Statewide County HI Archives News.....Wiki Mo'olelo Part 3 . October 27, 2008 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Darlene E. Kelley donkeyskid@msn.com November 16, 2008, 8:42 am Keepers Of The Culture, A Study In Time Of The Hawaiian Islands October 27, 2008 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley donkeyskid@msn.com October 27, 2008. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Hawai'i Keepers of the Culture A Study in Time, of the Hawai'ian Islands Wiki Mo' olelo - part 3 by Darlene E. Kelley +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Part 3 Wiki Mo'olelo Early Subsistence If the Hawai'ian settlers had been totally dependant on land resources of the islands they were settling,it would have been difficult to survive. The upland forests, often extending to the foothills, provided some food plants such as pandanus and edible ferns, The forests also were habitat for bats and birds, which could be utilized for food, while the feathers of the latter also became an important aspect of personal ornimentation. In addition, the fertile soil and water resources could be exploited for agricultural purposes. These indigenous island resources were supplemented by a limited number of plants and animals the voyagers brought with them by canoe. These included taro, yams,and breadfruit ( not sucessfuly tansplanted until 1200's ); fiber plants like the paper mulberry whose bark could be manufactured into clothing and decorative items; medicinal plants of many varieties; and a few domesticated pigs, dogs, and fowl. However, careful tending of food plants and domesticated animals for several years would have been necessary before they could provide an adequate fod supply. The early settlement period, therefore, was probably characterized by primary dependence on the sea and its products for subsistence. On adjacent land, however, if sufficient rainfall and protection from salt spray allowed, the villagers could raise sweet potatoes or yams. Expert fishermen, the first settlers were adept at exploiting the rich marine resources found in nearby reefs and bays, including fish, shellfish, squid, crustaceans, marine mammals, and seaweed. They not only rapidly become familiar with the various habits and characteristics of the dfferent kinds of fish on the coasts and the best places and times to catch them, but also acquired an intimate knowledge of their breeding places and feeding grounds. This almost total dependence on the sea would last until their crops were growing well and domesticated animals were reproducing in sufficient numbers, allowing the Hawai'ians to expend into a land-oriented economy. In time there was extensive development and intensifcation of all aspects of food production. Fishing and shellfish-gathering continued as a major specialized activity. The Hawai'ians not only became adept at spearing and poisoning fish, but also at formulating precise techniques for the manufacturing of fishhooks, lures, basket traps, and nets with sinkers. The population also collected salt for treating pork and fish in dry coastal areas by evaporation, frequently in natural or man made saltpans. Economic production intensified with the development of large irrigatioon works, dryland field systems, and methods of aquacultural production. There is direct archeological evidence for taro irrigation in the form of stone-faced pondfields and irrigation channels construted in interior valleys. These irrigation sytems reflect the intensification of production in areas that had been occupied for centuries. Leeward areas, however, also underwent rapid agricultural expansion in dryland forests and scrub were cleared and various kinds of field systems were laid out. The first true fishponds and associated aquacultural techniques probably developed during the latter half of this period. The earliest ponds were constructed by the fifteenth century and increasing thereafter as chiefs could command the labor necessary to transport the tons of rock and coral used in the encosing walls. These ponds, which yielded several hundred pounds of fish per acre annually, were not only feats of engineering technology, but reflected chiefly power and were major symbol of intensification of agricultural and aquacultural production. Many of the larger pondfeld irrigation systems in the valley bottoms appeared in the final centuries prior to European contact. In addition, a larger number of fishponds wre constructed along the island coasts, under direct control of the chiefly class. The abundant marine resources above mentioned, included aquatic plants such as seaweed and edible algae and animals such as crustaceans and shellfish which provided the primary protein component of the Hawaiian diet because of the limited supply of other protein foods. They quickly became familiar with the species of fish frequenting the waters adjacent to their shores. Inshore fishing was probably the most productive and reliable souce for the ancient Hawaiias, yielding fish, echinoderms, crustaceans, molluscs and edible seaweed. Women and children participated in this type of fishing, although canoe fishing and even several reef methods were restricted to men. Several types of fish , including crabs, lobsters, eels, sea urchins, shellfish, octopi, and shrimp, could be caught by hand along the rocky coasts in shallow coral reef areas and shoreline pools or by divers in underwater caves. Eels and lobsters could be caught by snaring with a noose hung from a pole. When an eel stuck its head outside its hole to get at the bait on the other side of the noose, the noose was drawn tight and the eel ensnared and raised to the surface Using hardwood spears about six feet long, underwater divers stood on the bottom of the shore and impaled fish as they swam by. Spears were used above water for turtle, octopi, and fish that were mesmerized by torches at night in shallow water. Women used basket traps to catch shrimp and fish. Woven of vines or branches and filled with bait, these baskets could be lowered to the shallow bottom. Women then dove down and brought the filled traps to the surface. More sophisticated baskets had conical woven entries, making it impossible for the fish to find their way out. A leguminous plant known by the Polynesians called 'auhuhu was pounded to make a material called hola; This was appled to holes or tidal pools to stupefy the fish, which floated to the surface where they could be retrieved in scoop nets. Or divers stuffed rhe pounded fibers into a underwater cave that had been sealed earlier to trap the fish inside. In a few minutes the dead fish were retrieved by hand. Another plant, called akia, found in the forests and footills aso served this purpose. Usually the first fish caught were reserved for the gods and offered on alters on shore. This was their way of showing their thankfulness for their survival and blessing. Eventually a distinctive Hawai'ian cultural pattern began to emerge. Although little is known about this stage of socio=political and religious systems, the discovery of some elaborate burials from this period indicates that some sort of status differentiation between chiefs and commoners existed. Probably the ancestral pattern of corporate descent groups had not yet given way to the later rigid class stratification. In time, the socio-political structure of Hawai'i underwent a radical change, resulting in new forms of religious belief and ritual, in increasing rank differences, and in formation and stabilization of the basic social and political framework found in European contact. The increase in population was a major factor underlying these substantive changes.The spread of settlement into previously unoccupied lands, and the eastblishment of inland field systems, and the dispersed residential pattern provided sgnificant opportunities for agricultural development and intensification, for territorial and political reorganization, and for intergroup competition. Ultimately, corporate descent groups no longer held land in common. The system was replaced by the ahupua'a pattern characterized by territorial units under the control of subchiefs owing allegence to a central chief and subject to redistribution in the event of conquest and annezation by a new ruling chief. The establishment of the ahupua'a as the central unit of territorial organization probably dates from this time. As the amount of land available for agriculture diminished, the definition of territorial boundaries increased and local conflicts over arable land brought about intergroup warfare and competition among chiefs. Success in warfare enabled increasing powerful chiefs to annex conquored lands and place the control of ahupua'a units in the hands of their lesser chiefs. Ultimately, rigid class stratification and territorial rather than kin-based social groupings were established. Because it was so closely interrelated with these social and political changes, the religious system underwent significant development and elaboration. The Makahiki ceremony, closely tied to the ahupua'a pattern of territorial organization, probably began at this time, developing by the end of this period into a ritualized system of tribute exaction. The rise of intergroup warfare and conflict probably arose with the elaboration of the Ku cult, which was accompanied by an emphasis on increasing massive temples. ( heiau ). By the end of this period, Hawai'ian culture had been substantially transfromed from its ancestral Polynesian predecessor, the basic technological, social, and religious patterns witnessed at European contact were now in place. As it was, the political history of all the major islands during the final two centuries pior to European contact comprised constant attempts by ruling chiefs to extend their domains through conquest and annexation of lands, with campaigns often extending beyond the borders of individual islands. The expansion of chiefdom was generally short-lived due to usurpation by a junior chief enlisting the aid of various malcontents. The later political history of the islands was therefore very cyclical. Another significant aspect of this late-period political organization was the system of marriage alliances between ruling lines of various islands. During this period, high-ranking women were regared as the main transmitters of rank and mana. Various cultural elaborations rsulted from intense rivalry and warfare and cyclical conquest characteristic of highly advanced chiefdoms as they attempt to unify and emerge as states. The Ku cult rose in importance, resulting in construction of increasingly massive luakini ( temples of human sacrifice ). The kapu system, especially the snactions surrounding the high chiefs, also underwent further elaboration. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ next - Part 4. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/newspapers/wikimool85nnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/hifiles/ File size: 11.3 Kb