The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1856-12-25
JOHN lis SPEECH,
Delivered at the Stone Church. On Thanks
giving Day, Jan, 1, 1871.


FRIENDS AND BRETHREN Give attention. We have
assembled to-day to give thanks together for Gods
goodness. His goodness has been very great to US
and our nation 1t cannot be enumerated. To per-
Ceiye this have only to look back to day sof
ignorance and sin. Let me tell you some things
myself have witnessed. When was child, saw
the idolatrous practices in the reign Of Kamehameha
l. There were two kinds of heiaus or sacred en-
ceures that recolect the called the house Of
IOno the other the Louhi The house of Lono
made of ii leaf and included three separate houses,
tesides another small house. These the names
those houses the Hale-umu, the Mana, the Waiea,
and the Hale-pahu, and besides these there the
Anuu or handsomely wrought high wooden fence in
front, and the idols made with hands The Lama
was the only timber allowed in all this sacred en-
cosure except the idols which made of Ohia.
This was the temple of Lono exclusively, and LOno's
order of priests, together with the king only could
Oficate in it. In consecrating this heau, one day
was sacred like our present Sabbath, and if the
prayer of the king and priests in Waea prevailed
uninterrupted by any noise of man BEAST then
the next morning there Kauila, or the sitting
in rows, rising, maneuvering, singing songs, with
the sacrifice of many hogs, for the god, the priest
the people, and the king. Those to the god were
laid upon an altar the ground, and also on q
scSRold up high. This time of most rigid kapu
Males and females dared not converse together
If a man touched a woman the penalty was death I!
So also if q woman touched a man. saw one man
killed for entering private house III the night,
during this kapu. Behold, how much we ignorantly
still afflicted by these dreadful burdens of profit.
The temple Louh, the temple proper. 1t was
larger than the other, and built stone like that
near Diamond Hill. 1t included five houses, the
Halaluhi, the Haleumu, the Mana, the Walea, and
the Halepahu, besides the Anuu, and the idols made
with hands The god of this temple called Ku
Ten days were employed in cOnsecratng this temple
and there were distinct services each day, and many
priests were engaged They were distinct order
from those of Lono, and were called Kanahi, the
order of Ku. OF this order Hewahewa, the great
high priest of this group of islands
According to the number and offices of the priests
so was the number of the deadly kapus, by which
men were killed. In a time Of this kapu, saw three
men (Keahi, Kekuanui and Kane) sacrificed In the
temple called Kikiau, at Kealakeakua, at kona,
Hawaii one for putting the chiefs marc, another
for eating what sacred, and the third for going
out of a kapu house and entering that was not
kapu. This about the year 1918.
There were four great gods, of which have heard,
whose names were Ku, LonO, Kane, and KanalOa.
These male gods but there were also female
gods, such as Papa, HOOhOku Wanuu, Haumea,
Kaamainuu, that is Kihawahine. These were female
gods but besides these very many little gods,
which our people worshiped. Those above were only
the great deities. l myself was guardian of of
the female deities, called Kihawahne. Very many
articles of food at different times kapud by them,
that neither chiefs their attendants could eat
them. Nevertheless, both chiefs and people placed
much reliance in these false godS because it said
salvation belonged to the piOus alone and to pray
the gods the only way to triumph in sickness il
battle and the pains of death. But the only saliva
ton used to hear Of was to live from childhood tC
extreme old age, when one can no longer walk.
fla chief was taken sick, boy was offered il
sacrifice, to proptiate the male god, who angry
about something, during the first night, 1t The
duty of the priest and the Kahuakua, to present the
Offering before the feather idol in the heiau But i
no relief obtained, then malo presented tC
female god, and if the dream was propitious,
gift of running water, of well water or even bitter
water then the priest and favorite of the god came
and prophesied, saying sc Your god has answered. yOr
have sickness
Kamehameha I. had great regard for his god, be
cause he thought it his pety that secured him thu
victory of all the kingdom of Hawaii. 1 also thel
thought that this idolatry of Hawaiians true be
cause had heard from my infancy these things,
my mind was fixed that they were right.
When Liholiho began to break up the kapu's, am
men and women began to eat together, [ had grea
abhorrence of his conduct, and even wept aloud L
his presence, saying to him, g we must forsake thi
work at once, or god will be angry at us'' But
have since seen that egregiously mistaken, 70
behold, that idoatry all false and foolish an
others were greatly oppressed with the multitude
wicked kapus, one of the most inconvenient of whic
was the prohibiting males and females to eat together
They lived separately, the women eating In thei
mouse and the men in theirs. This occasioned grea
additional labor, and created much misery. tn
women could neither eat pork. cecoanuts nor banl
mas, and some other things dogs and certain fs
they could eat The praying classes did eat pork a
all times it was only during certain kapus and a
other times they would eat fish.
Here is another sort of kapu that I have seen viz
high chiefs, and especially the king. They wer
called gods by some because their houses were sacre
and everything that pertained to their person.
many, very many were the deadly kapus connecte
With the persons and property of the chiefs. hay
Seea many OF them. In the day time these kapu