3.7.1 Cultural Overview
Hawai‘i’s original settlers brought a variety of plant starts with them from East Polynesia that had originated in Southeast Asia and New Guinea. The plants included the Hawaiian diet staple, kalo or taro, and others with medicinal, ceremonial, or utilitarian purposes that could survive traveling long distances and that were suitable for growing on the South Pacific’s volcanic islands. To many Native Hawaiians, these plants represent more than mere sustenance. They and other tangible, natural objects and places are kinolau (body forms) that are imbued with the spirits of the gods. One version of the Native Hawaiian creation story illustrates this belief.
Native Hawaiian tradition holds that Hawaiians are directly descended from Hāloa, the offspring of Wākea, the sky god and his daughter, and the brother of their first born son who was stillborn and misshapen. The belief is that kalo sprang from the earth where the first born was buried and that Hawaiians are therefore directly related to this plant. The direct connection between the natural, spiritual, and physical realms underpins the Native Hawaiian religious system and culture and drives ceremonies and religion that are centered on “when to plant, fish, harvest, or process natural resources” (U.S. Army 2004b, p. 3-71). Cultural resources reflect these basic cultural tenets and their related activities.
In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook arrived in Hawai‘i and began a period of sustained contact between Hawaiians and Westerners that began to change Hawaiian culture (University of Hawai‘i 2009, p. 5-18). In 1782, Kamehameha I became the ruler of Hawai‘i Island and began his conquest of the other islands to unite them under a single rule. Following Kamehameha I’s death in 1819, his son, Kamehameha II, succeeded him. Up until that time, Hawaiian life was regulated under laws of kapu (taboo). Kamehameha II ordered the end to the state kapu system and placed restrictions on traditional religious practices. He subsequently allowed Protestant missionaries to settle in Hawai‘i, thus altering Hawaiian cultural and religious systems (NPS 2009). However, traditional beliefs and practices continued to be passed down covertly, especially in places far from the Christian centers (University of Hawai‘i 2009, p. 5-5). Although some traditional religious beliefs and knowledge were likely lost, individual familial religious practices remained and continue.
Colonial expeditions, traders, whalers, and other foreigners visited the Hawaiian Islands following the Cook expedition. Some of these people took up residence in the islands, and some introduced new species. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver presented Kamehameha I with cattle and goats and requested that they be allowed to propagate for 10 years. Kamehameha I sent the cattle and goats into the mountains of Hawai‘i Island and placed a kapu on killing them. Over the next decades, kapu continued, especially on cattle, in an effort to increase the herd. In the mid to late 1800s, land tenure was modified by the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, with the result that ranch owners could control individually held land. Today, sheep and goats are actively hunted to control their impacts on the fragile ecosystem (University of Hawai‘i 2009, pp. 6-11−6-16). Evidence of the early ranching and grazing activities are extant on the island of Hawai‘I [p. 3-29]
Cory Harden
PO Box 10265
Hilo, Hawai'i 96721
mh@interpac.net
808-968-8965
Replies