HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
 1
|
|
|
The introduction of this article is too short. To comply with Wikipedia\'s lead section guidelines, it should be expanded to summarize the article. |
Ancient Hawaiʻi refers to the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawai\'i by Kamehameha the Great in 1810.
|
| History of Hawaii |
|---|
Contents |
Hawaiian history is inextricably tied into a larger Polynesian phenomenon. Hawaiʻi is the apex of the Polynesian Triangle, a region of the Pacific Ocean anchored by three island groups: Hawaiʻi, 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 in Southeast 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 seven main Polynesian cultures are:
300px
Polynesian seafarers were skilled ocean navigators and astronomers. At a time when Western boats rarely went out of sight of land, they often traveled long distances on fleets of carefully crafted canoes that could withstand ocean winds and waves.
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 1300 AD 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:
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 Pa\'ao. 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 Paao was from Samoa. The religion he brought, the Kahuna religion was from Samoa. Paao 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. The big island of Savaii in the Samoan archipeligo was known as Hawaiki in ancient times.
Some writers believe that there were other settlers in Hawai\'i, peoples who were forced back into remote valleys by newer arrivals. They claim that stories about menehune, little people who built heiaus and fishponds, prove the existence of ancient peoples who settled the islands before the Hawaiians.The best survey of these stories, all collected in the latter part of the 19th century, is found in Beckwith\'s Hawaiian mythology, pp. 321-336. 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.
However, there is one puzzling artifact on the island of Kauaʻi, one that has never been satisfactorily explained. Running alongside the Waimea River is an ancient aqueduct known as the "Menehune ditch." This channel once brought water from the Waimea River to irrigate taro fields. The rocks were shaped into rectangular bricks and carefully fitted together — a method of stonework requiring immense labor, and not typical of Hawaiian rockwork. This ditch is currently believed to have been constructed before Captain Cook\'s first visit.
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.Adams, 2006, p.90-92 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, while most have dismissed the idea.
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.
A traditional village of ancient Hawaiʻi included several structures. Listed in order of importance:
Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste society. People were born into specific social classes; social mobility was not unknown, but it was extremely rare. The main classes were:
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. 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 "owned" 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.
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, to eat, even to have sex. Examples of kapu included the provision that men and women could not eat together. Fishing was limited to specified seasons of the year. The shadow of the aliʻi must not be touched as it was stealing his mana. Violating kapu even by accident was punishable by death.
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 Harvest and Rebirth). 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.
The four biggest islands, Hawaiʻi proper, Maui, Kauaʻi and Oʻahu were generally ruled by their own Aliʻi aimoku, 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, Wakea (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 is known to have fragmented into several independent chiefdoms. Internecine warfare between them became common. There apparently was no longer an aliʻi aimoku controlling the island.
In the beginning of 19th century, high chiefs of major islands were considered the "twenty-and-something" aliʻi aimoku 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 dynastical research generally allows less than ten successive monarchs in one century on average. Concluded from this, the Aliʻi Aimoku 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 CE. Aliʻi Aimoku 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 Aimoku rulers, thus presumably lived elsewhere than in Hawaiian islands.
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.
The discovery of the Hawaiian islands by the Europeans marked the official end of the ancient Hawaiʻi period and beginning of Hawaiʻi\'s modern era. 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, 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 Makahiki season dedicated to Lono.
Captain Cook was eventually killed during a violent confrontation between natives and British sailors. Cook\'s body was left behind on the beach by his retreating sailors. The British demanded that his body be returned, but the Hawaiians had already offered the body as a sacrifice at the heiau (temple). The flesh had then been stripped from the bones and the bones prepared for burial. The Hawaiian historian Kamakau says that the Hawaiians returned only some of the bones.Kamakau 1961, pp. 103-104
| History of Hawaii | |
|---|---|
| Ancient Hawaii • Kingdom of Hawaii • Provisional Government of Hawaii • Republic of Hawaii • Territory of Hawaii • State of Hawaii | |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
