Posted by 'Umi Perkins on February 26, 2008 at 9:34am
I've named this group after the first book on Hawaiian History, by the Lahainaluna scholars (my alma mater). I'm a Hawaiian History teacher at Kamehameha Kapalama, and I'll be writing a Hawaiian History textbook next year (on sabbatical). I'd like to explore the debated areas of Hawaiian History, get leads and spread 'ike to try to uncover our history, much of which is suppressed. Please join me.
Feel free to start new discussion topics, as there are limitless areas to do so in Hawaiian history.
E komo mai kakou!
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One of the best untold stories about kanaka maoli is Henry Oobookiah. His parents were killed in war, and he was made a slave, and he escaped to discover Christianity in Connecticut. The love in his heart and his finding of Jesus helped bring the message of peace and salvation to the islands just in time to replace the broken kapu laws. Even though he never made it back himself, he was like Moses in bringing the good word to Hawaii.
For the debated areas of Hawaiian History, it's really hard to keep things straight, since everyone makes the mistake of romanticizing whatever part they believe in. The great untold story of Hawaii isn't the overthrow of 1893, but the domination of the rich over the poor since even before 1778. The Great Mahele was for the ali'i, not the maka'ainana. Even today, mostly large landed interests control Hawaii, whether or not the controllers are maoli or haole. We even have institutions like DHHL which act as artificial ali'i, keeping the land for themselves but only leasing it out, instead of trusting Hawaiians to own their own property. Even taking a closer look at Kamehameha the Great we find ourselves with blinders, glossing over mass murder at the Pali. Or Pauahi Bishop, who hated hula and wanted to westernize everyone.
Anyway, it would be good to have a Hawaiian History textbook which tells the story like Ken Burns did in the Civil War series - both the Confederates and the Union had stories to tell, heroes and villains on both sides. Hawaiian history has never been black and white, but sometimes we forget, and then we don't learn from our old mistakes.
Opukaha`ia may have been the first poe kanaka to have been christianzied by the white Anglo Saxon Protestant (W.A.S.P.) society, but to go as far as to say he was 'rescued" is no more than a colonial-bias/perspective.. Based on available/accessable documentation the intent and objective of the christian-biased calvinist were to commit Spritual Genocide of an Aborignal People.
As for the mahele, haoles will dutifully insist kauikeaouli abandoned and opted for the colonial-tenets of land tenure; and that it only benefitted the ali`i class; leaving the maka`ainana displaced throughout their ancestral lands. I not only reject this absurdity, I am convinced that the mahele was cratfed and implement by kauikeaouli to bring the ancient Ahupua`a tenets "forward" into its first "written form" to not only protect the land from foreign invasion and theft; but to protect the people.....Ali`i and maka`ainana.
Given what is known in our mo`olelo...our respective mo`okuauahau's.....isn't this logic and reasoning consistent of our tupunas` without the colonized-minds that have enclaved and corrupted us all for seven (7) generations.
No disrespect meant/intended to those that embrace christianity today.....but to discover where my tupunas` were not buried at, dispite the assault upon them by the missionaries to convert them to christianity just to get to the maka`ainana told me a lot of how they felt at the time.
I agree with your mana'o, Foster. The King believed the backbone of the nation was its mahi'ai and although the portions of the lands were smaller in acreage, they were the richest because they were arable. Take note in his wording, "rights of native tenants"; they also had gathering rights protected even to this day.
Since the invasion and belligerent occupation by the USA, the institutions are US American and so is the thinking; it's not Hawaiian. It's called forced assimilation to a racist WASP society..
As far as The ancient battles, yes, they were ruthless; just as the wars in Europe and in the US colonies. I doubt many Hawaiians view their history as a shangrilla or a utopia; but an evolution for a better way of life. It may have not been perfect; but it's ours and our kuleana. US history is much worse than ours; and that's a documented fact.
Pauahi was educated and raised at the Royal Children's school. She was more compliant and the missionaries manipulated her. She was given exceptional privileges than the rest of the children. They arranged her marriage to Bishop. He was the only one allowed to call on Pauahi after hours. They knew exactly what they were doing and beat the royal children who didn't comply. Pauahi was smart yet complied. There are some horror stories that went on in that school. Lii'u was manipulated to marry Dominus instead of Lunalilo and ended in a loveless marriage. So sad!
US history worse than constant warfare, no rights for women, and an invasion of Tahitians that displaced the original indigenous Marquesans? We can't throw stones when we live in a glass house. Every human society has had evil in it, we can't hold ourselves higher than others - that's just naive.
That being said, if we want it to be the kuleana of true Hawaiians, we need to keep the koko pure - the WASP infection comes both by culture and by blood.
BTW, wasn't Pauahi betrothed to Lunalilo too? Was he meant for both Liliu and Pauahi at the same time?
May I ask what your source for your statement "an invasion of Tahitians that displaced the original indigenous Marquesans." Also, I hope that you are not making a comparison between the European genocidal warfare upon the American Indians with Hawai'i.
In addition, I find your statement of "true Hawaiians, we need to keep the koko pure," as haumia. WE are all human and this question of "purity" is sick and has been at the core of white nationalism and supemacy. It has never been a Hawaiian thought.
I truly agree with you on this. In my family and relatives, we were raised to be proud of our Hawaiian blood and also those of our other ethnicity. Without them, we wouldn't be here. Of course it would be ideal to fall in love and marry another Hawaiian; which does happen but it isn't crucial. What's important is that you find a good spouse who loves you unconditionally. What is important is our heritage and customs as well as our values to keep it alive; which we do. One cannot dictate who to marry. To know us is to love us and our culture. My vovo married my pure-blooded Hawaiian granddad and she felt she was Hawaiian, too! She pounded poi, ate Hawaiian food, spoke some Hawaiian, and I would tease her that she was Hawaiian by injection. Ahahaha! Of course she would admonish me for speaking so brazenly. LOL... naturally, I'm happy my mom fell in love with another part-Hawaiian since I love my Hawaiian culture and heritage; and I take pride of my other ethnicity which broadened my horizon and of which I can blame for my imperfections... Ahahaha! Only joking!
How are the lands and what is taking place today not our kuleana? In essence the "kuleana" is inherent. To imply it is not is unfounded.
Furthermore....to say "if we want it to be the kuleana of true Hawaiians, we need to keep the koko pure - the WASP infection comes both by culture and by blood." is misleading to say the least and quit frankly Eurocantrically arrogant and reaking of a superiority-complex reflective of the European RACISM that invaded the Americas and beyond 600 years ago.
We must all be cautious and fully understand that a lager "portion" of quantum is not only irrelevent, it is a paradox that can be used to manipulate our minds to reach the goal of genocide by those without the quantum.
Which US history have you been reading? You seem to be enumerating US history. You are correct in saying every society has had evil in it and it would be naive not to think so. US Americans do hold themselves higher than others; and that is naive. At least Hawaii tried to hold itself up to a higher standard in its evolution to a better standard.
The Cooks changed all that. Pauahi became intended for Bishop and Lili'u for Dominus. They intercepted Lili'u's letter of acceptance of Lunalilo's proposal and he never received it; thus he didn't pursue it any further to Lili'u's dismay.
Although I am not a "full-blooded" kanaka maoli, I donʻt believe that koko should be the most important aspect of these discussions. Yes, ties to the heritage via blood are significant, but I know plenty of part-Hawaiian people, in and outside my own family, who do not relate to the culture and the mindset in their daily lives. In my own experiences, there is a connection between the heritage and the mindset that really establishes someone as understanding who they are as a Hawaiian. Anyone with koko has a tie to the heritage, that is for certain, but what are the goals of (as an aside, are we not all other things, as well? Am I only a Hawaiian, or am I also a student, an employee, a brother, a son, a future husband and father? Can I not identify with the Chinese, the Japanese, the Irish, Scotch, Welsh and other aspects of my heritage?)
Unless someone comes from aliʻi bloodlines, I would imagine that keeping the blood pure is a pointless task, especially considering the current the very diversified state of nā kānaka maoli living in the here-and-now. Knowing also the racism that our aliʻi faced on their tours through the United States, it is of monumental importance that we do not allow issues of race to envelop otherwise productive discussion.
I say all this with respect for nā kanaka, and speaking only as a young Hawaiian man who is also trying to understand these many issues facing our people.
Ae, pololoe Tane, pololoe. A very different, and in western-context, provacaitve picture materializes in the lives of my lineal ancestors during kamehameha akahi and kauikeaouli's time.
Through the mo`olelo, the customs and beliefs of my tupunas` lives a much broader and different picture/story unfolds. Baldwin set-out and tried to 'convert' my tupunas` and projected success. Auwe....if this was so....wea is my tutu's iwi? They may have had a 'fine' funeral and service in the missionary's hale...in their way...but my tutu's iwi are not resting with the missionary and other christians of their time. They are in the lands, as they should be, of the people before the poe haole came.
.....Socratic Thinking...our tupunas` were really good at this.
Replies
One of the best untold stories about kanaka maoli is Henry Oobookiah. His parents were killed in war, and he was made a slave, and he escaped to discover Christianity in Connecticut. The love in his heart and his finding of Jesus helped bring the message of peace and salvation to the islands just in time to replace the broken kapu laws. Even though he never made it back himself, he was like Moses in bringing the good word to Hawaii.
For the debated areas of Hawaiian History, it's really hard to keep things straight, since everyone makes the mistake of romanticizing whatever part they believe in. The great untold story of Hawaii isn't the overthrow of 1893, but the domination of the rich over the poor since even before 1778. The Great Mahele was for the ali'i, not the maka'ainana. Even today, mostly large landed interests control Hawaii, whether or not the controllers are maoli or haole. We even have institutions like DHHL which act as artificial ali'i, keeping the land for themselves but only leasing it out, instead of trusting Hawaiians to own their own property. Even taking a closer look at Kamehameha the Great we find ourselves with blinders, glossing over mass murder at the Pali. Or Pauahi Bishop, who hated hula and wanted to westernize everyone.
Anyway, it would be good to have a Hawaiian History textbook which tells the story like Ken Burns did in the Civil War series - both the Confederates and the Union had stories to tell, heroes and villains on both sides. Hawaiian history has never been black and white, but sometimes we forget, and then we don't learn from our old mistakes.
As for the mahele, haoles will dutifully insist kauikeaouli abandoned and opted for the colonial-tenets of land tenure; and that it only benefitted the ali`i class; leaving the maka`ainana displaced throughout their ancestral lands. I not only reject this absurdity, I am convinced that the mahele was cratfed and implement by kauikeaouli to bring the ancient Ahupua`a tenets "forward" into its first "written form" to not only protect the land from foreign invasion and theft; but to protect the people.....Ali`i and maka`ainana.
Given what is known in our mo`olelo...our respective mo`okuauahau's.....isn't this logic and reasoning consistent of our tupunas` without the colonized-minds that have enclaved and corrupted us all for seven (7) generations.
No disrespect meant/intended to those that embrace christianity today.....but to discover where my tupunas` were not buried at, dispite the assault upon them by the missionaries to convert them to christianity just to get to the maka`ainana told me a lot of how they felt at the time.
Since the invasion and belligerent occupation by the USA, the institutions are US American and so is the thinking; it's not Hawaiian. It's called forced assimilation to a racist WASP society..
As far as The ancient battles, yes, they were ruthless; just as the wars in Europe and in the US colonies. I doubt many Hawaiians view their history as a shangrilla or a utopia; but an evolution for a better way of life. It may have not been perfect; but it's ours and our kuleana. US history is much worse than ours; and that's a documented fact.
Pauahi was educated and raised at the Royal Children's school. She was more compliant and the missionaries manipulated her. She was given exceptional privileges than the rest of the children. They arranged her marriage to Bishop. He was the only one allowed to call on Pauahi after hours. They knew exactly what they were doing and beat the royal children who didn't comply. Pauahi was smart yet complied. There are some horror stories that went on in that school. Lii'u was manipulated to marry Dominus instead of Lunalilo and ended in a loveless marriage. So sad!
That being said, if we want it to be the kuleana of true Hawaiians, we need to keep the koko pure - the WASP infection comes both by culture and by blood.
BTW, wasn't Pauahi betrothed to Lunalilo too? Was he meant for both Liliu and Pauahi at the same time?
May I ask what your source for your statement "an invasion of Tahitians that displaced the original indigenous Marquesans." Also, I hope that you are not making a comparison between the European genocidal warfare upon the American Indians with Hawai'i.
In addition, I find your statement of "true Hawaiians, we need to keep the koko pure," as haumia. WE are all human and this question of "purity" is sick and has been at the core of white nationalism and supemacy. It has never been a Hawaiian thought.
Furthermore....to say "if we want it to be the kuleana of true Hawaiians, we need to keep the koko pure - the WASP infection comes both by culture and by blood." is misleading to say the least and quit frankly Eurocantrically arrogant and reaking of a superiority-complex reflective of the European RACISM that invaded the Americas and beyond 600 years ago.
We must all be cautious and fully understand that a lager "portion" of quantum is not only irrelevent, it is a paradox that can be used to manipulate our minds to reach the goal of genocide by those without the quantum.
Makal`ala
The Cooks changed all that. Pauahi became intended for Bishop and Lili'u for Dominus. They intercepted Lili'u's letter of acceptance of Lunalilo's proposal and he never received it; thus he didn't pursue it any further to Lili'u's dismay.
Unless someone comes from aliʻi bloodlines, I would imagine that keeping the blood pure is a pointless task, especially considering the current the very diversified state of nā kānaka maoli living in the here-and-now. Knowing also the racism that our aliʻi faced on their tours through the United States, it is of monumental importance that we do not allow issues of race to envelop otherwise productive discussion.
I say all this with respect for nā kanaka, and speaking only as a young Hawaiian man who is also trying to understand these many issues facing our people.
Through the mo`olelo, the customs and beliefs of my tupunas` lives a much broader and different picture/story unfolds. Baldwin set-out and tried to 'convert' my tupunas` and projected success. Auwe....if this was so....wea is my tutu's iwi? They may have had a 'fine' funeral and service in the missionary's hale...in their way...but my tutu's iwi are not resting with the missionary and other christians of their time. They are in the lands, as they should be, of the people before the poe haole came.
.....Socratic Thinking...our tupunas` were really good at this.
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