyed, the leaves will of
course wither."

This advise was approved. First, however, an embassy, of which the kapu
chieftess Keopuolani voluntered to be a member, was sent to Kaawaloa to
reason with Kekuaokalani. But al conciliatory efforts failed ad the
question at issue was put to the test of battle at Kuamoo between Kailua
and Kaawaloa. The king's army led by Kalanimku was victorious.
Kekuaokalani was killed fighting bravely; his heroic wife Manono stood
by his side and shared his fate. After this battle, the isurrectin at
Hamakua was put down without much difficulty. These military actions
both in Kona and in Hamakua, occurred, probably, in the latter half of
December. the appeal to arms had confired the decree of the king, and
the
old religion as an organized system was abandoned; the old kapua were no
longer enforced. Discontinuance of the formal religious services in the
heiaus and of the makahiki celebration left a kind of vacuum in the
social life of the nation. Finally, it may be emarked that while the
revolution did certainly weaken very greatly the power of the priests,
it did not altogether destroy their power; and the power of the chiefs
was scarcely touched.

Thus came to an end of the year 1819, but before closing this brief
reveiw of its memorable history, two other facts need to be mentioned.
(1) At the very time that the people of Hawaii were discarding their old
religion, missionaries were on their way from the United States
zealously intent on persuading the Hawaiians to embrace the teachings of
Christianity.
(2) In October, 1819, two whaleships, visited the islands, the vanguard
of a vast fleet whose hulls and sails became familiar sights to the
island people. Whalers and missionaries were destined to play roles of
importance on the stage of Hawaiian history. That they came at nearly
the same time is a striking coincidence; and it is still more remarkable
that they came just when the Hawaiians were themselves preparing the way
for a new order of things.

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To be continued in part 10.