History.— These islands, the most important Polynesian group in the North Pacific, were discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. He was received by the natives with many demonstrations of astonishment and delight; and offerings and prayers were presented to him by their priest in one of the temples; and though in the following year he was killed by a native when he landed in Kealakeakua bay in Hawaii, his bones were preserved by the priests and continued to receive offerings and homage from the people, until the abolition of idolatry. At the time of Cook’s visit each island had its chief. On the death of the chief who ruled Hawaii at that time there succeeded one named Kamehameha, who appears to have been a man of quick perception and great force of character. M τ hen Vancouver visited the islands in 1792, this chief being desirous of possessing a vessel on the European model, the keel of one was laid down for him. Ten or twelve years later Mr Turnbull found him with 20 vessels of from 25 to 50 tons which traded amongst the islands, and he afterwards purchased others from foreigners. Having encouraged a warlike spirit in his people and introduced firearms, Kamehameha attacked and overcame the chiefs of the other islands one after another, until he became undisputed master of the whole group. He encouraged trade with foreigners, and derived from its profits a large increase of revenue as well as the means of consolidating his power. He died in 1819, and was succeeded by his son, a mild and well-disposed prince, but destitute of his father’s energy. One of the first acts of Kamehameha II. was to abolish tabu and idolatry through out the islands. Some disturbances were caused thereby, but the insurgents were defeated and the peace of the islands has been scarcely broken since. In 1820 missionaries arrived from America and commenced their labours at Honolulu. A short time afterwards the British Government presented a small schooner to the king, and this afforded an opportunity for the Rev William Ellis, the well-known English missionary, to visit Honolulu, along with a number of Christian natives from the Society Islands. Finding the language of the two groups nearly the same, Mr Ellis, who had spent several years in the southern islands, was able to assist the American missionaries in reducing the Hawaiian language to a written form. In 1824 the king and queen of these islands paid a visit to England, and both died there of measles. For many years the Hawaiians have continued to advance steadily in intelligence, resources, and civilization, but their progress has been at times interrupted by the conduct of the officers of foreign powers. On one occasion a British officer went so far as to take possession of Oahu and establish a commission for its government; and French officers abrogated the laws, dictated treaties, and by force of arms established the Roman Catholic religion in the country. The act of the British officer was disavowed by his superiors as soon as known; and these outrages led to a representation on the part of the native sovereign to the Governments of Great Britain, France, and the United States of America, and the independence of the islands was guaranteed by these powers in 1844. Kalakaua, the reigning monarch (1880), was elected king by ballot on Lunalilo’s death without heirs in 1874. The heir to the throne is a sister of the king, Lelia Kamakacha, and is married to an American.
Inhabitants.— By the census taken in December 1878 the population of the whole group amounted to 57,985 persons, instead of 56,897 as in 1873. The number of natives of pure Hawaiian race was 44,088, of half castes 3 420, Chinese 5916, Americans (U.S.) 1276, British 883, Portuguese 430, Germans 272, French 81, other foreigners 666, and Hawaiians born of foreign parents 947.
The natives belong to the Malayo-Polynesian race. Their reddish-brown skin has been compared to the hue of tarnished copper. The hair, usually raven black, is straight or at most wavy; the beard is thin, the face broad, the profile not prominent, the nose rather flattened, and the lips thick. The bulk of the population are of moderate stature, but the chiefs and the women of their families are remarkable for height.
“The inhabitants of these islands,” says Mr Ellis, “are, considered physically, amongst the finest races in the Pacific, bearing the strongest resemblance to the New Zealanders in stature, and in their well-developed muscular limbs. The tattooing on their bodies is less artistic than that of the New Zealanders, and much more limited than among some of the other islanders. They are also more hardy and industrious than those living nearer the equator. This in all probability arises from their salubrious climate, and the comparative sterility of their soil, rendering them dependent upon the cultivation of the ground for the yam, the arum, and the sweet potato, their chief articles of food. Though, like all undisciplined races, the Sandwich Islanders have proved deficient in firm and steady perseverance, they manifest considerable intellectual capability. Their moral character, when first visited by Europeans, was not superior to that of other islanders; and, excepting when improved and preserved by the influences of Christianity, it has suffered much from the vices of intemperance and licentiousness introduced by foreigners. Polygamy prevailed among the chiefs and rulers, and women were subject to all the humiliations of the tabu system, which subjected them to many privations, and kept them socially in a condition of inferiority to the other sex. Infanticide was practised to some extent, the children destroyed being chiefly females. Though less superstitious than the Tahitians, the idolatry of the Sandwich Islanders was equally barbarous and sanguinary, as, in addition to the chief objects of worship included in the mytħ-ology of the other islands, the supernatural beings supposed to reside in the volcanoes and direct the action of subterranean fires rendered the gods objects of peculiar terror. Human sacrifices were slain on several occasions, and vast offerings presented to the spirits supposed to preside over the volcanoes, especially during the periods of actual eruptions. The requisitions of their idolatry were severe, and its rites cruel and bloody. Grotesque and repulsive wooden figures, animals, and the bones of chiefs were the objects of worship. Human sacrifices were offered whenever a temple was to be dedicated, or a chief was sick, or a war was to be undertaken; and these occasions were frequent. The apprehensions of the people with regard to a future state were undefined, but fearful. The lower orders expected to be slowly devoured by evil spirits, or to dwell with the gods in burning mountains. The several trades, such as that of the fisherman, the tiller of the ground, and the builder of canoes and houses, had each their presiding deities. Household gods were also kept, which the natives worshipped in their habitations. One merciful provision, however, had existed from time immemorial, and that was sacred inclosures, places of refuge into which those who fled in time of war, or from any violent pursuer, might enter and be safe. To violate their sanctity was one of the greatest crimes of which a man could be guilty.”
In the former state of society the habits of the people were extremely licentious; men were living with several wives, and women with several husbands. Female virtue was an unknown thing, and there is no native word for it. This state of things has, however, been greatly altered by the exertions of the missionaries.
As regards cannibalism, it appears that the heart and liver of the human victims offered in the temples were eaten as a religious rite, and that the same parts of any prominent warrior slain in battle were devoured by the victor chiefs in the belief that they would thereby inherit the valour of the dead man. When, on the death of the great warrior Kamehameha I., the chiefs assembled to deliberate what should be done with his body, one suggested that they should eat it, but this did not find favour with the others.
The Hawaiians are a good-tempered, light-hearted, and pleasure-loving race. They have many games and sports, and the women spend much time in making flower garlands. Both sexes are passionately fond of riding, almost every one being in possession of a horse. They delight to be in the water, and swim with remarkable skill and ease. In the exciting sport of surf swimming, which always astonishes strangers, they balance themselves whilst standing or sitting on a small board which is carried landwards on the curling i crest of a great roller.
In spite of moral and material progress—better food, better clothing, improved dwellings, and many other advantages of civilization—the race is dying out, and, indeed, is threatened with extinction in the course of a few years, Captain Cook estimated the number of natives at 400,000; in 1823 the American missionaries calculated them to be only 142,000; the census of 1832 showed the population to be 130,313; and the census of 1878 proved that the number of natives was no more than 44,088. To account for this it is said that the blood of the race has become poisoned by the introduction of foreign diseases. The women are much less numerous than the men; and the married ones have few children at the most; two out of three have none. Moreover the mothers appear to have little maternal instinct, and there is consequently a negleαt of the offspring. Whilst the Hawaiians are decreasing, the Chinese are coming in large numbers, and threaten iu time to take their place. To counteract this, as well as to supply the pressing need for labourers, the Government has considered many schemes for introducing other immigrants. Polynesians from other islands have been brought over, and a considerable number of Portuguese have come from Madeira.
The language is a branch of the widely-diffused Malayo-Polynesian tongue; and Hawaiians and New-Zealanders, although occupying the most remote regions north and south at which any of their race have been found, can understand each other without much difficulty. This language is soft and harmonious, being highly vocalic in structure. The only consonants are k, l, m, n, and p, which with the gently aspirated h, the five vowels, and the vocalic w, make up all the letters in use. The letters r and t have been suppressed of late years in favour of l and k, so that, for example, taro, the former name of the Colocasia plant, is now kalo. The language was not reduced to a written form until after the arrival of the missionaries.
In the days of idolatry the only dress worn by the men was a narrow strip of cloth wound round the loins and passed between the legs. Women wore a short petticoat made of tapa (cloth prepared from the inner bark of the paper mulberry), which reached from the waist to the knee. But now the common class of men wear a shirt and trousers, whilst the better class are attired in the European fashion. The women are clad universally in the holoka, a loose white or coloured garment with sleeves reaching from the neck to the feet. A coloured handkerchief is twisted round the head or a straw hat is worn. Both sexes delight iu adorning themselves with garlands (jleis) of flowers and necklaces of coloured seeds.
The natives derive their sustenance chiefly from pork and fish both fresh and dried, and from the kalo {Colocasia esculenta), the banana, sweet potato, yam, bread-fruit, and cocoa-nut. The root of the kalo affords the national dish called poi ; after having been baked and well beaten on a board with a stone pestle it is made into a paste with water and then allowed to ferment fora few days, when it is fit to eat. There was formerly a particular breed of dog which, after being fed exclusively on poi, was considered a great delicacy. The filthy liquor called awa or kaτva is still relished by the natives, and though it is only allowed to be made under licence, it is often prepared clandestinely.
The native dwellings are constructed of wood, or more frequently are huts thatched with grass at the sides and top. What little cooking is. undertaken is done outside. The oven consists of a hole in the ground in which a fire is lighted and stones made hot; and the fire having, been removed, the food is wrapped up in leaves and placed in the hole beside the hot stones and covered up until ready.
Leprosy is prevalent amongst the natives, and the Government has established a settlement on the island of Molokai where all persons found to be affected with the disease are kept entirely isolated from the healthy part of the community. The lepers number about 800.
Agriculture and Commerce.— Large capital has been embarked, chiefly by Americans, in the production of sugar, the soil and climate being well suited to the cane in those localities where the water supply is ample. There are between 60 and 70 sugar estates, and more are being planted. The principal difficulty is the want of labour. The average yield of sugar per acre is 2⅜ tons, whilst in some favoured spots as much as 7 tons has been obtained. In 1878 the exports of sugar amounted to 17,187 tons. Rice is also largely cultivated, 2455 tons having been exported in the same year. Coffee is produced only to a small extent. Arrow-root is prepared from the root of the Tacca pinnatifida. The kalo plant {Colocasia esculenta) is extensively grown in wet places. It is said that a patch of kalo measuring 40 feet square yields sufficient food for a native for a whole year; a square mile of it would therefore support 17,000 persons. Maize and wheat are raised, and flour is manufactured. Pine apples, oranges, mangoes, custard apples, guavas, and many other fruits have been introduced, and flourish in gardens. A silky fibre called pulu, growing on the crown of treefern stems belonging to the genus Cibotium, is exported in large quantities to America, where it is used for stuffing cushions.
The owners of sheep are few, but they have large flocks, and the wool exported in 1878 amounted to 523,000 lb. Some districts are well suited for cattle raising. The wild cattle on the mountains—a very inferior breed, descended from some left by Captain Vancouver —are shot or taken with the lasso for the sake of their hides, which are exported in large quantities. In one island 11,000 were killed in a single year. The natives used to entrap them by digging pits near pools of water, and it was through falling into one of these pits that Douglas, the botanical collector, met his death by being gored by a bull.
Owing to their geographical position the commercial development of the islands has advanced even more rapidly than the material improvement in the circumstances of the people. A treaty of commerce was concluded in 1876 between the United States and the Hawaiian Islands, under which the manufactures of the former and the chief productions of the latter are reciprocally allowed to enter duty free. This treaty has been of great benefit to the islands, more especially by stimulating the cultivation of the sugar cane. The principal exports are sugar, rice, coffee, hides, skins, tallow, and wool. In 1878 the total amount of exports reached the value of about 3,500,000 dollars, whilst the value of imports amounted to about 3,000,000 dollars. The United States are by far the largest customers for the articles exported, and supply the great bulk of the imported goods. In 1878 there were 54 vessels registered under the Hawaiian flag, of which 11 were engaged in whaling and foreign trades, whilst 43 were coasters, making a total of 8000 tons. In 1878, besides the mail steamers, 216 merchant vessels of various foreign nations entered the Hawaiian ports.
Many good roads have been made, and railways have been projected; a telegraph line was opened in 1878 between Wailuku and Lahaina in Maui (40 miles), and has since been extended; considerable capital has been brought in by foreigners; and the price of land is rising. A Government survey of the islands is in progress.
Climate and Meteorology.— The climate in general is warm but very salubrious. The temperature is equable and the sky usually cloudless. The N. E. trades blow for nine months; and the leeward coast, being protected by high mountains, is refreshed by regular land and sea breezes. During January, February, and March the wind blows strongly from the S. W.; and at this season an unpleasant hot damp wind from the equatorial region occasionally makes itself felt. Very much more rain falls on the windward side of the principal islands than on the leeward. Thus at Hilo, on the east coast of Hawaii, the usual rainfall is said to amount to 80 inches, and in some years to more than twice that quantity, whilst at Honolulu on the south coast of Oahu, out of the reach of the windward rains, the mean annual rainfall for the five years ending 187'7 varied from 32’30 to 46 - 40 inches, the. average being about 38. The mean annual temperature at the same place for the same period was 75° Fahr. The mean temperature of the coldest month during the five years was 62 3 Fahr., and that of the hottest month 81° Fahr. Strong gales blow once or twice during the winter, but destructive hurricanes are entirely unknown.
Zoology.— When Cook arrived at the islands he found only hogs, dogs, and rats. There is a day-flying bat; a small lizard is found, but no other reptiles. Cattle, goats, and hogs at the present day run wild upon the mountains in the larger islands, and do much damage to the woods. As to the birds, fifty-three species have been enumerated by Mr Sanford Dole in Proceedings of Boston Soc. of Natural History {cf. Sclater’s paper in Ibis, 1871), but it is thought that many more species remain to be discovered in the mountain districts. In former times the chiefs exacted as a tax from the people the gay feathers of certain species {Drepanus and Moho}, and employed them to ornament their state robes, only one of which is now in existence, and that is kept with the greatest care for the king’s use on state occasions. Mr Dole’s list includes of Falconidae 2 species, Strigidoe 1, Promeropidee 10, Meliphagidae 4, Turdidoe 2, Ampelidoe 1, Corvidae 1, Fringillidae 5, Charadridoe 2, Scolopacidae 3, Ardeidaef Rallidae 5, Anatidoe 3, Procellaridae 2, Laridoe 5, and Pelicanidae 3. One of the Rallidoe, now nearly extinct, is remarkable for having rudimentary wings, like the moa of New Zealand, hidden in long, loose, hairy feathers. Dr Otto Finsch, who visited Honolulu in 1879, says that the native birds, as well as the native plants, are being ousted by introduced species. The house sparrow from Europe and the maina ( κ Acridotheres tristis ?) and the turtle-dove ( Turtur chinensis) from China are almost the only birds to be seen in and about the town; and in order to obtain specimens of indigenous species he had to go far inland. (See Proceed. Roy. Geog. Soc., Jan. 1880.)
Botany.— The ravines and mountain slopes on the windward side of the larger islands contain much forest growth, whilst the leeward uplands and plains are comparatively bare. Amongst the more remarkable forms are a Pamlanus, or screw pine, and the Aleurites, or candle-nut tree, so named from the natives stringing together the kernels, which are very oily, and so making a candle. Sandalwood, formerly plentiful, has been exhausted. The cocoa-nut palm grows in abundance on the coast. For the following valuable notes on the flora, we are indebted to Dr William Hillebrand, who for many years stu<lied the subject on the spot with the view of publishing a complete work upon...
