Hoʻoponopono (ho-o-pono-pono) is an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. Similar forgiveness practices were performed on islands throughout the South Pacific, including Samoa, Tahiti and New Zealand. Traditionally hoʻoponopono is practiced by healing priests or kahuna lapaʻau among family members of a person who is physically ill. Modern versions are performed within the family by a family elder, or by the individual alone.

Polynesian antecedents

In many Polynesian cultures, it is believed that a person’s errors (called hara or hala) caused illness. Some believe error angers the Gods, others that it attracts malevolent Gods, and still others believe the guilt caused by error made one sick. “In most cases, however, specific ‘untie-error’ rites could be performed to atone for such errors and thereby diminish one’s accumulation of them.”[1]

Among the islands of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, people believe that illness usually is caused by sexual misconduct or anger. “If you are angry for two or three days, sickness will come,” said one local man.[2] The therapy that counters this sickness is confession. The patient, or a family member, may confess. If no one confesses an error, the patient may die. The Vanuatu people believe that secrecy is what gives power to the illness. When the error is confessed, it no longer has power over the person.[3]

Like many other islanders, including Hawaiians, people of Tikopia in the Solomon Islands, and on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, believe that the sins of the father will fall upon the children. If a child is sick, the parents are suspected of quarreling or misconduct. In addition to sickness, social disorder could cause sterility of land or other disasters.[4] Harmony could be restored only by confession and apology.

In Pukapuka, it was customary to hold sort of a confessional over patients to determine an appropriate course of action in order to heal them.[5]

Similar traditions are found in Samoa,[6] Tahiti, [7] and among the Maori of New Zealand.

Traditional practice

Overlooking Kalalau Valley from Koke'e State Park, where Nana Veary held retreats to teach hoʻoponopono

A lei made from the fruit of the hala or pandanus tree. A hala lei was given at the completion of hoʻoponopono in the tradition of kahuna Makaweliweli of Molokaʻi

“Hoʻoponopono” is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary[11] as “mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships were set right through prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness.” Literally, hoʻo is a particle used to make an actualizing verb from the following noun, as would “to” before a noun in English. Here, it creates a verb from the noun pono, which is defined as

“goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful, in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought, must, necessary.”

Ponopono is defined as “to put to rights; to put in order or shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify, tidy up, make orderly or neat.”

Preeminent Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that it was a practice in Ancient Hawaii [12]  and this is supported by oral histories from contemporary Hawaiian elders.[13] Pukui first recorded her experiences and observations from her childhood (born 1895) in her 1958 book.[14]Author Max Freedom Long, who lived in Hawaiʻi from 1917 to about 1926, documented traditional hoʻoponopono as used by Hawaiian families in his 1936 book.[15]

Although the word “hoʻoponopono” was not used, early Hawaiian historians documented a belief that illness was caused by breaking kapu, or spiritual laws, and that the illness could not be cured until the sufferer atoned for this transgression, often with the assistance of a praying priest (kahuna pule) or healing priest (kahuna lapaʻau). Forgiveness was sought from the gods[16] [17] or from the person with whom there was a dispute.[18]

Pukui described it as a practice of extended family members meeting to “make right” broken family relations. Some families met daily or weekly, to prevent problems from erupting.[19] Others met when a person became ill, believing that illness was caused by the stress of anger, guilt, recriminations and lack of forgiveness.[20] Kupuna Nana Veary wrote that when any of the children in her family fell ill, her grandmother would ask the parents, "What have you done?" They believed that healing could come only with complete forgiveness of the whole family.[21]

Hoʻoponopono corrects, restores and maintains good relationships among family members and with their gods or God by getting to the causes and sources of trouble. Usually the most senior member of the family conducts it. He or she gathers the family together. If the family is unable to work through a problem, they turn to a respected outsider.

The process begins with prayer. A statement of the problem is made, and the transgression discussed. Family members are expected to work problems through and cooperate, not “hold fast to the fault.” One or more periods of silence may be taken for reflection on the entanglement of emotions and injuries. Everyone’s feelings are acknowledged. Then confession, repentance and forgiveness take place. Everyone releases (kala) each other, letting go. They cut off the past (ʻoki), and together they close the event with a ceremonial feast, called pani, which often included eating limu kala or kala seaweed, symbolic of the release.[22]

In a form used by the family of kahuna Makaweliweli of the island of Molokaʻi, the completion of hoʻoponopono is represented by giving the person forgiven a lei (Hawaii) made from the fruit of the hala tree.[23]

“Aunty” Malia Craver, who worked with the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children's Centers (QLCC) for more than 30 years, taught courses in traditional hoʻoponopono. On August 30, 2000, she spoke about it to the United Nations.[24]

[edit]Modern uses

[edit]Traditional applications

In the late 20th century, courts in Hawaiʻi began to order juvenile and adult offenders to work with an elder who would conduct hoʻoponopono for their families, as a form of alternative dispute resolution. The hoʻoponopono is conducted in the traditional way, without court interference, with a practitioner picked by the family from a list of court-approved providers.[25]

Some native practitioners provide hoʻoponopono to clients who otherwise might seek family counseling.[26]

[edit]Freedom from Karma

The site of the partially restored remains of the village of Koaiʻe in the Lapakahi State Historical Park of the island of Hawaii, North Kohala district. Beginning in the early 20th century, this village has been a center for lapaʻau

In 1976 Morrnah Simeona, regarded as a healing priest or kahuna lapaʻau, adapted the traditional hoʻoponopono of family mutual forgiveness to the social realities of the modern day. For this she extended it both to a general problem solving process outside the family and to a psycho-spiritual self-help rather than group process.

Simeona’s version is influenced by her Christian (Protestant and Catholic) education and her philosophical studies about India, China and Edgar Cayce. Like Hawaiian tradition she emphasizes prayer. Unlike Hawaiian tradition, she describes problems as the effects of negativeKarma, saying that “you have to experience by yourself what you have done to others,” and you are the creator of your life circumstances. Any wrong doing is memorized within oneself and mirrored in every entity and object which was present when the cause happened. As the Law of Cause and Effect predominates in all of life and lifetimes, the purpose of her version is mainly “to release unhappy, negative experiences in past Reincarnations, and to resolve and remove traumas from the ‘memory banks’.”[27] Karmic bondages hinder the evolution of mind, so that “(karmic) cleansing is a requisite for the expansion of awareness.”[28] Using her 14-step-process would dissolve those bondages.[29] She did not use mantras or conditioning exercises.

Her teachings include: there is a Divine Creator who takes care of altruistic pleas of Men; “when the phrase ‘And it is done’ is used after a prayer, it means Man’s work ends and God’s begins.”[30] ‘Self-Identity’ signifies, e.g. during the hoʻoponopono, that the 3 selves or aspects of consciousness are balanced and connected with the Divine Creator.[31] Different from egoistic prayers “altruistic prayers like hoʻoponopono, where you also pray for the release of other entities and objects, reach the Divine plane or Cosmos because of their high vibrations. From that plane the Divine energy or mana would come,”[32] which would transform the painful part of the memory of the wrong actions in all participants to Pure Light, on whatever plane they are existing; “all are set free.”[33] Through this transmutation in the mind the problems will lose their energy for physical effects, and healing or balancing is begun. In this sense, Simeona’s mana is not the same as the traditional Polynesian understanding of Mana.

[edit]Creating state of Zero

After Simeona's passing in 1992, her former student and administrator Ihalekala Hew Len, co-authored a book with Joe Vitale called Zero Limits[34] referring to Simeona's hoʻoponopono teachings. Len makes no claim to be a kahuna. In contrast to Simeona's teachings, the book says that the main objective of hoʻoponopono is getting to “the state of Zero, where we would have zero limits. No memories. No identity.”[35]To reach this state, called 'Self-I-Dentity', one has to repeat constantly the mantra, “I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I love you. Thank you.”[36] It is based on the principle of 100% responsibility,[37] taking responsibility for everyone's actions, not only for one's own. If one would take complete responsibility for one's life, then everything one sees, hears, tastes, touches, or in any way experiences would be one's responsibility because it is in one's life.[38] The problem would not be with our external reality, it would be with

ourselves. To change our reality, we would have to change ourselves. Total Responsibility, according to Hew Len, advocates that everything exists as a projection from inside the human being.[39] As such, it is similar to the philosophy of solipsism, but differs in that it doesn't deny the reality of the consciousness of others. Instead it views all consciousness as part of the whole, so any error that a person clears in their own consciousness is cleared for everyone. This idea of an individual having the ability to benefit the whole indirectly can be seen in the theory of the Hundredth monkey effect.

The human history of Hawaii includes phases of early Polynesian settlement, British arrival, unification,

Euro-American and Asian immigrators, the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, a brief period as

the Republic of Hawaii, and admission to the United States as a territory and then as the state of Hawaii.

[edit]Discovery and settlement

Main article: Ancient Hawaiʻi

The earliest settlements in the Hawaiian Islands were made by Polynesians who traveled to Hawaii using

large double-hulled canoes. They brought with them pigs, dogs, chickens, taro, sweet potatoes, coconut,

banana, and sugarcane.

There are several theories regarding migration to Hawaii. The "one-migration" theory suggests a single

settlement. A variation on the one-migration theory instead suggests a single, continuous settlement period.

A "multiple migration" theory suggests that there was a first settlement by a group called Menehune (settlers

from the Marquesas Islands), and then a second settlement by the Tahitians.

On January 18, 1778 Captain James Cook and his crew, while attempting to discover the Northwest

Passage between Alaska and Asia, were surprised to find the Hawaiian islands so far north in the Pacific.

[1] He named them the "Sandwich Islands". After the discovery by Cook, other Europeans and Americans

came to the Sandwich Islands.

[edit]Kingdom of Hawaii

[show]v · d · e

Unification of Hawaiʻi

Main article: Kingdom of Hawaii

[edit]Formation of the Hawaiian Kingdom

The islands were united under a single ruler, Kamehameha I, for the first time in 1810 with the help of foreign

weapons and advisors. The monarchy then adopted a flag similar to the one used today by the State of

Hawaii present flag, with the Union Flag in the canton (top quarter next to the flagpole) and eight horizontal

stripes (alternating white, red, blue, from the top), representing the eight major islands of Hawaii.

In May 1819, Prince Liholiho became King Kamehameha II. Under pressure from his co-regent and

stepmother, Kaʻahumanu, he abolished the kapu system that had ruled life in the islands. He signaled this

revolutionary change by sitting down to eat with Kaʻahumanu and other women of chiefly rank, an act

forbidden under the old religious system—see ʻAi Noa. Kekuaokalani, a cousin who thought he was to share

power with Liholiho, organized supporters of the kapu system, but his forces were defeated by Kaʻahumanu

and Liholiho in December 1819 at the battle of Kuamoʻo.[2]

[edit]Imperial Russia

In 1815 the Russian empire affected the islands when Georg Anton Schäffer, agent of the Russian-American

Company, came to retrieve goods seized by Kaumualiʻi, chief of Kauaʻi island. Kaumualiʻi signed a treaty

making Tsar Alexander I protectorate over Kauaʻi. From 1817 to 1853 Fort Elizabeth, near the Waimea

River, was one of three Russian forts on the island.

[edit]The French

Main article: The French Incident

In the early kingdom, Protestant ministers convinced Hawaiian rulers to make Catholicism illegal, deport

French priests, and imprison Native Hawaiian Catholic converts.

In 1839 Captain Laplace of the French frigate Artémise sailed to Hawaii. Under the threat of war,

King Kamehameha III signed the Edict of Toleration on July 17, 1839 and paid $20,000 in compensation for

the deportation of the priests and the incarceration and torture of converts, agreeing to Laplace's demands.

The kingdom proclaimed:

That the Catholic worship be declared free, throughout all the dominions subject to the king of the Sandwich

Islands; the members of this religious faith shall enjoy in them the privileges granted to Protestants.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu returned and Kamehameha III donated land for them to build a

church as reparation.

Main article: The French Invasion (1849)

In August 1849, French admiral Louis Tromelin arrived in Honolulu Harbor with La

Poursuivante and Gassendi. De Tromelin made ten demands to King Kamehameha III on August 22, mainly

that full religious rights be given to Catholics, (the ban on Catholicism had been lifted, but Catholics still

enjoyed only partial religious rights). On August 25 the demands had not been met. After a second warning

was made to the civilians, French troops overwhelmed the skeleton force and captured Honolulu Fort, spiked

the coastal guns and destroyed all other weapons they found (mainly muskets and ammunition). They raided

government buildings and general property in Honolulu, causing $100,000 in damages. After the raids the

invasion force withdrew to the fort. De Tromelin eventually recalled his men and left Hawaii on September 5.

[edit]British

Main article: Paulet Affair (1843)

On February 10, 1843, Lord George Paulet on the Royal Navy warship HMS Carysfort entered Honolulu

Harbor and demanded that KingKamehameha III cede the Hawaiian Islands to the British Crown. Under the

guns of the frigate, Kamehameha stepped down under protest.[3]Kamehameha III surrendered to Paulet on

February 25, writing:

Where are you, chiefs, people, and commons from my ancestors, and people from foreign lands?'

Hear ye! I make known to you that I am in perplexity by reason of difficulties into which I have been

brought without cause, therefore I have given away the life of our land. Hear ye! but my rule over

you, my people, and your privileges will continue, for I have hope that the life of the land will be

restored when my conduct is justified.

Done at Honolulu, Oahu, this 25th day of February, 1843.

Kamehameha III.

Kekauluohi.[4]

Gerrit P. Judd, a missionary who had become the Minister of Finance, secretly

sent envoys to the United States, France and Britain, to protest Paulet's actions.

[5] The protest was forwarded to Rear Admiral Richard Darton Thomas, Paulet's

commanding officer, who arrived at Honolulu harbor on July 26, 1843

on HMS Dublin. Thomas repudiated Paulet's actions, and on July 31, 1843,

restored the Hawaiian government. In his restoration speech, Kamehameha

declared that "Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono", the motto of the future State of

Hawaii translated as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."

Honolulu Fort, 1853

[edit]Kamehameha family

Dynastic rule by the Kamehameha family ended in 1872 with the death

of Kamehameha V. After the short reign of Lunalilo, the House of Kalākaua came

to the throne. These transitions were by election of candidates of noble

birth.Princess Ka'iulani was an important figure in Hawaii'in history. She tried very

hard to prevent her country from becoming part of the United States.{see

Annexation to the United States}

[edit]United States

The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United

States allowed for duty-free importation of Hawaiian sugar (from sugarcane) into

the United States beginning in 1876. This promoted sugar plantation agriculture.

In exchange, Hawai'i ceded Pearl Harbor, including Ford Island (in Hawaiian,

Moku'ume'ume), together with its shore for four or five miles back, free of cost to

the U.S.[6] The U. S. demanded this area based on an 1873 report commissioned

by the U. S. Secretary of War. This treaty explicitly acknowledged Hawai'i as a

sovereign nation.

Although the treaty also included duty-free importation of rice, which was by this

time becoming a major crop in the abandoned taro patches in the wetter parts of

the islands, it was the influx of immigrants from Asia (first Chinese, and later

Japanese) needed to support the escalating sugar industry that provided the

impetus for expansion of rice growing. High water requirements for growing

sugarcane resulted in extensive water works projects on all of the major islands to

divert streams from the wet windward slopes to the dry lowlands.

[edit]Hawaiian revolutions

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2007)

Main articles: Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Republic of Hawaii,

and Hawaiian Revolutions

King David Kalākaua

Several rebellions and revolutions challenged the governments of the Kingdom

and Republic of Hawaii during the late 19th century.

[edit]Rebellion of 1887

In 1887, a group of cabinet officials and advisors to King David Kalākaua and an

armed militia forced the king to promulgate what is known as the Bayonet

Constitution. The impetus given for the new constitution was the frustration of the

Reform Party (also known as the Missionary Party) with growing debts, spending

habits of the King, and general governance. It was specifically triggered by a

failed attempt by Kalākaua to create a Polynesian Federation, and accusations of

an opium bribery scandal.[note 1][8] The 1887 constitution stripped the monarchy of

much of its authority, imposed significant income and property requirements for

voting, and completely disenfranchised all Asians from voting.[7]:20 When Kalākaua

died in 1891 during a visit to San Francisco, his sister Liliʻuokalani assumed the

throne.

Queen Liliʻuokalani in her autobiography, called her brother's reign "a golden age

materially for Hawaii".[9]:233 Native Hawaiians felt the 1887 constitution was

imposed by a minority of the foreign population because of the king's refusal to

renew the Reciprocity Treaty, which now included an amendment that would have

allowed the US Navy to have a permanent naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oʻahu,

and the king's foreign policy. According to bills submitted by the King to the

Hawaiian parliament, the King's foreign policy included an alliance with Japan

and supported other countries suffering from colonialism. Many Native Hawaiians

opposed US military presence in their country.

[edit]Wilcox Rebellions

Main article: Wilcox rebellions

A plot by Princess Liliʻuokalani was exposed to overthrow King David Kalākaua in

a military coup in 1888. In 1889, a rebellion of Native Hawaiians led by Colonel

Robert Wilcox attempted to replace the unpopular Bayonet Constitution and

stormed ʻIolani Palace. The rebellion was crushed.

[edit]Revolution of 1893

Main article: Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii

US Marines at the time of the overthrow, January 1893

According to Queen Liliʻuokalani, immediately upon ascending the throne, she

received petitions from two-thirds of her subjects and the major Native Hawaiian

political party in parliament, Hui Kalaiʻaina, asking her to proclaim a new

constitution. Liliʻuokalani drafted a new constitution that would restore the

monarchy's authority and the suffrage requirements of the 1887 constitution.

In response to Liliʻuokalani's suspected actions, a group of European and

American residents formed a Committee of Safety on January 14, 1893. After a

meeting of supporters, the Committee committed itself to removing the Queen

and annexation to the United States.[10]

United States Government Minister John L. Stevens summoned a company of

uniformed US Marines from the USS Boston and two companies of US sailors to

land and take up positions at the US Legation, Consulate, and Arion Hall on the

afternoon of January 16, 1893. The Committee of Safety had claimed an

"imminent threat to American lives and property".[note 2] The Provisional

Government of Hawaii was established to manage the Hawaiian islands between

the overthrow and expected annexation, supported by the Honolulu Rifles, a

militia group which had defended the kingdom against the Wilcox rebellion in

1889. Under this pressure, Liliʻuokalani abdicated her throne. The Queen's

statement yielding authority, on January 17, 1893, also pleaded for justice:

I Liliʻuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do

hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the Constitutional

Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional

Government of and for this Kingdom.

That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His

Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared

that he would support the Provisional Government.

Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest and

impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States

shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the

authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.

An immediate investigation into the events of the overthrow commissioned by President Cleveland was conducted by former CongressmanJames Henderson Blount. The Blount Report was completed on July 17, 1893 and concluded that "United States diplomatic and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible for the change in government."[11]

Minister Stevens was recalled, and the military commander of forces in Hawaii was forced to resign his commission. President Cleveland stated "Substantial wrong has thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair the monarchy." Cleveland further stated in his 1893 State of the Union Address[12] and that, "Upon the facts developed it seemed to me the only honorable course for our Government to pursue was to undo the wrong that had been done by those representing us and to restore as far as practicable the status existing at the time of our forcible intervention." Submitting the matter to Congress on December 18, 1893, after provisional President Sanford Dole refused to reinstate the Queen on Cleveland's command, theSenate Foreign Relations Committee under chairman John Morgan, continued investigation into the matter.

On February 26, 1894, the Morgan Report was submitted, contradicting the Blount Report and finding Stevens and the US troops "not guilty" of any involvement in the overthrow. The report asserted that, "The complaint by Liliʻuokalani in the protest that she sent to the President of the United States and dated the 18th day of January, is not, in the opinion of the committee, well founded in fact or in justice."[13] After submission of the Morgan Report, Cleveland ended any efforts to reinstate the monarchy, and conducted a diplomatic relations with the Dole government. He rebuffed further entreaties from the Queen to intervene.

[edit]More Rebellions

In 1893 the Leper War on Kauaʻi was suppressed with troops.

In an 1895 Counter-Revolution, a group led by Colonel Robert Nowlein, Minister Joseph Nawahi, members of the Royal Household Guards, and later Robert Wilcox attempted to overthrow the Republic. The leaders including Liliʻuokalani were captured, convicted, and imprisoned.

Sanford B. Dole, left, led the Republic of Hawaii and was first governor of theTerritory of Hawaii

[edit]Republic of Hawaii

Main article: Republic of Hawaii

After Benjamin Harrison failed to be reelected US president, the new president became Grover Cleveland, a friend of Liliʻuokalani and anti-expansionist. He delayed annexation and demanded restoration of the Queen. Fears grew of a US intervention to restore the kingdom. A Constitutional Convention began on May 30, 1894 and the Republic of Hawaii was declared on July 4, 1894,American Independence Day, under the presidency of Sanford Dole.

[edit]American Territory

[edit]Annexation to the United States

Political cartoon of 1898

In March 1897, William McKinley succeeded Grover Cleveland as president. He agreed to a treaty of annexation but it failed in theSenate because petitions from the islands indicated lack of popular support and would be in violation of international law. A joint resolution was written by Congressman Francis G. Newlands to annex Hawaii and violate Hawaii's Sovereign Rights. McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution which illegally annexed Hawaii on July 7, 1898 to become the Territory of Hawaii. On February 22, 1900 the Hawaiian Organic Act established a territorial government with a governor appointed by the US President. The territorial legislature convened for the first time on February 20, 1901. Some Hawaiian Subject formed the Hawaiian Independent Party, under the leadership of Robert Wilcox, the first congressional delegate from Hawaii. Authors note

The overthrow of the kingdom and the subsequent annexation has been called the first major instance of American imperialism.[14]

[edit]Plantation era

Sugar plantations in Hawaii expanded during the territory period. Some diversified to dominate related industries including transportation, banking and real estate. Economic and political power was concentrated in what were known as the "Big Five" corporations.

[edit]Attack on Pearl Harbor

USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor

Main article: Attack on Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 by the Empire of Japan which triggered the United States' entry into World War II. Most Americans had never heard of Pearl Harbor, even though it had been used by the US Navy since the Spanish-American War. Hawaii was put under martial law until the end of the war.

Democratic Revolution of 1954

The Democratic Revolution of 1954 was a nonviolent revolution of industry-wide strikes, protests, and other civil disobedience. In the territorial elections of 1954 the reign of the Hawaii Republican Party in the legislature came to an abrupt end, as they were replaced by the Democratic Party of Hawaii. Democrats lobbied for statehood and gained the governorship for 40 years, from 1962 to 2002. The Revolution also unionized the labor force which hastened the decline of the plantations.

[edit]Statehood

All islands voted at least 93% in favor of statehood in 1959

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act on March 18, 1959 which allowed for Hawaiian statehood. After a vote of over 93% in favor of statehood, it was admitted as the 50th state on August 21, 1959, with a population of about 423,620 (85%) Americans and foreigners and 76,620 (15%) Native Hawaiians.

[edit]Modern sovereignty movements

For many Native Hawaiians, the manner in which Hawaii became a US possession is a bitter part of its history. Hawaii Territory governors and judges were direct political appointees of the US president. Native Hawaiians created the Home Rule Party and now using statehood as a path towards more self-government. After years of cultural and societal repression and with other self-determination movements worldwide, the 1960s, amercicans thought to have seen the rebirth of Hawaiian culture and identity in the Hawaiian Renaissance.

With the support of Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Congress passed a joint resolution called the "Apology Resolution" (US Public Law 103-150). It was signed by President Bill Clinton on November 23, 1993. This resolution apologized "to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893... and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination." The implications of this resolution have been extensively debated.[15]

[16]

Senator Akaka proposed what is called the Akaka Bill to extend federal recognition to those of native Hawaiian ancestry as a sovereign group similar to Native American tribes.[17]

Victoria Kaʻiulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawēkiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn (1875–1899) was heir to the throne of

the Kingdom of Hawai ̒ i  and held the title of crown princess. Kaʻiulani became known throughout the world

for her intelligence, beauty and determination. Her royal status, talent and double-ancestry (Hawaiian-

Scottish) kept her frequently in the press of the day, and newspaper accounts of her comings and goings

throughout her life are extensive, often parallel or interconnected with those of Queen Liliʻuokalani. After

the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, Ka'iulani overcame her personal reluctance to become

visibly involved with politics (or be seen as usurping her Aunt's (Queen Liliʻuokalani's) primary role as leader

of the Kanaka ʻOiwi people) by traveling from England to America to lend support to her Aunt efforts to call

America to account for its overthrow of the Hawaiian nation. She never wanted her people to be able to say

that she, as next in line to the throne, made no effort on their behalf. The most notable (and well-known)

instance of this took the form of an unofficial visit with the then U.S. President Grover Cleveland and his

wife. While there was no direct political discussion (and no meal shared, as depicted in a recent film) during

this short White House meeting, without doubt the Princess' grace and dignity impressed the Clevelands

greatly, increasing the President's already existing sympathy for the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi's independence. Her

role as representative of her people's rights and wishes was understood. Despite this and the Crown

Princess' strong personal statement to the press (published widely in American newspapers) about the

wrong done her country, and the subtle influence of her presence at various public and private gatherings (as

a guest generally, not a speaker: the Princess never was given an opportunity to speak before Congress, as

some commentators have claimed), ultimately Ka'iulani, her Aunt, and the Hawaiian political societies could

not undo the injustice of the overthrow. The Princess returned to Hawaiʻi in 1897 to share her people's

sorrows firsthand, and continue her role as a beloved Aliʻi until her death in 1899.

Heiress to the throne

Kaʻiulani as a little girl.

Victoria Kaʻiulani was born October 16, 1875 in Honolulu. Through her mother Kaʻiulani was descended

from High Chief Kepo ̒ okalani , the first cousin of Kamehameha the Great on the side of Kamehameha's

mother, Keku ̒ iapoiwa II . Her mother was also sister of King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani. Kaʻiulani's

father was Archibald Cleghorn, a Scottish financier from Edinburgh and the last Royal Governor of Oʻahu.

She was baptized Christmas Day, 1875 at St. Andrew's Pro Cathedral.[1] Princess Ruth Ke ̒ elikōlani  stood as

her godmother. Kaʻiulani was named after her auntAnna Ka ̒ iulani  who died young, and Queen Victoria of

the United Kingdom, whose help restored the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi

during the reign of Kamehameha III. The name comes from ka ʻiu lani which means "the highest point of

heaven" or "the royal sacred one" in the Hawaiian language.[2] Upon her birth, Kaʻiulani was gifted the estate

of  ̒ Ainahau  in Waikiki by her godmother. Kaʻiulani inherited ʻAinahau at the age of 11 upon the death of her

mother.

In 1881, King Kalākaua tried to arrange a marriage between Kaʻiulani and Japan's Prince Higashifushimi

Yorihito in hopes of creating an alliance between Japan and the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. However, the prince

declined, as he was already pre-arranged to marry a Japanese noble lady, Arima Yoriko. In 1894, Queen

Liliʻuokalani wrote to her niece to marry one of the three: Prince David Kawānanakoa, Prince Jonah Kuhio

Kalanianaole, or Prince Komatsu Akihito (then studying in London), the half-brother of Higashifushimi

Yorihito. She replied to her aunt that she would prefer to marry for love unless it was necessary to protect the

independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom. On February 3, 1898, she declared her engagement to Prince

David Kawānanakoa, but her early death ended the hope of marriage.[3]

[edit]Education

The Princess grew up knowing painters Joseph Dwight Strong, a landscape painter in the court of her uncle,

and Isobel Strong, a lady in waiting under her mother and stepdaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Stevensen called her "the island rose" in a poem he wrote in her autograph book.[4] Art and music were also

in the curriculum at Great Harrowden Hall and she took several trips to Scotland and France to study art. Her

few surviving paintings demonstrate considerable talent.[5]

Because Princess Kaʻiulani was second in line to the throne after her elderly and childless aunt, it was

predicted that the young girl would eventually become Queen. King Kalākaua, Queen Kapi ̒ olani , Cleghorn,

and the Princess talked about the issue and it was determined that it would be in the young Princess's best

interests that she be given a British education. In 1889, at the age of 13, Kaʻiulani was sent

toNorthamptonshire, England to be given a private education at Great Harrowden Hall. She excelled in her

studies of Latin, Literature, Mathematics, and History there. She also took classes in French, German, and

sports (mostly tennis and cricket). In 1892, Kaʻiulani made a new start by moving to Brighton where she was

chaperoned and tutored by Mrs. Rooke who set up a curriculum including German, French and English. This

village by the sea was very pleasing to the young princess and her enthusiasm was renewed.[6]She

continued to study in England for the next four years, despite the fact that she had originally been told that

she would only be studying in Britain for one year. Her overseers from Hawaiʻi had planned for her to take a

trip around Europe and had even arranged for her to have an audience with Queen Victoria of the United

Kingdom, but following the overthrow of her Aunt, Queen Liliʻuokalani, on January 17, 1893 by local

businessmen, all plans were cancelled and she went to New York.

[edit]The overthrow

Main article: overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii

During her absence, much turmoil occurred back in Hawaiʻi. King Kalakaua died in 1891 and Princess Lydia

Lili ̒ uokalani  became Queen. Liliʻuokalani immediately appointed Kaʻiulani as her heir, and Kaʻiulani became

the Crown Princess. In 1893, the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown and the new government attempted to

become a part of the United States. The news arrived to Kaʻiulani on January 30, 1893 in a short telegram

that said: "'Queen Deposed', 'Monarchy Abrogated', 'Break News to Princess'".

Kaʻiulani then made a statement to the press in England:

"Four years ago, at the request of Mr. Thurston, then a Hawaiian Cabinet Minister, I was sent away to

England to be educated privately and fitted to the position which by the constitution of Hawaii I was to inherit.

For all these years, I have patiently and in exile striven to fit myself for my return this year to my native

country. I am now told that Mr. Thurston will be in Washington asking you to take away my flag and my

throne. No one tells me even this officially. Have I done anything wrong that this wrong should be done to me

and my people? I am coming to Washington to plead for my throne, my nation and my flag. Will not the great

American people hear me?"[7]

She referred to Lorrin A. Thurston, who was touring the United States promoting its annexation of Hawaii.

[8] Kaʻiulani decided to take action and traveled to the United States herself the following month. Upon arrival

on American shores, although shy by nature, she addressed the press in public with these words:

"Seventy years ago, Christian America sent over Christian men and women to give religion and civilization to

Hawaiʻi. Today, three of the sons of those missionaries are at your capitol asking you to undo their father’s

work. Who sent them? Who gave them the authority to break the Constitution which they swore they would

uphold? Today, I, a poor weak girl with not one of my people with me and all these ‘Hawaiian’ statesmen

against me, have strength to stand up for the rights of my people. Even now I can hear their wail in my heart

and it gives me strength and courage and I am strong - strong in the faith of God, strong in the knowledge

that I am right, strong in the strength of seventy million people who in this free land will hear my cry and will

refuse to let their flag cover dishonor to mine!"[9]

The Princess suffered eye problems, and developed migraines following the overthrow of the Monarchy.

The pro-annexation press of the time often treated Kaʻiulani with contempt,referring to her in print as a half-

breed, or calling her "dusky", although she did not receive the blatantly racist treatment repeatedly given her

Aunt. (Typical of the time, "positive" accounts of the Princess appearance often tried to emphasize what was

thought to be "white" about her, although her "British" half was invoked negatively on occasion by American

writers fearing Great Britain was a rival for possession of Hawaiʻi.) As she traveled across the United States

following her education, the real Princess surprised open-minded members of the press. Instead of an

unmannered caricature "heathen" described by enemies of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, journalists and the public

were confronted by a modern Royal Princess wearing elegant gowns and speaking English (or Hawaiian,

French or German). She traveled through New York City and Boston where she attended various social

events, many in her honor. She then went to Washington DC where she met with President Grover

Cleveland and his wife at the White House. She made a good impression and Cleveland expressed concern

for Hawaiʻi's plight. Kaʻiulani felt encouraged something would be done and returned to England. However,

when Cleveland brought Kaʻiulani's case to Congress, while the United States Senate did not proceed with

annexation, it refused to restore the monarchy. The situation in Hawaiʻi did not improve, and Kaʻiulani was

deeply disappointed. Over the next few years, Kaʻiulani remained in Europe. There, she received news in

1894 that her childhood friend, author Robert Louis Stevenson,[10] had died and that a new Republic of

Hawai ̒ i  had been established. Her health slowly deteriorated. Kaʻiulani's health worsened when she learned

that her half-sister, Annie Cleghorn, had died in 1897 and her guardian from England, Theophilus Harris

Davies, had also died. The Princess suffered eye problems, and developed migraines following the

overthrow of the Monarchy (although one such headache kept her from participating in a charity event in

Paris, where a devastating fire killed scores of society women). Numerous documented symptoms may

indicate she suffered from thyroid disease, which would help explain her early death.

[edit]Later years

Kaʻiulani returned to Hawaiʻi in 1897. The return to a warmer climate did not help her health. She continued

to deteriorate as she struggled to readjust to the tropical climate of the Hawaiian islands. However, she

continued to make public appearances at the urging of her father.

With the approval of Queen Liliʻuokalani and Queen Dowager Kapiʻolani and in compliance with the last

Hawaiian constitution, Princess Kaʻiulani and Prince Kawānanakoa announced their engagement on

February 3, 1898.[11]

She was a popular subject of photographs.

She was now a private citizen of the Republic of Hawaii, and on August 12, 1898 became citizen of

theTerritory of Hawaii as the annexation finally took place. During the Annexation ceremony, the Princess

and her aunt, Liliʻuokalani, along with other members of the royal family and with the heads of every

Hawaiian political party, wore funeral attire and shuttered themselves within Washington Place, protesting

what they considered an illegal transaction. "When the news of Annexation came it was bitterer than death to

me," Princess Kaʻiulani, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "It was bad enough to lose the throne, but infinitely

worse to have the flag go down..."[12]

Kaʻiulani loved peacock. She grew up enjoying the company of a flock originally belonging to her mother, and

is sometimes called the "Peacock Princess".[13][14]

[edit]Death

In 1898, while on a horse ride in the mountains of Hawai ̒ i Island , she got caught in a storm and came down

with a fever. Earlier she had caught cold from swimming while on the Big Island, and this further drenching

worsened matters. Kaʻiulani was brought back to O ̒ ahu  where her health continued to decline. She died on

March 6, 1899 at the age of 23 of inflammatory rheumatism. She was interred in Honolulu's Royal

Mausoleum of Hawaii. Her father also said that he thought that since Hawaiʻi was gone, it was fitting for

Kaʻiulani to go as well.

The Kaʻiulani statue in Waikiki

[edit]Cultural impact

Kaʻiulani has been represented in the music and dance traditions of Hawaiʻi through mele, oli and hula from

the time she was born. She continues to inspire generations of Na Kanaka Maoli to traditional forms of

honoring her as a beloved Aliʻi.

Kaʻiulani is the subject of several books,[15] articles, Internet videos[16] and musical tributes.[17] In 1999, a

bronze statue cast by Jan Gordon Fisher was dedicated in the triangle park at Kanekapolei and Kuhio

Avenues in Waikiki, Honolulu.[18]

Author Kathleen Ann Goonan used the rumored story that Kaʻiulani died of complications from childbirth as a

basis for her 1996 science fiction novel The Bones of Time.[19][20] In 2001 Ellen Emerson White published a

book of the Royal Diaries Series on her early life titled Kaiulani, the People's Princess, Hawai'i, 1889.[21]

In the fall of 2007, English filmmaker Marc Forby began production on a $9 million film titled Barbarian

Princess based on the princess' attempts to restore her nation's independence. Princess Kaʻiulani was

played by 12-year-old Kaimana Paʻaluhi of Oʻahu and by Q'Orianka Kilcher. Barry Pepper, Will Patton,

and Shaun Evans co-star. In March 2008 scenes were filmed on location at the  ̒ Iolani Palace . The film's

world premiere was held at the Hawaii Theatre in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday, October 16, 2009, as part of

the Hawaii International Film Festival. The film's title provoked controversy, and the film opened with mixed

reviews.[22] However, demand to see the film was high and the film festival scheduled several additional

screenings. The movie's title has since been changed to Princess Kaiulani.[23] Roadside Attractionsacquired

the movie's United States rights and scheduled it for theatrical release May 14, 2010.[24][25]

Forby's film is not the first project to bring the Princess to the screen: well-known Kaʻiulani biographer Kristin

Zambucka produced a docudrama called "A Cry of Peacocks" for Hawaiian television, released on

videocassette in 1994 by Green Glass Productions. Zambucka is rereleasing the film on iTunes.

[edit]The Kaʻiulani Project

Jennifer Fahrni founded the Kaʻiulani Project to celebrate the life, spirit and legacy of Princess Kaʻiulani.

Their goal is to reveal Kaʻiulani as a heroine who fought for her nation in its hour of need, and to serve as a

meeting place and reference for other works about the Princess. The project includes Kaʻiulani: The Island

Rose, a fact-based screenplay and stage play researched and written since 2003 by Fahrni and Carol

Harvie-Yamaguchi, and a biography Princess Ka'iulani - Her Life and Times. The script was first performed

as a public reading April 12, 2008 in Kahului, Hawaii on Maui.[26]

Victoria Kaʻiulani, Crown Princess of the Hawaiian Islands.

[edit]Ancestry

Kaiimamao 

Kapaihi a Ahu   Kame ̒ eiamoku  

Kamakaʻeheikuli   Heulu       

                              

                    

     Kaolanialiʻi               Ululani

  Keawe a Heulu         

      

                                

  Alapa ̒ i Wahine      

Kepo ̒ okalani      

Keohohiwa               

                           

Kamoku ̒ iki (1795–1840)

  Kamanawa ʻŌpio(1785–1840)

      ̒ Aikanaka

(1790–1868)

 Kamaʻeokalani

       

                               

   Caesar

Kapa ̒ akea (1815–1866)

            Analea Keohokālole(1816–1869)             

                                

                                    

James Kaliokalani

(1835–1852) 

David Kalākaua(1836–1891)

 1874–1891

 

Lydia Lili ̒ uokalani (1838–1917)

 1891–1893

           

                        

                            

    Anna Ka ̒ iulani (1842–1842)

  Archibald Cleghorn

  Miriam Likelike

  William Pitt Leleiohoku

   

(1835–1910) (1851–1887) (1854–1877)                     

               Victoria Ka ̒ iulani

(1875–1899)

The earliest habitation supported by archaeological evidence dates to as early as 300 BCE, probably

by Polynesian settlers from theMarquesas, followed by a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora

Bora in the 11th century. The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British

explorer James Cook.

Polynesians from the Marquesas and possibly the Society Islands may have first populated the Hawaiian

Islands between 300 and 500 CE. There is a great deal of debate regarding these dates.[32]

Some archaeologists and historians believe that an early settlement from the Marquesas and a later wave of

immigrants from Tahiti, c. 1000 introduced a new line of high chiefs, the Kapu system, the practice of human

sacrifice and the building of heiaus. This later immigration is detailed in folk tales about Paʻao. Other authors

argue that there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence for a later influx of Tahitian settlers, and that

Paʻao must be regarded as a myth.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu, King of Hawaii bringing presents to Captain Cook. Illustrated by John Webber, artist aboard

Cook's ship.

Regardless of the question of Paʻao, historians agree that the history of the islands was marked by a slow

but steady growth in population and the size of the chiefdoms, which grew to encompass whole islands.

Local chiefs, called aliʻi, ruled their settlements and launched wars to extend their sway and defend their

communities from predatory rivals.

James Cook—European arrival and the Kingdom of Hawaii (1778–1893)

The 1778 arrival of British explorer James Cook was Hawaii’s first documented contact

withEuropean explorers. Cook named the islands the "Sandwich Islands" in honor of his sponsor John

Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. He published the islands' location and reported the native name asOwyhee.

This spelling lives on in Owyhee County, Idaho, after three Hawaiian members of a trapping party killed in

that area.

Cook visited the islands twice. During his second visit in 1779, he attempted to abduct the King of the Big

Island of Hawaii, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, and hold him as ransom for the return of a ship's boat that was taken by a

minor chief and his men, a tactic that had worked for Cook in Tahiti and other islands.[33] Kalaniʻōpuʻu and his

supporters fought back and Cook and four Marines were killed as Cook's party retreated to the beach and

launched their boats.

After Cook's visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian islands received

many European visitors: explorers, traders, and eventually whalers who found the islands a convenient

harbor and source of supplies. Early British influence can be seen in the design of the flag of Hawaii which

has the British Union Flag in the corner.

These visitors introduced diseases to the once-isolated islands and the Hawaiian population plunged

precipitously[34] because native Hawaiians had no resistance to influenza, smallpox, and measles, among

others. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth of Hawaii's people.[35]

Historical records indicated that the earliest immigration of the Chinese came from Guangdong province: a

few sailors in 1778 with Captain Cook's journey, more in 1788 with Kaina, and some in 1789 with an

American trader who settled in Hawaii in the late 18th century.

House of Kamehameha

During the 1780s and 1790s, chiefs were often fighting for power. After a series of battles that ended in 1795

and forced cession of the island of Kauaʻi in 1810, all inhabited islands were subjugated under a single ruler

who became known as King Kamehameha the Great. He established the House of Kamehameha, a dynasty

that ruled the kingdom until 1872.

After Kamehameha II inherited the throne in 1819, missionaries to Hawaii converted many Hawaiians to

Christianity. Their influence ended many ancient practices, and Kamehameha III was the first Christian king.

Missionary leaders included Protestant Hiram Bingham I andJoseph F. Smith of The Church of Jesus Christ

of Latter-day Saints. Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest, was canonized for his work in the

isolated leper colony of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokaʻi. Other missionaries and their descendants, such

as Henry Perrine Baldwin, became active in commercial and political affairs, leading to future conflicts.

The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V—who did not name an heir—resulted in the popular election

of Lunalilo over Kalākaua. Lunalilo died the next year, also without naming an heir. Perhaps "the People's

King" (Lunalilo) wanted the people to choose his successor as they had chosen him. In 1874 the election

was contested within the legislature between Kalākaua and Emma. This led to riots and the landing of U.S.

and British troops, and governance passed to the House of Kalākaua.

1887 Constitution

In 1887, Kalākaua was forced to sign the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which stripped the

king of much of his authority. There was a property qualification for voting, which disenfranchised many

poorer Hawaiians and favored the wealthier white community. Resident whites were allowed to vote, but

resident Asians were excluded. Because the 1887 Constitution was signed under threat of violence, it is

known as the "Bayonet Constitution". King Kalākaua, reduced to a figurehead, reigned until his death in

1891. His sister, Liliʻuokalani, succeeded him on the throne.

Ship's landing force at the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, January 1893.

In 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani announced plans for a new constitution. On January 14, 1893, a group of mostly

Euro-American business leaders and residents formed a Committee of Safety tooverthrow the Kingdom and

seek annexation by the United States. United States Government Minister John L. Stevens, responding to a

request from the Committee of Safety, summoned acompany of U.S. Marines. As one historian noted, the

presence of these troops effectively made it impossible for the monarchy to protect itself.[36]

Overthrow of 1893—the Republic of Hawaii (1894–1898)

In January 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown and replaced by a Provisional Government composed

of members of the Committee of Safety. Controversy filled the following years as the queen tried to re-

establish her throne. The administration of President Grover Clevelandcommissioned the Blount Report,

which concluded that the removal of Liliʻuokalani was illegal. The U.S. government first demanded that

Queen Liliʻuokalani be reinstated, but the Provisional Government refused. Congress followed with another

investigation, and submitted the Morgan Report on February 26, 1894, which found all parties (including

Minister Stevens) with the exception of the queen "not guilty" from any responsibility for the overthrow.[37] The

accuracy and impartiality of both the Blount and Morgan reports has been questioned by partisans on both

sides of the debate over the events of 1893.[36][38][39][40]

In 1993, a joint Apology Resolution regarding the overthrow was passed by Congress and signed by

President Clinton, apologizing for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.[40] It is the first time in American

history that the United States government has apologized for overthrowing the government of a sovereign

nation.

ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu, formerly the residence of the Hawaiian monarch, was the capitol of the Republic

of Hawaii.

The Provisional Government of Hawaii ended on July 4, 1894, replaced by the Republic of Hawaii.

The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii in 1885 as contract laborers for the sugar cane and

pineapple plantations. Puerto Rican immigration to Hawaii began when Puerto Rico's sugar industry was

devastated by two hurricanes in 1899. The devastation caused a world wide shortage in sugar and a huge

demand for the product from Hawaii. Hawaiian sugar plantation owners began to recruit the jobless, but

experienced, laborers in Puerto Rico. Two distinct waves of Korean immigration to Hawaii have occurred in

the last century. The first arrived in between 1903 and 1924; the second wave began in 1965.

Annexation—the Territory of Hawaii (1898–1959)

After William McKinley won the presidential election in 1896, Hawaii's annexation to the U.S. was again

discussed. The previous president, Grover Cleveland, was a friend of Queen Liliʻuokalani. McKinley was

open to persuasion by U.S. expansionists and by annexationists from Hawaii. He met with three

annexationists from Hawaii: Lorrin Thurston, Francis March Hatch and William Ansel Kinney. After

negotiations, in June 1897, Secretary of State John Sherman agreed to a treaty of annexation with these

representatives of the Republic of Hawaii.[41]

The treaty was never ratified by the U.S. Senate. Instead, the Newlands Resolution by both houses

of Congress annexed the Republic to the United States and it became the Territory of Hawaii. Despite some

opposition in the islands, the Newlands Resolution was passed by the House June 15, 1898, by a vote of

209 to 91, and by the Senate on July 6, 1898, by a vote of 42 to 21.

In 1900, Hawaii was granted self-governance and retained ʻIolani Palace as the territorial capitol building.

Despite several attempts to become a state, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years. Plantation owners

and key capitalists, who maintained control through financial institutions, or "factors," known as the "Big

Five", found territorial status convenient, enabling them to continue importing cheap foreign labor; such

immigration was prohibited in various states.

Political Changes of 1954—the State of Hawaii (1959–present)

All representative districts voted at least 93% in favor of Admission acts. Ballot (inset) and referendum

results for the Admission Act of 1959

Main article: Democratic Revolution of 1954 (Hawaii)

In the 1950s the power of the plantation owners was finally broken by descendants of immigrant laborers.

Because they were born in a U.S. territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. The Hawaii Republican Party,

strongly supported by plantation owners, was voted out of office. TheDemocratic Party of Hawaii dominated

politics for 40 years. Expecting to gain full voting rights, Hawaii's residents actively campaigned for

statehood.

In March 1959, Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight D.

Eisenhower signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii,

from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a referendum asked residents of Hawaii to vote on the

statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. The choices were to accept the Act or to remain a territory,

without the option of independence.[42][43][44] The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization later

removed Hawaii from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

After statehood, Hawaii quickly modernized via construction and rapidly growing tourism economy. Later,

state programs promoted Hawaiian culture. The Hawaii State Constitutional Convention of 1978 incorporated

programs such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to promote indigenous language and culture.

Demographics

Population

Historical populations

Census Pop. %±

1900 154,001 —

1910 191,874 24.6%

1920 255,881 33.4%

1930 368,300 43.9%

1940 422,770 14.8%

1950 499,794 18.2%

1960 632,772 26.6%

1970 769,913 21.7%

1980 964,691 25.3%

1990 1,108,229 14.9%

2000 1,211,537 9.3%

2010 1,360,301 12.3%

Source: 1910-2010[45]

Population density of the Hawaiian islands

As of 2005, Hawaii has an estimated population of 1,275,194, an increase of 13,070, or 1.0%, from the prior

year and an increase of 63,657, or 5.3%, since 2000. This includes a natural increase of 48,111 people (that

is 96,028 births minus 47,917 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 16,956 people into the state.

Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 30,068 people, and migration within

the country produced a net loss of 13,112 people. The center of population of Hawaii is located between the

two islands of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi.[46]

Hawaii has a de facto population of over 1.3 million due to large military and tourist populations. Oʻahu,

nicknamed "The Gathering Place", is the most populous island (and has the highest population density), with

a resident population of just under one million in 597 square miles (1,546 km2), about 1,650 people per

square mile (for comparison, New Jersey, which has 8,717,925 people in 7,417 square miles (19,210 km2) is

the most-densely populated state with 1,134 people per square mile.)[47] Hawaii's 1,275,194 people, spread

over 6,423 square miles (16,640 km2) (including many unpopulated islands) results in an average population

density of 188.6 persons per square mile,[48] which makes Hawaii less densely populated than Ohio and

Illinois.[49]

The average projected lifespan of those born in Hawaii in 2000 was 79.8 years (77.1 years if male, 82.5 if

female), longer than any other state.[50]

Race and ethnicity

According to the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau,White

Americans made up 27.1% of Hawaii's population; 24.8% were non-Hispanic whites.Blacks or African

Americans made up 2.4% (2.3% non-Hispanic). American Indians made up 0.2% ( 0.1% non-

Hispanic). Asian Americans made up 38.5% (37.6% non-Hispanic). Pacific Islander Americans made up

9.0% (8.6% non-Hispanic). Individuals from some other race made up 1.4% (0.1% non-Hispanic). Multiracial

Americans made up 21.4% (17.8% non-Hispanic). Hispanics and Latinos (of any race) made up 8.7%.[51]

Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asian Americans, mainly 175,000 Filipino Americansand

161,000 Japanese Americans. In addition, there are roughly 53,000 Chinese Americansand 40,000 Korean

Americans. Indigenous Hawaiians number 70,000 (or 5.5%). Over 110,000 Hispanic and Latino Americans

make Hawaii their home. Mexicans number 37,000; Puerto Ricans number 35,000. Also, Hawaii has the

highest percentage of Multiracial Americans; mixed-race individuals form roughly 21% of Hawaii's

population. Eurasian Americans are a prominent mixed-race group; there are roughly 61,000 Eurasian

Americans in Hawaii.[51]

The five largest European ancestries in Hawaii

are German (7.4%), Irish (5.2%), English (4.6%), Portuguese (4.3%), and Italian (2.7%).

Approximately 82.2% of Hawaii's residents were born in the United States. Roughly 75.0% of the foreign-

born residents hail from Asia.[52]

Hawaii is a majority-minority state. Non-Hispanic whites do not form a majority. Hawaii was the second

majority-minority state. Both Hawaii and New Mexico have been majority-minority since the early 20th

century.

Ancestry groups

Population of Hawaii[51]

Ancestry Percentage Main article:

Filipino 13.6% See Filipino American

Japanese 12.6% See Japanese American

Polynesian 9.0% See Native Hawaiians

German 7.4% See German American

Irish 5.2% See Irish American

English 4.6% See English American

Portuguese 4.3% See Portuguese American

Chinese 4.1% See Chinese American

Korean 3.1% See Korean American

Mexican 2.9% See Mexican American

Puerto Rican 2.8% See Puerto Rican

Italian 2.7% See Italian American

African 2.4% See African American

French 1.7% See French American

Scottish 1.2% See Scottish American

The largest ancestry groups in Hawaii as of 2008 are in the table at right. The third group of foreigners to

arrive upon Hawaii's shores, after those from Polynesia and Europe, was from Han China. Chinese workers

on Western trading ships settled in Hawaii starting in 1789. In 1820 the first American missionaries came to

preach Christianity and teach the Hawaiians Western ways. They were instrumental in convincing the

Hawaiian Chiefs to end human sacrifice.[citation needed]

A large proportion of Hawaii's population is now of Asian ancestry (especiallyChinese, Japanese and Filipino.) Many are descendants of those immigrants brought to work on the sugar plantations in the 1850s and after. The first 153Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii on June 19, 1868. They were not "legally" approved by the Japanese government because the contract was between a broker and the Tokugawa shogunate, by then replaced by the Meiji Restoration. The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrived on February 9, 1885 after Kalākaua's petition to Emperor Meiji when Kalākaua visited Japan in 1881.[citation needed]

Almost 13,000 Portuguese had come by 1899. They too worked on the sugar plantations. By October 17, 1901, 5,000 Puerto Ricans had made new homes on the four islands

Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of theKingdom of Hawaiʻi by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300-800, a unique culture developed. Diversifiedagroforestry and aquaculture provided sustenance. Tropical materials were adopted for housing, and elaborate temples (called heiau) were constructed from the lava rocks available. A social system with religious leaders and a ruling class organized a substantial population. Captain James Cook made the first known European contact with ancient Hawaiians in 1778. Many people traveled with him to the Hawaiian Islands.

[edit]Polynesian Triangle

Hawaiian history is inextricably tied into a larger Polynesian phenomenon. Hawaiʻi is the Northern apex of the Polynesian Triangle, a region of the Pacific Ocean with three island groups at its corners: the Hawaiʻi islands, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and Aotearoa (New Zealand). The many island cultures within the Polynesian Triangle share similar languages derived from a proto-Malayo-Polynesian language used inSoutheast Asia 5,000 years ago. Polynesians also share cultural traditions, such as religion, social organization, myths, and material culture. Anthropologists believe that all Polynesians have descended from a South Pacific proto-culture created by an Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) people that had migrated from Southeast Asia.

The Polynesian Triangle is a geographical region of the Pacific Ocean with Hawaiʻi, Rapa Nui and New Zealand at its corners.

The seven other main Polynesian cultures are:

Māori (Aotearoa / New Zealand) Rapa Nui (now known as Easter Island) Marquesas Sāmoa Tahiti Tonga Cook Islands

[edit]Voyage to the Hawaiian islands

Main article: Polynesian navigation

Polynesian seafarers were skilled ocean navigators and astronomers. At a time when Western boats rarely went out of sight of land, Polynesians often traveled long distances.

The early settlement history of Hawaiʻi is still not completely resolved. Some believe that the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaiʻi in the 3rd century from the Marquesas and were followed by Tahitian settlers in AD 1300 who conquered the original inhabitants. Others believe that there was only a single, extended period of settlement. Patrick Kirch, in his 2001 Hawaiki, argues for an extended period of contact but not necessarily for a Tahitian invasion:

There is substantial archaeological as well as paleoecological evidence confirming Hawaiian settlement no later than 800 AD, and quite possibly as early as AD 300–500 (Kirch 1985; Athens 1997). The immediate source of the colonizing population in Hawaiʻi is likely to have been the Southern Marquesas, but continued contact between Hawaiʻi and islands in the core region is indicated by linguistic evidence (lexical borrowings from the Tahitic subgroup), abundant oral traditions (Cachola-Abad 1993), botanical indications, uniquely shared mtDNA sequences in populations of the Pacific Rat (Matisoo-Smith et al. 1998), and possibly some archaeological style changes as well. However, long-distance voyaging between Hawaiʻi and the central Eastern Polynesian core became less frequent after about AD 1200, and was little more than a memory encoded in Hawaiian oral traditions by the time of European contact.[1]

The only evidence for a Tahitian conquest of the islands are the legends of Hawaiʻiloa and the navigator-priest Paʻao, who is said to have made a voyage between Hawaiʻi and the island of "Kahiki" (Tahiti) and introduced many new customs. Some Hawaiians believe that there was a real historical Paʻao. Early historians, such as Fornander and Beckwith, also subscribed to this Tahitian invasion theory, but later historians, such as Kirch, simply do not mention it.

King Kalakaua, in his book, The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, claims that Paʻao was from Samoa. The religion he brought, the Kahuna religion was from Samoa. Paʻao was instrumental in bringing the High Chief Pili from Samoa to rule the island of Hawaii. Pili is a well known entity in Samoan mythology. His descendents were one of the highest ranked families in Samoa even to this day. According to the genealogy laid out by King Kalakaua, King Kamehameha was also a descendant of Pili.

Some writers believe that there were other settlers in Hawaiʻi, peoples who were forced back into remote valleys by newer arrivals. They claim that stories about menehune, little people who built heiau and fishponds, prove the existence of ancient peoples who settled the islands before the Hawaiians.[2] Luomala, in her 1951 essay on the menehune, argues that these stories, like stories of "dog people" with tails living in deep forests, are folklore and not to be construed as evidence of an earlier race. Archaeologists have found no evidence suggesting earlier settlements and menehune legends are simply not mentioned or discussed in current archaeological literature.

[edit]Settlement

The colonists brought along with them clothing, plants and livestock and established settlements along the coasts and larger valleys. Upon their arrival, the settlers grew kalo (taro), maiʻa (banana), niu (coconut), ulu (breadfruit), and raised pua'a (pork), moa (chicken), and ilio (dog), although these meats were eaten less often than fruits, vegetables, and seafood. Popular condiments included pa'akai (salt), ground kukui nut, limu (seaweed), and ko (sugarcane) which was used as both a sweet and a medicine.[3] In addition to the foods they brought, the settlers also acquired 'uala (sweet potato), which has yet to be adequately explained, as the plant originates in South America. A few researchers have argued that the presence of the sweet potato in the ancient Hawaiian diet is evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact with the Americas.

At this time, with the islands being so small, the population was very dense. In fact, before Europoean contact, the population ranged from 200,000 to 1,000,000 people. After contact with the Europeans, however, the population steeply dropped because of both disease and decline of traditional Hawaiian culture.[4] As soon as they arrived, the new settlers built hale (homes) and heiau (temples). Archaeologists currently believe that the first settlements were on the southern end of the Big Island of Hawai'i and that they quickly extended northwards, along the seacoasts and the easily accessible river valleys. As the population increased, settlements were made further inland.

[edit]Village

A traditional town of ancient Hawaiʻi included several structures. Listed in order of importance:

Heiau, temple to the gods. They were built on high-rising stone terraces and adorned with wood and stone carved idols. A source of greatmana or divine power, the heiau was restricted to aliʻi, the king and kahuna, or priests.

Hale aliʻi, the house of the chief. It was used as a residence for the high chief and meeting house of the lesser chiefs. It was always built on a raised stone foundation to represent high social standing. Kahili, or feather standards, were placed outside to signify royalty. Women and children were banned from entering.

Hale pahu, the house of the sacred hula instruments. It held the pahu drums. It was treated as a religious space as hula was a religious activity in honor of the goddess Laka.

Hale papaʻa, the house of royal storage. It was built to store royal implements including fabrics, prized nets and lines, clubs, spears and other weapons.

Hale ulana, the house of the weaver. It was the house where craftswomen would gather each day to manufacture the village baskets, fans, mats and other implements from dried pandanus leaves called lauhala.

Hale mua, the men's eating house. It was considered a sacred place because it was used to carve stone idols of ʻaumakua or ancestral gods. Men and women could not eat with each other for fear that men were vulnerable while eating to have their mana, or divine spirit, stolen by women. Women ate at their own separate eating house called the hale ʻaina. The design was meant for the men to be able to enter and exit quickly.

Hale waʻa, the house of the canoe. It was built along the beaches as a shelter for their fishing vessels. Hawaiians also stored koa logs used to craft the canoes.

Hale lawaiʻa, the house of fishing. It was built along the beaches as a shelter for their fishing nets and lines. Nets and lines were made by a tough rope fashioned from woven coconut husks. Fish hooks were made of human, pig or dog bone. Implements found in the hale lawaiʻa were some of the most prized possessions of the entire village.

Hale noho, the living house. It was built as sleeping and living quarters for the Hawaiian family unit.

Imu, the communal earth oven. Dug in the ground, it was used to cook the entire village's food including puaʻa or pork. Only men cooked using the imu.

[edit]Caste system

18th century Hawaiian cap and cloak, signs of royalty.

Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste society much like Hindus in India. People were born into specific social classes; social mobility was not unknown, but it was extremely rare. The main classes were:

Aliʻi. This class consisted of the high and lesser chiefs of the realms. They governed with divine power called mana. Could be equated with Kshatriyas in India who had the same role in the society.

Kahuna. Priests conducted religious ceremonies, at the heiau and elsewhere. Professionals included master carpenters and boatbuilders, chanters, dancers, genealogists, physicians and healers. Much like Brahmins in Hindu society.

Makaʻāinana. Commoners farmed, fished, and exercised the simpler crafts. They labored not only for themselves and their families, but to support the chiefs and kahuna. Much like Vaishyas in Hinduism.

Kauā. They are believed to have been war captives, or the descendants of war captives. Marriage between higher castes and the kauwa was strictly forbidden. The kauwa worked for the chiefs and were often used as human sacrifices at the luakini heiau. (They were not the only sacrifices; law-breakers of all castes or defeated political opponents were also acceptable as victims.). Much like shudras in Hinduism.

[edit]Land tenure

The great chiefs owned all the land in the areas which they controlled. They allocated control of portions of the land to their kinsmen and retainers, who then apportioned land to the commoners.

On the death of one chief and the accession of another, lands were re-apportioned—some of the previous "owners" would lose their lands, and others would gain them. Lands were also re-apportioned when one chief defeated another, and re-distributed the conquered lands as rewards to his warriors.

In practice, commoners had some security against capricious re-possession of their houses and farms. They were usually left in place, to pay tribute and supply labor to a new chief, under the supervision of a new konohiki, or overseer.

This system of land tenure is similar to the feudal system prevalent in Europe during the Middle Ages.

The main landholding unit in Hawai'i was the ahupua'a, a triangular slice of land running from the mountains in the center of an island down to the seashore. An island would be cut like a pie into a number of ahupua'a, usually defined by river valleys. Most ahupua'a contained all the resources necessary for life: a seashore for fishing and perhaps gathering on the reef, a river for drinking, bathing, and irrigation, forested uplands for timber and wild foods. All inhabitants of the ahupua'a shared the right to fish in the commonly-held waters, or gather in the uplands. Outsiders could fish or gather only with the permission of the residents. Some ahupua'a were larger than others and were sub-divided into smaller units. Some were incomplete. A fishing village on a rocky shore might form an ahupua'a rich in fish and lacking in everything else. These villagers had to barter fish for taro and sweet potato. Most villages were built close to the shore, for easy access to fishing grounds. A system of Hawaiian aquaculture was developed to increase the fish harvest. However, as the Hawaiian population increased over the centuries, inland villages sprang up as well. Like the fishing villages, they had to barter for the foods they could not get for themselves. Every ahupua'a owed taxes, in the form of produce, crafts, and labor, to the chiefs who had responsibility for the land. These demands could be onerous. Ancient Hawaiian tales speak of the chiefs as ravenous land sharks, who devoured the work of the commoners.

[edit]Kapu system

Religion held ancient Hawaiian society together, affecting habits, lifestyles, work methods, social policy and law. The legal system was based on religious kapu, or taboos. There was a correct way to live, to worship, and even to eat. Examples of kapu included the provision that men and women could not eat together ('Aikapu religion). Fishing was limited to specified seasons of the year. Common women faced death for eating bananas, coconuts, and other specific foods. The shadow of the aliʻi must not be touched as it was stealing his mana. Violating kapu even by accident was punishable by death. The aliʻi convinced the common people that they had inherited divine power (mana) and were completely chosen by the gods to rule. The aliʻi could take whoever committed any of these so called "sins" and use them for human sacrifices and sometimes bait for shark hunting. There were also ovens located at Punchbowl and Waikiki that were used for burning human bodies who broke a kapu. Commoners were drowned at Kewalo Basin for breaking the kapus. Human heads, of those offered in sacrifice, were put on stakes that lined the Pakaka temple at the foot of Fort Street (Downtown Honolulu). At the heiau located at the foot of Diamond Head, men had their limbs broken with clubs, their eyes scooped out, and then were left bleeding and maimed for three days. Then they were later clubbed to death with blows to the shoulders rather than to the head, this prolonged the suffering before death.[5]

The rigidity of the kapu system came from a second wave of migrations in 1000-1300 AD. Different religions and systems were shared between Hawaii and the Society Islands. Hawaii was influenced by the Tahitian chiefs and the kapu system became stricter and the social structure changed. Human sacrifice was a part of their new religious observance. And the ali'i gained more power over the counsel of experts on the islands.[6]

Kapu was derived from traditions and beliefs from Hawaiian worship of gods, demigods and ancestral mana. The forces of nature were personified as the main gods of Kū (God of War), Kāne (God of Light and Life), and Lono (God of peace). Famous lesser gods include Pele(Goddess of Fire) and her sister Hiʻiaka (Goddess of Water). In a famous creation story, the demigod Māui fished the islands of Hawaiʻi from the sea after a little mistake he made on a fishing trip. From Haleakalā, Māui ensnared the sun in another story, forcing him to slow down so there was equal periods of darkness and light each day.

[edit]Chiefs

The four biggest islands, Hawaiʻi island, Maui, Kauaʻi and Oʻahu were generally ruled by their own Aliʻi ʻaimoku, high chiefs (also called king, local king). Under them, subordinate district aliʻi controlled their petty fiefs.

All these dynasties were interrelated. They all regarded native Hawaiian people (and possibly all humans) as descendants of legendary parents, Wākea (symbolizing the air) and his wife Papa (symbolizing the earth). Their legend is similar to other creation myths, such as Adam and Eve.

During the late 18th century, the kingdom of the island of Hawaiʻi fragmented into several independent chiefdoms. Internecine warfare between them became common. There apparently was no longer an aliʻi ʻaimoku controlling the island.

In the beginning of 19th century, high chiefs of major islands were considered the "twenty-and-something" aliʻi ʻaimoku to hold their positions, according to count of monarchs in each realm based on Hawaiian legends. One century averagely contains three to five biological generations. Even allowing for successions of siblings and such, any experiential dynastic research generally allows less than ten successive monarchs in one century on average. Concluded from this, the Aliʻi ʻAimoku dynasties were then (around 1800 CE) three to six centuries old. The Tahitian invasion of the Hawaiian islands, reportedly extinguishing all the previous population, is believed to have taken place in the 13th century. Aliʻi ʻAimoku lordships were presumably established rather soon after the invasion.

The preceding generations, according to lineal counts in legends, some 30 generations from mythical Wakea to the first Aliʻi ʻAimoku rulers, thus presumably lived elsewhere than in Hawaiian islands.

[edit]Subsistence economy

Ancient Hawaiian economy became complex over time. People began to specialize in specific skills. Generations of families became committed to certain careers: roof thatchers, house builders, stone grinders, bird catchers who would make the feather cloaks of the aliʻi, canoe builders. Soon, entire islands began to specialize in certain skilled trades. Oʻahu became the chief kapa (tapa bark cloth) manufacturer. Maui became the chief canoe manufacturer. The island of Hawaiʻi exchanged bales of dried fish.

[edit]First recorded contact

European contact with the Hawaiian islands marked the beginning of the end of the ancient Hawaiʻi period. In 1778, British Captain James Cook landed first on Kauaʻi, then sailed southwards to observe and explore the other islands in the chain.

When he first arrived at Kealakekua Bay, some of the natives believed Cook was their god Lono. Cook's mast and sails coincidentally resembled the emblem (a mast and sheet of white tapa) that symbolized Lono in their religious rituals; the ships arrived during the Makahikiseason dedicated to Lono.

Captain Cook was eventually killed during a violent confrontation and left behind on the beach by his retreating sailors. The British demanded that his body be returned, but the Hawaiians had already performed funerary rituals of their tradition.[7]

Within a few years Kamehameha I used European warfare tactics to unite the islands into the Kingdom of Hawaii.

A heiau is a Hawaiian temple. Many types of heiau existed, including heiau to treat the sick (heiau hōʻola), offer first fruits, offer first catch, start rain, stop rain, increase the population, ensure health of the nation, achieve success in distant voyaging, reach peace, and achieve success in war (luakini). Only the luakini was dedicated through human sacrifice.[1] Heiau were made in different architectural styles depending upon their purpose and location. At the official end of Hawaiian religion in 1819, many were deliberately destroyed, while others were allowed to fall into disrepair. Some structures have been fully restored today.

[edit]Architecture

Heiau were made in different shapes depending upon their purpose. They could be rectangular, square, or rounded.[2] Some consisted of simple earth terraces, while others were elaborately constructed stone platforms. They could be placed on hills, cliffs, level earth, valleys and on the coastline touching the sea.[2] Some koʻa or fishing shrines were built underwater.

American missionary Hiram Bingham described a heiau he saw on route hiking between the summits of Mauna Kea and Hualalai. Made of piled lava rock, it was a square of 100 feet (30 m), with walls eight feet high and four feet thick. A doorway led through the middle of the north wall. Eight pyramids surrounded the outside of the temple. Made of piled lava rock, they were 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and 12 to 15 feet (4.6 m) high.[3]

[edit]Preserved sites

The heiau most commonly preserved are war temples of the later period of history (e.g. Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site). They are composed of large stone platforms with various structures built upon them. The structures were used to house priests, sacred ceremonial drums, sacred items, and cult images representing the gods associated with that particular temple. There were also altars (Ahu) on which to offer sacrifices(plant, animal and human). The heiau were sacred places; only the kahuna (priests) and certain sacred ali'i (high chiefs) were allowed to enter.

The largest heiau currently known to exist, Hale O Pi'ilani Heiau, is a massive, three-acre platform with fifty foot retaining walls located inHāna on Maui. Built for Pi'ilani, it dates back to the 13th century.[4]

Agricultural heiau, called generally Hale-o-Lono for the god of fertility, can be found today on Oʻahu at Makaha (Kaneaki heiau - fully restored) and in Hawaii Kai (Pahua heiau - partially restored). The ruins of a healing heiau, Keaiwa ("the mysterious") are located at the entrance to Keaiwa State Park in ʻAiea.[5]

Puʻuhonua o Honaunau, in South Kona on the island of Hawaiʻi, itself is a place of refuge, but it includes a heiau complex within it.

Because the land of heiau was sacred, it was not unusual for successive generations to add to original structures and for the purposes of the heiau to change over time. An example is Ulupo heiau in Kailua on Oʻahu, which is said to have been built by the menehune, that is, a long time ago, and is thought to have been used first as an agricultural heiau and later as a luakini.[6]

[edit]Destruction

The kapu or 'ai kapu system was abolished in October, 1819 by Liholiho, Kamehameha II. The abolition of the kapu system ended the use of heiau as places of worship and sacrifice. A period referred to as the 'Ai Noa or "free eating" followed. Missionaries arrived in 1820, and most of the aliʻi converted to Christianity, including Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, but it took 11 years for Kaʻahumanu to proclaim laws against ancient religious practices. All heiau were officially abandoned; most were destroyed over the years. Often they were broken up and plowed under to make way for fields of sugar cane. However, some of the families who were responsible for the heiau have continued the tradition of caring for them to this day.

[edit]

Hawaii is not legally a state!

It is easy to find the courage necessary to support a moral position if that position benefits oneself. True moral courage, however, is proven when one chooses to support that which is morally and ethically right even when such a position is to one's one detriment.

The people of the United States find themselves in such a position right now, forced to choose between a moral and ethical position that carries with it the potential for "inconvenience", or supporting the status quo and having to admit to themselves that they are not the champions of justice they imagine themselves to be. By the end of this article, you will know for yourself which one you are.

Most folks have heard that Hawaii is a state, one of the United States of America. Most people, including those who live in Hawaii, accept that statement as a fact.

But the reality is that in a world in which nations are as bound by the rule of laws as are the citizens of nations (if not more so), the truth is quite different!

The truth is that each and every step along Hawaii's path from sovereign and independent nation, to annexed territory, to state, was done in violation of laws and treaties then in effect, without regard to the wishes of the Hawaiian people. Many people, including President Grover Cleveland, opposed the annexation of Hawaii.

But in the end, simple greed and military interest overrode any concerns or moral right and legality. Hawaii's legitimate government was toppled using threat of American military force. Hawaii was stolen from her people for the benefit of wealthy American plantation owners and military interests, and the justifications for the crime were invented after-the-fact.

Hawaii's government was overthrown on Jan. 17, 1893, by a relatively small group of men, most of them American by birth or heritage, who seized control of the Islands with the backing of American troops sent ashore from a warship in Honolulu Harbor. To this "superior force of the United States of America," Queen Lili`uokalani yielded her throne, under protest, in order to avoid bloodshed, trusting that the United States government would right the wrong that had been done to her and the Hawaiian people.

Who were this group of American men and why did they overthrow the government? Sugar!

Workers in the cane fields. The use of whips was common.

Sugar was by far the principal support of the islands, and profits and prosperity hinged on favorable treaties with the United States, Hawaiian sugar's chief market, creating powerful economic ties. The plantation owners were, for the most part, the descendents of the original missionary families who had brought religion to the islands in the wake of the whaling ships. As ownership of private property came to the islands, the missionary families wound up owning a great deal of it!

Hawaii has little in the way of mineral wealth, so the land was useful only for agriculture. In a day when unrefridgerated sailing ships such as Captain Matson's "Falls Of Clyde" were the only means to ship produce to the US Mainland, sugar, and to a lesser extent coconuts, were the only produce which could survive the duration of the sea voyage.

Clipper ships at anchor in Honolulu harbor.

But the United States had, in 1826, recognized Hawaii as a sovereign nation in its own right, and imposed the usual import tariffs on sugar coming from the islands. This cut into the profits of the sugar plantations. Indeed, being American citizens themselves, the plantation owners were rankled by the fact that the US government actually made more profit from their sugar then the plantation owners themselves did! To evade the tariff, it became necessary to the plantation owners that Hawaii cease being a separate and sovereign nation.

In 1887, during the reign of Lili`uokalani' s brother, King Kalakaua, a group of planters and businessmen, seeking to control the kingdom politically as well as economically, formed a secret organization, the Hawaiian League. Membership (probably never over 400, compared to the 40,000 Native Hawaiians in the kingdom) was predominantly American, led by Lorrin A. Thurston, a lawyer and missionary grandson.

Lorrin A. Thurston

Their goal, for now, was to "reform" the monarchy. But what was "reform" to the Americans was treason to the people of Hawaii, who loved and respected their monarchs.

It is important to recall that, unlike the hereditary rulers of Europe, Hawaii's last two Kings were actually elected to that office by democratic vote. Kalakaua and his sister Lili`uokalani were well-educated, intelligent, skilled in social graces, and equally at home with Hawaiian traditions and court ceremony. Above all, they were deeply concerned about the well-being of the Hawaiian people and maintaining the independence of the kingdom. They saw no reason to relinquish their independence solely to make already rich Americans richer still.

The Hawaiian League's more radical members favored the king's abdication, and one even proposed assassination. But they decided that the king would remain on the throne but with his power sharply limited by a new constitution of their making. Killing him would be a last resort if he refused to agree. Many Hawaiian League members belonged to a volunteer militia, the Honolulu Rifles, which was officially in service to the Hawaiian government, but was secretly the Hawaiian League's military arm.

The Honolulu Rifles.

Kalakaua was compelled to accept a new Cabinet composed of league members, who presented their constitution to him for his signature at `Iolani Palace. The reluctant king argued and protested, but finally signed the document, which became known as the Bayonet Constitution, as in "signed at the point of". As one Cabinet member noted, "Little was left to the imagination of the hesitating and unwilling sovereign, as to what he might expect in the event of his refusal to comply with the demands made upon him."

Iolani Palace, home of the Hawaiian monarchs. This building had electricity and telephones ten years before the White House did.

The Bayonet Constitution greatly curtailed the king's power, making him a mere figurehead. It placed the actual executive power in the hands of the Cabinet, whose members could no longer be dismissed by the king, only by the Legislature. Amending this constitution was also the exclusive prerogative of the Legislature. The Bayonet Constitution's other purpose was to remove the Native Hawaiian majority's dominance at the polls and in the Legislature. The righteous reformers were determined to save the Hawaiians from self-government.

The privilege of voting was no longer limited to citizens of the kingdom, but was extended to foreign residents -- provided they were American or European. Asians were excluded -- even those who had become naturalized citizens. The House of Nobles, formerly appointed by the king, would now be elected, and voters and candidates for it had to meet a high property ownership or income requirement -- which excluded most of the Native Hawaiians. While they could still vote for the House of Representatives, to do so they had to swear to uphold the Bayonet Constitution.

The Hawaiians strenuously opposed the diminution of their voice in governing their own country and resented the reduction of the monarch's powers and the manner in which the Bayonet Constitution had been forced on him. Hawaiians, Chinese and Japanese petitioned the king to revoke the constitution. The self-styled Reform Cabinet responded that only an act of the Legislature could do this - though their new constitution had never been put to a vote.

In 1889 a young part-Hawaiian named Robert W. Wilcox staged an uprising to overthrow the Bayonet Constitution. He led some 80 men, Hawaiians and Europeans, with arms purchased by the Chinese, in a predawn march to `Iolani Palace with a new constitution for Kalakaua to sign. The king was away from the palace, and the Cabinet called out troops who forcibly put down the insurrection. Tried for conspiracy, Wilcox was found not guilty by a jury of Native Hawaiians, who considered him a folk hero.

On Jan. 20, 1891, King Kalakaua died of kidney disease at age 54, leaving his sister, Lili`uokalani' as Queen of Hawaii, who childless herself, declared the young Princess Ka`iulani her successor to the throne. Just 7 months later, Lili`uokalani' s husband, John Dominis, an American sea captain's son, also died.

The next year, Lorrin Thurston and a group of like-minded men, mostly of American blood, formed an Annexation Club, plotting the overthrow of the queen and annexation to the United States. Thurston went to Washington to promote annexation, and received an encouraging message from President Benjamin Harrison: "You will find an exceedingly sympathetic administration here."

On Jan. 14, 1893 the queen attempted to proclaim a new constitution restoring power to the throne and rights to the Native Hawaiian people.

Alerted earlier of the queen's intention by two of her Cabinet members, the Annexation Club sprang into action. A 13-member Committee of Safety was chosen to plan the overthrow of the queen and the establishment of a provisional government. As they plotted revolution, they claimed that the queen, by proposing to alter the constitution, had committed ''a revolutionary act."

The American warship USS Boston was in port at Honolulu Harbor. With an eye toward landing troops, Lorrin Thurston and two others called upon the American minister in Hawaii, John L. Stevens, an avowed annexationist. Stevens assured them he would not protect the queen, and that he would land troops from the Boston if necessary "to protect American lives and property." He also said that if the revolutionaries were in possession of government buildings and actually in control of the city, he would recognize their provisional government. It is important to note that Stevens lacked any legal standing to recognize a new government on behalf of the United States.

The next day, Jan. 15, Thurston told the queen's Cabinet that the Committee of Safety would challenge her. and delivered a letter to Minister Stevens requesting him to land troops from the Boston, stating that "the public safety is menaced and life and property are in peril." This was a critical point. The "public safety" was threatened only by the Committee of Safety itself. Stevens had no legal basis to send American troops ashore in force. It was, by any definition of the word, an invasion using American troops, in order to overthrow a foreign government.

Troops come ashore.

The Committee of Safety offered the presidency of the provisional government to Sanford B. Dole, another of the "mission boys," as Thurston called them. Rather than abolishing the monarchy, Dole favored replacing the queen with a regency holding the throne in trust until Princess Ka'iulani came of age. He accepted the presidency and submitted his resignation as a justice in Hawaii's Supreme Court.

Sanford Dole, President of the provisional government of Hawaii, whose brother founded the Dole Pineapple company.

On the morning of Jan. 17, Dole gave Stevens a letter from Thurston, asking for his recognition of the provisional government, which they planned to proclaim at 3 that afternoon. The American minister told Dole, "I think you have a great opportunity."

On Jan. 17, 1893, at dusk, Queen Lili`uokalani yielded her throne under protest, with these words:

"I, Lili`uokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.

"That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said Provisional Government.

"Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps loss of life, I do, under this protest, and impelled by said forces, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representative and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands."

Note that the queen surrendered Hawaii's sovereignty not to the revolutionaries but to the "superior force of the United States of America". This firmly put the United States in the legal position of having invaded and overthrown the government of a foreign nation without provocation.

The Royal Guard surrender their arms at the Iolani Palace Barracks

The provisional government took over the palace and declared martial law. Later, at its request, Minister Stevens proclaimed Hawaii a temporary protectorate and raised the American flag over government buildings. He wrote the State Department urging annexation, saying, "The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the United States to pluck it."

Hawaii's Last Queen (Windows video)

The provisional government had chartered a steamer, and Thurston and four others hastened to Washington with a treaty of annexation in hand. The queen's envoys were refused permission to sail on the same ship, and by the time they reached Washington, President Harrison had already sent the annexation treaty to the Senate.

But Harrison was in his last days in power, and Grover Cleveland, who replaced him, withdrew the treaty, alarmed by the legal ramifications of what had happened.

President Cleveland sent to Honolulu special commissioner James H. Blount, former chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Blount's job was to investigate the circumstances of the revolution, the role Minister Stevens and American troops played in it, and to determine the feelings of the people of Hawaii toward the provisional government. Blount immediately ordered the troops back to their ship and the American flag taken down and replaced by the Hawaiian flag.

Blount's final report charged that Minister Stevens illegally conspired in the overthrow of the monarchy, which would not have taken place without the landing of U.S. troops. Blount recommended restoring the queen, saying...The undoubted sentiment of the people is for the queen, against the provisional government and against annexation." He noted, "There is not an annexationist in the Islands, so far as I have been able to observe, who would be willing to submit the question of annexation to a popular vote."

Based on Blount's findings, President Cleveland decided that, in the name of justice, he would do everything in his power to reinstate the queen. Minister Stevens was recalled from Hawaii in disgrace, and replaced with Albert Willis, who expressed to the queen the president's regret that the unauthorized intervention of the United States had caused her to surrender her sovereignty

Willis next went to Sanford Dole and the provisional government, acknowledging the wrong committed by the United States in the revolution and requested them to resign power and restore the queen.

The answer, of course, was no. They repudiated the right of the American president to interfere in their domestic affairs and said that if the American forces illegally assisted the revolution, the provisional government was not responsible.

Hawaiians submitted a petition to Congress with 29,000 signatures opposing annexation, and petitions to the Republic of Hawaii, asking that annexation be put to a public vote. They were never permitted to vote on the issue.

In all, three separate Treaties of Annexation were sent to congress. All three failed. In the end, Hawaii was annexed by a joint resolution of Congress. But Congress did not have the legal authority to do so. A joint resolution of Congress has no legal standing in a foreign country, which is what Hawaii remained, even under the provisional government.

Sovereignty of Hawaii was formally transferred to the United States at ceremonies at `Iolani Palace on Aug. 12, 1898. Sanford Dole spoke as the newly appointed governor of the Territory of Hawaii. The Hawaiian anthem, ''Hawaii Pono `I" -- with words written by King Kalakaua -- was played at the Hawaiian flag was lowered, and replaced by the American flag and "The Star-Spangled Banner." The Hawaiian people had lost their land, their monarchy and now their independence. The American plantation owners were now free of the import tariffs; small matter that the Hawaiian people had lost their independence along the way.

Sanford Dole hands over sovereignty of Hawaii to the United States. It was not legally his to give.

Even this act of transfer was illegal under international, law. Beginning with Dewey's attack at Manila, the international rules of war went into effect, with Spain and the United States as belligerents and Hawaii as a neutral nation. Under the Hague convention of 1907, the United States government was required to enforce Hawaiian law rather than its own, but failed to do so.

By annexing Hawaii without a treaty, then stationing military forces on the islands, the US, while a belligerent nation in wartime, committed an unprovoked incursion into a neutral nation and established military forces there. This is what Hitler did across Europe and Japan did in China. This is an act of war under anyone's laws.

United States warship in Honolulu harbor.

The following year saw the death of the beautiful young Princess. Ka'iulani, heir to the Hawaiian throne, at age 23. With her died the last hopes for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy. To this day, questions still linger as to exactly how and why such a young and healthy woman died. Lili`uokalani remained an indomitable spirit, honored and revered by her people as a queen to the end. She died in 1917, at the age of 79, still waiting for justice.

Hawaii remained a territorial possession of the United States for many years. The military presence illegally begun during the Spanish American war continued to grow, including the Naval base at Pearl Harbor. The plantation families grew richer and richer, while the original Hawaiian people were marginalized, often homeless in their own homelands. The animosity between Hawaiians and the Americans exploded into public view during the celebrated Ala Moana Rape case, in which famed lawyer Clarence Darrow argued for the defense. The thin veneer of a tropic paradise, crafted for the emerging tourist industry was shattered in moments by the anger shown on both sides.

In 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided that the best way to get a reluctant America into a war with Hitler was to "back door" a war by luring Japan into an attack against the United States. By cutting off oil exports to Japan, Roosevelt forced Japan to invade the Dutch East Indies, and by placing the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl, Roosevelt made an attack at Pearl the mandatory first move in any military move by Japan in any direction.

See "Pearl Harbor: The Mother Of All Conspiracies" for the details on Roosevelt's monstrous swindle.

Following WW2, Hawaii was placed on the list of non self-governing territories by the United Nations, with the United States as trustee, under Article 73. Under Article 73 of the UN charter, the status of a territory can only be changed by a special vote, called a plebiscite, held among the inhabitants of the territory. That plebiscite is required to have three choices on the ballot. The first choice is to become a part of the trustee nation. In Hawaii's case that meant to become a state. The second choice was to remain a territory. And the third choice, required by article 73 of the UN Charter, was the option for independence. For Hawaii, that meant no longer being a territory of the United States and returning to being an independent sovereign nation.

In 1959 Hawaii's plebiscite vote was held, and again, the United States government bent the rules. The plebiscite ballot only had the choice between statehood and remaining a territory. No option for independence appeared on the ballot as was required under the UN charter. Cheated out of their independence yet again, Hawaiians voted for the lesser of two evils and became the 50th state.

The history of Hawaii's transition from sovereign nation to a state of the United States is a history of crime after crime after crime, of policy put forward by proclamation and reinforced by American weapons of war, of military incursion, of violations of international law and treaties then in effect. None of the events which turned Hawaii from a sovereign nation into a part of the US was legal and above board. It was robbery, by anyone's definition of the word, with the justifications and excuses made up after the fact to make the affair palatable to an American public that still wanted to view its government as fair, just, and honorable.

In 1988, a study by the United States Justice Department concluded that Congress did not have the authority to annex Hawaii by joint resolution. The ersatz annexation was a cover for the military occupation of the Hawaiian islands for purposes related to the Spanish American war.

 Bill Clinton signs United States Public Law 103-150

On November 23, 1993, President Clinton signed United States Public Law 103-150, which not only acknowledged the illegal actions committed by the United States in the overthrow of the legitimate government of Hawaii, but also that the Hawaiian people never surrendered their sovereignty. The latter is the most important part of United States Public Law 103-150 for it makes it quite clear that the Hawaiian people never legally ceased to be a sovereign separate independent nation. There is no argument that can change that fact.

United States Public Law 103-150, despite its polite language, is an official admission that the government of the United States illegally occupies the territory of the Hawaiian people.

In 1999, the United Nations confirmed that the plebiscite vote that led to Hawaii's statehood was in violation of article 73 of the United Nations' charter. The Hawaii statehood vote, under treaty then in effect, was illegal and non-binding. (The same is true of the Alaska plebiscite).

In a world where nations are as governed by laws as are men, Hawaii is not and has never legally been a part of the United States. Hawaii was stolen from the Hawaiian people, and they want it back.

Hawaiians on Maui demand the return of ceded ancestral lands.

Unable to argue against these legal issues calling into question the legitimacy of the United States presence in Hawaii, supporters of the Status Quo have put forward various straw-man arguments to justify why, even if the Hawaiian people were deprived of their government and lands illegally, that things should stay just the way they are today.

One of the most often-used straw-man arguments is that a Monarchy limited by a Constitution would be a bad thing. It does not seem to have harmed England, Monaco, or any of the quite prosperous Saudi Emirates. Two of Hawaii's Kings were elected to that office by popular vote. No other Monarchy boasts such a democratic process. And as the Wilcox Rebellions proved, Hawaiians found life under American rule much less enjoyable than it had been under Queen Lili`uokalani.

Yet another straw-man argument is that Hawaiian independence would mean the total removal of the American military. This is nonsense. Those bases are not here for the benefit of Hawaii, but for the benefit of the US mainland. The American military maintains bases around the world in foreign nations including Okinawa, Germany, and Cuba. America would not hesitate to enter into a treaty with the government of an independent Hawaii to continue to lease its facilities here and there is no reason for the government of an independent Hawaii to refuse.

Yet another straw-man argument is that were Hawaii returned to the Hawaiians, that they would be obliged to pay for the improvements that have been put here since their lands were taken. This too is nonsense. If a thief steals your car and while it is in his possession paints it and installs a stereo, are you obliged to compensate the thief for the improvements when the police return your stolen car to you? Of course not. The thief put in the improvements on the stolen property for his own benefit, not yours. Likewise, the improvements made to Hawaii were made to benefit the overthrowers, not the overthrown. If one wishes to make a case for monies owed for improvements, let us be fair and include back rents owed for the property those improvements sit on.

The final straw-man argument is that Hawaiian independence would cause the society in the islands to fall apart. But the truth is that a new government of an independent Hawaii is well motivated to NOT change anything; to keep the industry, tourism, high tech, indeed all of Hawaiian life pretty much as it is now, and to displace or disrupt as little as possible. Extremists and obvious fear-mongers aside, a transition of Hawaii from a state to an independent nation would change to who rent checks and taxes are sent, and little else. Even the flag of Hawaii would likely remain the same. Hawaii would lose the massive and complex bureaucracy that connects Hawaii to the mainland, and Hawaii's citizens would be free of their shares of the $7 trillion dollar federal debt and its ruinous interest, but who would mourn the loss?

The military bases would still be here. The United States would want that. So would the government of an independent Hawaii. People would want to continue running their businesses. The government of an independent Hawaii would want exactly the same thing. Confusion and discord harm tourism. A new government of an independent Hawaii is well motivated to keep the islands serene.

But what it really comes down to is whether one believes in justice or not. It's easy to support justice that works to your own favor, but the true test of moral citizenship is when you uphold justice even when it is a personal inconvenience.

If one holds that the government of the United States is obliged to obey the laws and the UN charter it freely signed, then the status of the Hawaiian people as a distinct and sovereign nation is beyond debate. This makes the United States in Hawaii, as Gandhi described the British in India, acting as the masters in someone else's home. 

families from the mountains shareD fooD with people from the sea, so that they coulD have the variety of fooD. Possibly, the iDea that they no one really owneD lanD anD versus toDay.

those are good points as a native Hawaiian id just like to add onto the fact that Hawaiians post 1898 basically lost their voice in their own land and were literally colonized and pretty much forced to assimilate into a foreign culture they didnt understand which i think still causes a lot of tension in the modern day our nation was basically taken away from us and destroyed which is also why some people in Hawaiʻi are trying to get something back. Hoʻoponopono or literally "making rightʻ is the belief that one should live life positively and do the best they can to live with good and healthy morals like helping an old man clean his fish or pound his poi because he is too old to now or always putting things back the way you found them and being respectful and mindful of the place and people around you. always asking permission before you use something is also a large aspect of this belief. hope all is good with you my friend and that this helps you out.

Hawaiian religion is the term used to describe the folk religious beliefs and practises of the Hawaiian people. It is unrelated to, though commonly confused with, the philosophy of Huna.

Hawaiian religion originated amongst the Tahitians and other Pacific islanders who landed in Hawaiʻi between 500 and 1300 AD.[1] Today, Hawaiian religious practices are protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.[2]

Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, believing in many deities, and is also animistic in that it is based on a belief that spirits are found in non-human beings and objects such as animals, the waves, and the sky.

Deities

Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, with four deities most prominent: Kāne, Kū, Lono and Kanaloa. Other notable deities include Laka,Kihawahine, Haumea, Papahanaumoku, and, most famously, Pele. In addition, each family is considered to have one or more family guardians known as ʻaumakua.

One breakdown of the Hawaiian pantheon[3] consists of the following groups:

the four gods (ka hā) – Kū, Kāne, Lono, Kanaloa the forty male gods or aspects of Kāne (ke kanahā) the four Hundred gods and goddesses (ka lau) the great Multitude of gods and goddesses (ke kini akua) the spirits (na ʻunihipili) the guardians (na ʻaumākua)

Another breakdown[4] consists of three major groups:

the four gods, or akua: Kū, Kāne, Lono, Kanaloa many lesser gods, or kupua, each associated with certain professions family gods, ʻaumakua, associated with particular families

Mythology

One Hawaiian creation myth is embodied in the Kumulipo, an epic chant linking the aliʻi, or Hawaiian royalty, to the gods. The Kumulipo is divided into two sections: night, or pō, and day, or ao, with the former corresponding to divinity and the latter corresponding to mankind. After the birth of Kiʻi, the man, and Laʻilaʻi, the woman, the man succeeds at seducing and reproducing with the woman before the god Kāne has a chance, thereby making the divine lineage of the gods younger than and thus subservient to the lineage of man. This, in turn, illustrates the transition of mankind from being symbols for the gods (the literal meaning of kiʻi) into the keeper of these symbols in the form of idols and the like.[5]

Kahuna and Kapu

The kahuna were the rough equivalent of shamans who served as mediums for the purpose of communicating with the gods. Kahuna often served as healers as well, discussing with the gods the best way to heal their patients.[citation needed]

King Kamehameha II, who abolished the kapu system through the symbolic act of ʻai noa in 1819.

They also talked with the spirits. Kahuna Kūpaʻiulu of Maui in 1867 described a counter-sorcery ritual to heal someone ill due to hoʻopiʻopiʻo, another’s evil thoughts. He said a kapa (cloth) was shaken. Prayers were said. Then, "If the evil spirit suddenly appears (puoho) and possesses the patient, then he or she can be immediately saved by the conversation between the practitioner and that spirit."[6]

Pukui and others believed kahuna did not have mystical transcendent experiences as described in other religions. Although a person who was possessed (noho) would go into a trance-like state, it was not an ecstatic experience but simply a communion with the known spirits.[citation needed]

Kapu refers to a system of taboos designed to separate the spiritually pure from the potentially unclean. Thought to have arrived with Pāʻao, a priest or chief from Tahiti who arrived in Hawaiʻi sometime around 1200 AD,[7] the kapu imposed a series of restrictions on daily life. Prohibitions included:

The separation of men and women during mealtimes (a restriction known as ʻaikapu)[citation needed]

Restrictions on the gathering and preparation of food[citation needed]

Women separated from the community during their menses[citation needed]

Restrictions on looking at, touching, or being in close proximity with chiefs and individuals of known spiritual power[citation needed]

Restrictions on overfishing[citation needed]

Punishments for breaking the kapu could include death, although if one could escape to a puʻuhonua, a city of refuge, they could be saved.[8]Kāhuna nui mandated long periods when the entire village must have absolute silence. No baby could cry, dog howl, or rooster crow, on pain of death.[citation needed]

Human sacrifice was not uncommon.[citation needed]

The kapu system remained in place until 1819 (see below).

Prayer and heiau

Main article: Heiau

The ruins of Puʻukohola Heiau, a Hawaiian temple used as a place of worship and sacrifice.

Prayer was an essential part of Hawaiian life, employed when building a house, making a canoe, and giving lomilomi massage. Hawaiians addressed prayers to various gods depending on the situation. When healers picked herbs for medicine, they usually prayed to Kū and Hina, male and female, right and left, upright and supine. The people worshiped Lono during Makahikiseason and Kū during times of war.[citation

needed]

Histories from the 19th century describe prayer throughout the day, with specific prayers associated with mundane activities such as sleeping, eating, drinking, and traveling.[9][10]However, it has been suggested that the activity of prayer differed from the subservient styles of prayer often seen in the Western world.

...the usual posture for prayer – sitting upright, head high and eyes open – suggests a relationship marked by respect and self-respect. The gods might be awesome, but theʻaumākua bridged the gap between gods and man. The gods possessed great mana; but man, too, has some mana. None of this may have been true in the time of Pāʻao, but otherwise, the Hawaiian did not seem prostrate before his gods.[11]

—Kawena Pukui

Heiau, served as focal points for prayer in Hawaiʻi. Offerings, sacrifices, and prayers were offered at these temples, the thousands of koʻa(shrines), a multitude of wahi pana (sacred places), and at small kuahu (altars) in individual homes.[citation needed]

History

Origins

Although it is unclear when settlers first came to the Hawaiian Islands, there is significant evidence that the islands were settled no later than 800 AD and immigration continued to about 1300 AD.[12] Settlers came from the Marquesas, Samoa, Easter Island, and greater Polynesia. At some point a significant influx of Tahitian settlers landed in the Hawaiian islands, bringing with them their religious beliefs.[citation needed]

Early Hawaiian religion resembled other Polynesian religions in that it was largely focused on natural forces such as the tides, the sky, andvolcanic activity as well as man's dependence on nature for subsistence.[citation

needed] The major early gods reflected these characteristics, as the early Hawaiians worshiped Kāne (the god of the sky and creation), Kū (the god of war and male pursuits), Lono (the god of peace, rain, and fertility) and Kanaloa (the god of the ocean).

Early Hawaiian religion

As an indigenous culture, spread among eight islands, with waves of immigration over hundreds of years from various parts of the South Pacific, religious practices evolved over time and from place to place in different ways.[citation needed]

Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui, who was raised in Ka‘ū, Hawaii, maintained that the early Hawaiian gods were benign.[13] OneMolokaʻi tradition follows this line of thought. Author and researcher Pali Jae Lee writes: "During these ancient times, the only 'religion' was one of family and oneness with all things. The people were in tune with nature, plants, trees, animals, the ‘āina, and each other. They respected all things and took care of all things. All was pono."[14]

The Hawaiians saw and talked with spirits as a normal part of life.[citation needed]

"In the dominant current of Western thought there is a fundamental separation between humanity and divinity. ... In many other cultures, however, such differences between human and divine do not exist. Some peoples have no concept of a ‘Supreme Being’ or ‘Creator God’ who is by nature ‘other than’ his creation. They do, however, claim to experience a spirit world in which beings more powerful than they are concerned for them and can be called upon for help." [15]

"Along with ancestors and gods, spirits are part of the family of Hawaiians. "There are many kinds of spirits that help for good and many that aid in evil. Some lie and deceive, and some are truthful ... It is a wonderful thing how the spirits (‘uhane) of the dead and the ‘angels’ (anela) of the ‘aumākua can possess living persons. Nothing is impossible to god-spirits, akua."[16]

ContemporaryHula being performed during a ceremony atʻIolani Palace where the Navy returned control of Kaho'olawe to the State of Hawaiʻi.

In 1819, Kamehameha the Great died. In the aftermath, two of his wives, Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, then the two most powerful people in the kingdom, conferred with the kahuna nui, Hewahewa. They convinced young Liholiho, Kamehameha II, to overthrow the kapu system. Theyordered the people to burn the wooden statues and tear down the rock temples.

The state system of religion was dead, but people were free to worship in their own ways. Some abandoned the old gods. Others continued worshiping them, especially their family ‘aumākua.[citation needed]

Missionaries arrived in 1820, and most of the aliʻi converted to Christianity, including Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, but it took 11 years for Kaʻahumanu to proclaim laws against ancient religious practices. “Worshipping of idols such as sticks, stones, sharks, dead bones, ancient gods and all untrue gods is prohibited. There is one God alone, Jehovah. He is the God to worship. The hula is forbidden, the chant (olioli), the song of pleasure (mele), foul speech, and bathing by women in public places. The planting of ‘awa is prohibited. Neither chiefs nor commoners are to drink ‘awa.” (Kamakau, 1992, p. 298-301)

Note: ‘awa is Hawaiian for kava.

Although traditional Hawaiian religion was outlawed, a number of traditions typically associated with it survived by integration, practicing in hiding, or practicing in rural communities in the islands. Surviving traditions include the worship of family ancestral gods or ʻaumākua, veneration of iwi or bones, and preservation of sacred places or wahi pana. Hula was outlawed at one time as a religious practice but today is performed in both spiritual and secular contexts.[citation needed]

Offerings presented by Hawaiʻian religious practitioners at Ulupo Heiau, 2009

Traditional beliefs have also played a role in the politics of post-Contact Hawaiʻi. In the 1970s the Hawaiian religion experienced a resurgence during the Hawaiian Renaissance. In 1976, the members of a group "ProtectKahoʻolawe ʻOhana" filed suit in federal court over the use of Kahoʻolawe by the United States Navy for target practice. Charging that the practice disturbed important cultural and religious sites Aluli et al. V. Brown forced the Navy to survey and protect important sites, perform conservation activities, and allow limited access to the island for religious purposes.[17] Similarly, outrage over the unearthing of 1,000 graves dating back to 850 AD during the construction of a Ritz-Carlton hotel on Mauʻi in 1988 resulted in the redesign and relocation of the hotel inland as well as the appointment of the site as a state historic place.[18]

Along with the surviving traditions, some Hawaiians practice Christianized versions of old traditions.[citation

needed] Others practice it as a co-religion.

New Thought author Max Freedom Long claimed his philosophy of Huna was Hawaiian religion, and although some aspects of his books report on authentic Hawaiian practices, he did not describe traditional Hawaiian religion.

Hula (pronounced /ˈhuːlə/) is a dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.

There are many sub-styles of hula, with the main two categories being Hula 'Auana and Hula Kahiko. Ancient hula, as performed before Western encounters with Hawaiʻi, is calledkahiko. It is accompanied by chant and traditional instruments. Hula as it evolved under Western influence, in the 19th and 20th centuries, is called ʻauana. It is accompanied by song and Western-influenced musical instruments such as the guitar, the  ̒ ukulele , and thedouble bass.

Terminology for two main additional categories is beginning to enter the hula lexicon: "Monarchy" includes many hula which were composed and choreographed during the 19th century. During that time the influx of Western culture created significant changes in the formal Hawaiian arts, including hula. "Ai Kahiko", meaning "in the ancient style" are those hula written in the 20th and 21st centuries that follow the stylistic protocols of the ancient hula kahiko.

There are also two main positions of a hula dance - either sitting (noho dance) or standing (luna dance). Some dances utilize both forms.

Hula is taught in schools or groups called hālau. The teacher of hula is the kumu hula, wherekumu means source of knowledge, or literally just teacher. Often times you will find that there is a hierarchy in hula schools - starting with the kumu (teacher), alaka'i (leader), kokua (helpers), and then the 'olapa (dancers) or haumana (students). This is not for every hālau, but it does occur often. Most, if not all, hula halau(s) have a permission chant in order to enter wherever they may practice. They will collectively chant their entrance

chant, then wait for the kumu to respond with the entrance chant, once he or she is finished, the students may enter. One well known and often used entrance or permission chant is Kunihi Ka Mauna/Tunihi Ta Mauna.

Hula dancing is a complex art form, and there are many hand motions used to represent the words in a song or chant. For example, hand movements can signify words or aspects of nature, such as the basic Coconut Tree motions, or a wave in the ocean. Some basic steps are the Kaholo, Ka'o, Hela, 'Uwehe, and Ami.

There are other related dances (tamure, hura, 'aparima, 'ote'a, haka, kapa haka, poi, Fa'ataupati, Tau'olunga, and Lakalaka) that come from other Polynesian islands such as Tahiti, The Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Aotearoa (New Zealand); however, the hula is unique to the Hawaiian Islands.

History of hula

Legendary origins

There are various legends surrounding the origins of hula.

According to one Hawaiian legend, Laka, goddess of the hula, gave birth to the dance on the island of Molokaʻi, at a sacred place in Kaʻana. After Laka died, her remains were hidden beneath the hill Puʻu Nana.

Another story tells of Hiʻiaka, who danced to appease her fiery sister, the volcano goddess Pele. This story locates the source of the hula on Hawaiʻi, in the Puna district at the Hāʻena shoreline. The ancient hula Ke Haʻa Ala Puna describes this event.

Another story is when Pele, the goddess of fire was trying to find a home for herself running away from her sister Namakaokaha'i (the goddess of the oceans) when she finally found an island where she couldn't be touched by the waves. There at chain of craters on the island of Hawai'i she danced the first dance of hula signifying that she finally won.

One story is that Pele asked Laka to amuse her because Pele was bored. So right away Laka got up and began to move gracefully, acting out silently events they both knew. Pele enjoyed this and was fascinated thus Hula was born.