This document summarizes key events in Hawaiian history from the loss of the lunar calendar through Christianity and Western contact to the land disputes of the 1840s-50s. It describes how the introduction of Western concepts like private land ownership through the Great Mahele and Kuleana Act resulted in many native Hawaiians losing title to thousands of acres, which fell into the hands of non-Hawaiians through debt and trade agreements. The document also notes the banning and licensing of hula performances during this period of cultural change.
6. LAND COMMISSION
• Established in 1846
• Purpose: to settle land disputes between the
King of Hawai`i who “owned” all land and
settlers who were not native to Hawai`i
7. THE GREAT MĀ HELE
• Māhele –
portion, division,
section, zone, lot,
piece; share, as
of stocks; to
divide, cut into
parts, deal
8. THE GREAT MĀ HELE
• 1848 – 1855
• Kauikeaouli
(Kamehameha III)
• Introduced the
concept of “land
ownership”
9. KULEANA ACT OF 1850
• It authorized the Land Commission to award
fee simple title to native Hawaiians who
occupied and cultivated any portion of the
crown, government or konohiki land. But they
must prove ownership by:
– Land survey
– File a claim with Land Commission
– Prove that the land being claimed can earn a living
10. LOSS OF LAND
• Within decades, title to
thousands of acres had fallen
into the hands of nonHawaiians.
• Even the crown lands, owned
by the king and his successors,
were often sold or leased to
foreigners as payments of
debts or in exchange for
foreign goods and supplies.
11. HULA
• 1830 – Hula was
banned from being
performed
publicly
• 1859 – Required
to obtain a license
for hula
performances
• 1870 – Law
restricting public
13. If you have any
questions, please
ask them on the
Discussion Board.
Mahalo!
Notas del editor
{"5":"To aid in converting a society with an oral tradition to Christianity, the missionaries developed a written alphabet for the Hawaiian language\nThey wanted to convert all Hawaiians to Christianity, so they needed to learn the language so they could publish a Hawaiian Bible and preach in Hawaiian.\nTaught the kanaka maoli to read and write the language\nPublished various educational materials in Hawaiian and eventually finished translating the Bible\nIn less than 20 years, the missionaries had established a school system that reflected Western society and the Protestant religion. \nIn 1885, banned talking Hawaiian in schools\nFor this and a variety of other reasons, the number of mānaleo diminished from 37,000 to 1,000 by the early 1900’s.\nWith this came the decline of the language, and cultural practices\n","11":"Many other practices have been nurtured over the years or have been revived as discussed throughout the semester – kapa making, lā`au lapa`au, lauhala weaving and much more. \nAmong the most prominent sources of promoting this reawakening is hula. Hula has had its own struggle for survival since coming under missionary fire.\nFormal restrictions on hula began as early as 1830, when Ka`ahumanu banned hula and its accompanying chants to be performed.\nHula was practiced openly after Ka`ahumanu’s death in 1832, but the missionaries continued to push for it to be banned.\nBy 1859, licensing for hula performances was required and a $500 fine or 6 month prison term was instituted for violators. \nThe law restricting public hula was repealed in 1870.\nPublic displays of hula were further revived during the reign of Hawai`i’s last king, Kalākaua. \nThe hula renaissance has promoted awareness of the native flora and helped to rejuvenate traditional forms of lei and instrument making.\n","12":"The Hawaiian culture, like all cultures, is constantly evolving.\nAwareness of the past is an important part of preserving and protecting traditions for future generations\nRecreating the past is impossible, but it is within our reach to stem the loss of cultural information to promote continuity of the ways of old Hawai`i. \nIn upcoming units, we will learn more about the overthrow and annexation of the Hawaiian kingdom.\n","7":"Keep in mind that before European contact, private ownership of land was an unknown concept to the kanaka maoli. \nInstead, they reinforced the idea of land stewardship rather than ownership.\nUnder their holistic view of the world that incorporated all things from the ocean to the sea, no one owned the land. \nThe ali`i were stewards of the land and granted the maka`āinana living in the ahupua`a use of the land’s bounty for their livelihood\n","2":"Because of the destruction of `ai kapu, the ali`i were no longer seen as representatives of the gods, but rather as authority figures\nFarming and fishing were affected as well\nWithout Makahiki, there was no period of rest from work, no fixed season when fishing was prohibited, no fallow time mandated for the land\nThe lunar calendar was no longer observed which provided logic and ethic for planting\n","8":"In 1820, the first company of American missionaries came to Hawai`i, initiating yet another wave of changes\nThe missionaries preached the Western concepts of law, property and government to the ali`i who ruled the islands\nThey lobbied the ali`i hard for the institution of private property – a foreign concept to the kanaka maoli\nEventually, the ali`i caved from the constant pressure and The Great Māhele was enacted in 1848 and lasted until 1855\nThe Great Māhele was a process of dividing the land and awarding private title to it.\nIn other words, it instituted a system of private property ownership that ended the old land system.\nKauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) held 984,000 acres as crown lands. \nGovernment land amounted to another 1,495,000 acres.\nKonohiki land, awarded to 245 chiefs and their families totaled 1,619,000 acres.\nKuleana or small parcels of land for maka`āinana and other individuals came to 28,000 acres for 9.337 people, about 1/15 of the population. \nOf this number, only 6 percent was Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian.\n","3":"In the same year (1819), whaling vessels began arriving in the islands\n`Iliahi or sandalwood was a hot commodity.\nEnormous quantities of the fragrant wood was being cut down to be shipped elsewhere\nBecause so much time was devoted to cutting down forests of `iliahi for profit, farmers couldn’t work the land and the `iliahi supply quickly dwindled\nThis was the kanaka maoli’s introduction to a market economy.\nThese traders, accustomed to owning land, pressured the King (Kamehameha III) to change the ahupua`a system of land tenure and permit private ownership of the land.\n","9":"Konohiki – a headman of a Hawaiian land division\nThe Kuleana Act of 1850 developed out of concern for the maka`āinana”s (commoners) rights. \nIt permitted land ownership by commoners who occupied and improved any portion of land controlled by the ali`i and konohiki.\nIn addition, government lands were made available for purchase by commoners and foreigners who did not have kuleana rights. \n","4":"The religious and governmental system was full of turmoil due to `ai noa\nBrought with them a single “god”\nSet up a governmental system of laws to get the people back in order and to take the place of the kapu that had been broken\nInstated religious holidays, a daily and monthly calendar and different concept of time\nOne of the things that changed was that the missionaries put a stop to inter-family marriage that was done to keep the ali`i bloodline pure\nWomen and men were made to dress according to European and American standards rather than their malo and other traditional wear\n"}