2. The clergy (_Kahuna_), comprising the priests, doctors, prophets, and sorcerers;
3. Citizens (_Makaainana_), comprising laborers, farmers, proletaries, and slaves.
THE n.o.bILITY. NA"LII.
The chiefs or n.o.bles were of several orders. The highest chief bore the t.i.tle of _Moi_, which may best be rendered by the word majesty. In a remote period of Hawaiian history, this t.i.tle was synonymous with _Ka lani_, heaven. This expression occurs frequently in ancient poems: _Auhea oe, e ka lani? Eia ae_. This mode of address is very poetic, and quite pleasing to the chiefs.
The Moi was still called _kapu_ and _aliinui_. To tread on his shadow was a crime punished with death: _He make ke ee malu_. The chief next the throne took the t.i.tle of _Wohi_. He who ranked next, that of _Mahana_.
These t.i.tles could belong at the same time to several chiefs of the blood-royal, who were called _Alii kapu, Alii wohi_. The ordinary n.o.bility furnished the king"s aids-de-camp, called _Hulumanu_ (plumed officers).
By the side of the n.o.bility were the _Kahu alii_, literally guardians of the chiefs, of n.o.ble origin by the younger branch, but who dared not claim the t.i.tle of chief in the presence of their elders. The Kahu alii of the male s.e.x might be considered born chamberlains; of the female, ladies of the bed-chamber.
There were five kinds of Kahu alii, which are: Iwikuamoo, Ipukuha, Paakahili, Kiaipoo, Aipuupuu.
These t.i.tles const.i.tuted as many hereditary charges reserved for the lesser n.o.bility. The functions of the Iwikuamoo (backbone of the chief) were to rub his lord on the back, when stretched on his mat. The Ipukuha had charge of the royal spittoons. The Paakahili carried a very long plume (_kahili_), which he waved, around the royal person to drive away the flies and gnats. The duties of this officer were continual and most fatiguing, for he must constantly remain near the person of his master, armed with his kahili, whether the king was seated or reclining, eating or sleeping. The Kiaipoo"s special charge was to watch at the side of his august chief during sleep. The Aipuupuu was the chief cook, and, besides, performed functions similar to those of steward or purveyor.
There were, besides, other inferior chiefs, as the _Puuku_, attendants of the house or palace; _Malama ukana_, charged with the care of provisions in traveling; _Aialo_, who had the privilege of eating in the presence of the chief; and, at the present day, the _Muki baka_, who had the honor of lighting the king"s pipe and carrying his tobacco-pouch.
Although the people considered these last four orders as belonging to the n.o.bility, it seems that they were of lower rank than the citizens favored by the chiefs.
Finally, the king had always in his service the _Hula_, who, like the buffoon or jester of the French kings, must amuse his majesty by mimicry or dancing. The _Kahu alii_, or _Kaukaualii_, as they are now styled, are attendants or followers of the high chiefs by right of birth. They accompany their masters everywhere, almost in the same manner that a governess follows her pupil.[4] From the throne down n.o.bility was hereditary. The right of primogeniture was recognized as natural law.
n.o.bility transmitted through the mother was considered far superior to that on the father"s side only, even if he were the highest of chiefs.
This usage was founded on the following proverb: _Maopopo ka makuahine, aole maopopo ka makuakane_ (It is always evident who the mother is, but one is never sure about the father). Agreeably to this principle, the high chiefs, when they could not find wives of a sufficiently ill.u.s.trious origin, might espouse their sisters and their nieces, or, in default of either of these, their own mother. Nevertheless, history furnishes us several examples of kings who were not n.o.ble on the maternal side.[5]
THE CLERGY. NA KAHUNA.
The priests formed three orders:
1. The _Kahuna_ proper. 2. The _Kaula_, or prophets. 3. The _Kilo_, diviners or magicians.
The priesthood, properly so called (_Kahuna maoli, Kahuna pule_), was hereditary. The priests received their t.i.tles from their fathers, and transmitted them to their offspring, male and female, for the Hawaiians had priestesses as well. The priest was the peer of the n.o.bility; he had a portion of land in all the estates of the chiefs, and sometimes acquired such power as to be formidable to the alii. In religious ceremonies, the priests were clothed with absolute power, and selected the victims for the sacrifices. This privilege gave them an immense and dangerous influence in private life, whence the Hawaiian proverb: The priest"s man is inviolable, the chief"s man is the prey of death, _Aole e make ko ke kahuna kanaka, o ko ke "lii kanaka ke make_.
The kahuna, being clothed with supreme power in the exercise of his functions, alone could designate the victim suitable to appease the anger of the G.o.ds. The people feared him much for this prerogative, which gave the power of life and death over all, and the result was that the priest had constantly at his service an innumerable crowd of men and women wholly devoted to him. It was not proper for him to choose victims from a people who paid him every imaginable attention. But among the servants of the alii, if there were any who had offended the priest or his partisans, nothing more was necessary to condemn to death such or such an attendant of even the highest chief. From this it may be seen how dangerous it was not to enjoy the good graces of the kahuna, who, by his numerous clan, might revolutionize the whole country. History affords us an example in the Kahuna Kaleihokuu of Laupahoehoe, who had in his service so considerable a body of retainers that he was able in a day, by a single act of his will, to put to death the great chief Hakau, of Waipio, and subst.i.tute in his place Umi, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d son (_poolua_) of King Liloa, who had, however, been adopted by Kaleihokuu. Another example of this remarkable power is seen in the Kahuna of Ka"u, who ma.s.sacred the high chief Kohookalani, in the neighborhood of Ninole, tumbling down upon him a huge tree from the top of the _pali_ (precipice) of Hilea.
The _Kahuna_, especially those of the race of Paao, were the natural depositaries of history, and took the revered t.i.tle of _Mo"olelo_, or historians. Some individuals of this stock still exist, and they are all esteemed by the natives, and regarded as the chiefs of the historical and priestly caste. The sacerdotal order had its origin in Paao, whose descendants have always been regarded as the _Kahuna maoli_.[6] Paao came from a distant land called Kahiki. According to several chiefs, his genealogy must be more correct than that of the kings. Common tradition declares that Paao came from foreign countries, landing on the north-west sh.o.r.e of Hawaii (Kohala), at Puuepa, in the place where, to this day, are seen the ruins of the Heiau (temple) of Mokini, the most ancient of all the temples, and which he is said to have built. The advent of Paao and his erection of this heiau are so ancient, according to the old men, that Night helped the priest raise the temple: _Na ka po i kukulu ae la Mokini, a na Paao nae_. These sayings, in the native tongue, indicate the high antiquity of Paao.[7]
To build the temple of Mokini, which also served as a city of refuge, Paao had stones brought from all sides, even from Pololu, a village situated four or five leagues from Mokini or Puuepa. The Kanakas formed a chain the whole length of the route, and pa.s.sed the stones from one to another--an easy thing in those times--from the immense population of the neighborhood.
Paao has always been considered as the first of the Kahuna. For this reason his descendants, independently of the fact that they are regarded as _Mookahuna_, that is, of the priesthood, are more like n.o.bles in the eye of the people, and are respected by the chiefs themselves. There are, in the neighborhood of Mokini, stones which are considered petrifactions of the canoe, paddles, and fish-hooks of Paao.
At Pololu, toward the mountain, are found fields of a very beautiful verdure. They are called the pastures, or gra.s.s-plots, of Paao (_Na mauu a Paao_). The old priest cultivated these fields himself, where no one since his time has dared to use spade or mattock. If an islander was impious enough to cultivate the meadow of Paao, the people believe that a terrible punishment would be the inevitable consequence of that profanation.
Disastrous rains, furious torrents, would surely ravage the neighboring country.
Some Hawaiians pretend that there exists another sacerdotal race besides that of Paao, more ancient even than that, and whose priests belonged at the same time to a race of chiefs. It is the family of Maui, probably of Maui-hope, the last of the seven children of Hina,[8] the same who captured the sea-monster Piimoe. The origin of this race, to which Naihe of Kohala pretends to belong, is fabulous. Since the reign of Kamehameha, the priests of the order of Maui have lost favor.
The second cla.s.s of the clergy was composed of the prophets (_Kaula_), an inoffensive and very respectable people, who gave vent to their inspiration from time to time in unexpected and uncalled-for prophesies.
The third order of the clergy is that of _Kilo_, diviners or magicians.
With these may be cla.s.sed the _Kilokilo_, the _Kahunalapaau_ and _Kahunaanaana_, a sort of doctors regarded as sorcerers, to whom was attributed the power of putting to death by sorcery and witchcraft.[9] The Kahunaanaana and the Kahunalapaau have never been considered as belonging to the high caste of Kahuna maoli.
The Kahunaanaana, or sorcerers, inherited their functions. They were thoroughly detested, and the people feared them, and do to this day. When the chiefs were dissatisfied with a sorcerer, they had his head cut off with a stone axe (_koipohaku_), or cast him from the top of a pali.
The doctors were of two kinds. The first, the Kahunalapaau proper, comprised all who used plants in the treatment of disease. Just as the sorcerers understood poisonous vegetables, so the doctors knew the simples which furnished remedies to work cures. The second kind comprised the spiritual doctors, who had various names, and who seem to have been intermediate between priests and magicians, sharing at once in the attributes of both. They were:
_Kahuna uhane_, the doctors of ghosts and spirits;
_Kahuna makani_, doctors of winds;
_Kahuna hoonohonoho akua_, who caused the G.o.ds to descend on the sick;
_Kahuna aumakua_, doctors of diseases of the old;
_Kahuna Pele_, doctors or priests of Pele, G.o.ddess of volcanoes.
All the doctors of the second kind are still found in the islands,[10]
where they have remained idolaters, although they have been for the most part baptized. There is hardly a Kanaka who has not had recourse to them in his complaints, preferring their cures and their remedies to those of the foreign physicians. Laws have been enacted to prohibit these charlatans from exercising their art; but under the rule of Kamehameha III., who protected them, these laws have not been enforced.
THE CITIZENS. NA MAKAAINANA.
The cla.s.s of _Makaainana_ comprises all the inhabitants not included in the two preceding cla.s.ses; that is to say, the bulk of the people.
There were two degrees of this cast: the _kanaka wale_, freemen, private citizens, and the _kauwa_ or servants. The Hawaiian saying, _O luna, o lalo, kai, o uka a o ka hao pae, ko ke "lii_ (All above, all below, the sea, the land, and iron cast upon the sh.o.r.e, all belong to the king), exactly defines the third cla.s.s of the nation, called makaainana, the cla.s.s that possesses nothing, and has no right save that of sustenance.
The Hawaiians honored canoe-builders and great fishers as privileged citizens. The chiefs themselves granted them some consideration; but it must be confessed that the honorable position they occupied in society was due to their skill in their calling rather than to any thing else. These builders were generally deeply in debt. They ate in advance the price of their labor, which usually consisted of hogs and fowls, and they died of starvation before the leaves ceased to sprout on the tree their adze had transformed into a canoe.
The _kauwa_, servants, must not be confounded with the _kauwa maoli_, actual slaves. A high chief, even a wohi, would call himself without dishonor _ke kauwa a ke "lii nui_, the servant of the king. At present, their excellencies the ministers and the n.o.bles do not hesitate to sign their names under the formula _kou kauwa_, your servant; but it is none the less true, for all that, that formerly there were among the common people a cla.s.s, few in number, of slaves, or serfs, greatly despised by the Hawaiians, and still to our days so lowered in public opinion that a simple peasant refuses to a.s.sociate with the descendants of this caste.
They point the finger at people of kauwa extraction, lampoon them, and touch the soles of their feet when they speak of them, to mark the lowness of their origin. If they were independent, and even rich, an ordinary islander would deem himself disgraced to marry his daughter to one of these pariahs.
The slaves were not permitted to cross the threshold of the chiefs"
palace. They could do no more than crawl on hands and knees to the door.
In spite of the many changes infused into Hawaiian inst.i.tutions, the kauwa families remain branded with a stigma, in the opinion of the natives, and the laws, which accord them the same rights as other citizens, can not reinstate them.
It seems certain that the origin of slavery among the Hawaiians must be sought in conquests. The vanquished, who were made prisoners, became slaves, and their posterity inherited their condition.
From time immemorial the islanders have clothed themselves, the men with the _malo_, the women with the _pau_. The malo is bound around the loins, after having pa.s.sed between the legs, to cover the pudenda. The pau is a short skirt, made of bark cloth or of the ki leaves, which reaches from the waist half down to the knees. The old popular songs show clearly that this costume has always been worn by the natives. To go naked was regarded as a sign of madness, or as a mark of divine birth. Sometimes the kings were attended by a man sprung from the G.o.ds, and this happy mortal alone had the right to follow, _puris naturalibus_, his august master. The people said, in speaking of him, _He akua ia_, he is a G.o.d.
_Kapa_, a kind of large sheet in which the chiefs dressed themselves, was made of the soaked and beaten bark of several shrubs, such as the wauke, olona, hau, oloa. Fine varieties were even made of the kukui (_Aleurites moluccana_). In ancient times it was an offense punishable with death for a common man to wear a double kapa or malo.
The Hawaiians have never worn shoes. In certain districts where lava is very abundant, they make sandals (_kamaa_) with the leaves of the ki and panda.n.u.s. They always go bare-headed, except in battle, where they like to exhibit themselves adorned with a sort of helmet made of twigs and feathers.
The women never wear any thing but flowers on their heads. Tattooing was known, but less practiced than at the Marquesas, and much more rudely.
The Hawaiians are not cannibals. They have been upbraided in Europe as eaters of human flesh, but such is not the case. They have never killed a man for food. It is true that in sacrifices they eat certain parts of the victim, but there it was a religious rite, not an act of cannibalism. So, also, when they ate the flesh of their dearest chiefs, it was to do honor to their memory by a mark of love: they never eat the flesh of bad chiefs.
The Hawaiians do not deny that the entrails of Captain Cook were eaten; but they insist that it was done by children, who mistook them for the viscera of a hog, an error easily explained when it is known that the body had been opened and stripped of as much flesh as possible, to be burned to ashes, as was due the body of a G.o.d. The officers of the distinguished navigator demanded his bones, but as they were destroyed,[B] those of a Kanaka were surrendered in their stead, receiving on board the ships of the expedition the honors intended for the unfortunate commander.