Hawaiian and Sandwich Islands
The history of the Hawaiian and Sandwich Islands during the 18th century is as colorful and unique as the flowers that are grown in the region. On December 23, 1826, a treaty between the United States of America and the King of the Sandwich Islands was signed at Honolulu and entered into force. The people who inhabited the islands, took their livelihood out of the ocean waters, and thrived upon their religion and customs continue to romance and mystify the people of today's hurried society. This paper will discuss the people, region, homes, culture, religion and images that make up the interesting historical account of the Hawaiian and Sandwich Islands.
People
The Polynesians were the first people to live in what is now Hawaii. These people lived off of the sea, and sailed the Pacific Ocean in giant canoes. They arrived in the Hawaiian chain from other Pacific islands about 2,000 years ago.
In Hawaii, they became expert fisherman, sailors, and craftspeople. They utilized their resources and built dugout canoes to travel from island to island. They became more daring and unafraid of the demands of the sea. Their migration continued as they traveled westward into the region of the South Pacific known as Polynesia or "many islands"(Goldberg, 1998). They lived off of the riches of the land and sweet potatoes; taro roots were a great staple along with bananas, sugarcane, coconuts, bamboo, and breadfruit.
The people established an order that was recognized through a series of kapus or taboos. This system was very oppressive. Commoners were not allowed to venture to close to the chiefs, or even touch their belongings. Women were not allowed to prepare food for the men, and any violation of the kapus might mean death to the offender. The early Hawaiian's lived their life based upon religion and gods that ruled over the common people with the help of the kahunas or priests.
Region
The Hawaiian Islands were born of fire millions of years ago. The hot molten lava flowed from the earth to create a solid foundation of underground mountains. The lava continued to flow and the dry land eventually created the islands, which are the largest of all the Pacific island chains. There are now 132 islands, reefs, and shoals in the Hawaiian archipelago. Only eight are considered of major importance and include the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. Geographers divide the islands into three groups:
eight main islands in the southeast, islets of rock in the middle, coral and sand islands in the northwest.
The total general coastline of the eight main islands is 750 miles long. The shoreline includes bays, islets, and river mouths, with black rocks of lava jut out of the water along some of the coasts. In many places, tall cliffs rise almost straight up from the water's edge. Most of the islands have white sand beaches and black sand, formed from the molten covers several other beaches.
Tropical plants and trees are abundant and thrive in the areas of rich soil where heavy rainfall allows them to flourish with many of the plants being only found on the islands and no where else throughout the world. Sadly, many types are rare and in danger of extinction. There is very little wildlife that is native to the area, and most of it is very rare. The tropical fish, snails and birds that are native to the region are of great interest to scientists.
Culture
Not only is the region of the area colorful, but so is the culture of the people. The clothing of the 18th century was very colorful and adorned with fresh flowers. Grass skirts were created and remain as part of the traditional clothing for dancing and luaus. Dancing is the most famous art of the islands. The Hawaiian word for dance is Hula and is a popular pastime on the islands. Hula dancers sway their hips and wave their arms gracefully to the rhythm of the music. The dances tell stories and describe the beautiful scenery of the islands. The music of Hawaii features melodies and lyrics that embosses the atmosphere of the islands. Hawaiians perform other traditional dances accompanied by chants and drums. Music features the ukulele, Kalaau or wooden sticks, ili or stone castanets, ipu or hollow gourds, and the Hawaiian steel guitar. The ukulele was developed from a small guitar brought to the islands by Portuguese laborers in the late 1800's. The word ukulele means jumping flea.
As the men become more concerned with protecting the islands...
Al.; Sai). One of the reasons for the lack of political success for any of the groups that support Hawaiian sovereignty is that there is no cohesive, united, group. Much as Russia in 1916 had over 100 parties, until Lenin and the Bolshevik/Menshevik groups coalesced, there was not enough entropy to bring about change. In the 21st century, and with the history of Hawaii, this is even more difficult. A broad
The Meller / Feder article substantiates what Banner asserted about the diseases brought by mainlanders that killed off large portions of the Hawaiian population. Indeed, between 200,000 and 400,000 native Hawaiians lived on the Islands at about the time Captain Cook (reportedly the first white visitor) arrived in 1778; by 1910, the time of the first official U.S. Census of the Hawaiian population, there were just 38,547 natives remaining. The
Several tacit taboos with religious explanations included the fact that women were not allowed to eat with men at the same table and that they were not allowed to eat certain types of food, reserved for the gods only. Breaking these taboos affects the relationships that develop between the natives and the Europeans, but also produces cleavages between men and women in the native society. The European lack of
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