The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-11-02
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Aobettiser.
SATURDAY. NOV. ,.
The Hawaiiaus an Oceanic Race-No. 4.

Lie nav dASuS al OCcdA4S odCS nv Z.
Among a primitive people who have no written
record, tradition must take the place Of history. All
nations have their traditions, mostly mythical, Of
their origin and il Is inherent in mans mental or
ganization, 10 attribute an existence IN a state Of being
for which he cannot account 10 a higher power.
Generally the autochthonOus nations, or races Of
men, attribute their origin TO the gods but with a
people who have migrated from some other country,
with colon:sts it is diderent, unless they have adopted
the mythical creeds Of their ancestors. i critical
examination Of these traditions generally leads TO -
basis Of fact, shrouded however, IN a haze Of uneer-
tainty.
In the dim twilight which rests on the early tradi-
tionary history OF Hawaii. We ind q genealogy and
an origin. which extend far beyond Wakea- The
present account Of the origin and genealOgy OF the
race, Is not half q century old 1t Is the result OF
the introduction of the dispensers Of q new religion,
and an effort made TO harmonic Hawaiian traditions
with what they deemed revelation. This warning
and bending of a nations early history and Iadi-
tons, is not peculiar alone TO Hawaii. Ii has been
practiced by propogandists and converts In their
early enthusiasm, 10 all nations and countries. The
bigoted priests who accompanied the gold hunting
robbers Of Spain to America, did all they could TO
sweep away every vestige of the early traditions of
the aborigines. They have so well succeeded that
doubt and shadow lead 10 almost total darkness, as 10
the origin of Mexican and Peruvian civilization.
In 1920, the first teachers and proPogandists OF a
new creed arrived in Hawaii. As soon as the native
mind became informed in biblical lore and the He
brew Evolutionary history OF mankind, those who
embraced the new faith endeayored TO make their
own traditions conform thereto, and the older gene
alogy, before the era of Wakea, was omitted in the
native history written at Lahainaluna. Subse-
quently all the many foreign histories and books,
which have issued from the press on the subject of
these islands, have followed in the same path and
thus assisted in perpetuating error.
l will eudeavor TO point out the ancient traditions,
and in doing this l regret that in fifty years, during
which time all the old native bards have persisted,
and the native people in that transition period IN
which they were passing TO a different religion and
I civilization hava choun hut ltfla interest in nrR-
serving their old meles from oblivion.
The ancient Hawaiians traced the origin Of their
race to "Kahiki-ku,'' or Eastern kahiki. Among
their Oldest traditions, we find one that goes far be-
yond Wakea and Kahika, and rests upon kumuho-
nua, k, and Haloiho, W, who came from hahiki-ku
many generations before the existence of Wakea and
Kahiki. Does not this tradition point to the Cont
nent of America, or to q sunken land TO the east
ward? "Kahiki-moe' is western or southern Ka-
hiki, and has reference not only to the Island OF
Tahiti, but to all countries lying to the south or
west. Kumuhonua may have been a prehistoric
pioneer from the Mexican coast, and he may have
found an indigenous people here.
The historian Kamakau goes some seven genera
tons beyond Kumuhonua- According to this theory
Hulihonua * and Keakahulihonua wv J., were the
hrst progenltors OF the Hawaiian people. However
correct his account may be as it regards the tradition
of such personages, any fanciful sketch made TO
support a resemblance to the old Hebrew traditions
rests upon no authority. There has been a tendency
TO ind these analogies with all the early lntroducers
of Christianity among barbarous races. The propo-
ganding priests of Mexico, were evidently forgers of
the Typographical representations of the food.
After l had commenced this number, | received a
communication from a high chief, and Noble of these
Islands, who mauifests a deep solicitude in the history
Of his people, and has made considerable research
into the traditional love of their early meieS and
genealogies which, although not intended for publi-
cation, 1 shall give to the public, emitting only such
portions as do not bear directly upon the subject:
"HoNoLULU, October, 1872.
" My Dear La Pas:
- have read with a great deal of interest your
letters in the advertiser. The theory, or hypothesis
advanced by you, in regard to the origin of the
Oceanic races, conforms in a degree to many of the
traditions, NEUROLOGICAL and others of our folklore.
Illustrative of some of these traditions, was a dispute
that took place during the reign of the late King
Kamehameha Ill, between a Tahitian named Kaomi
and a Hawaiian named Kalanikuahulu. During one
Of Kaomi's drunken revels, he spoke of the Kings and
chiefs of Hawaii, as having cone from Tahiti, and
said that they were all kaikainas, or subordinate in
rank to those of Tahiti, thus lowering them to the
condition of a secondary rank or STRIPS and not
entitled to the distinction of The first born. The
King and chiefs were a little provoked at this boast
Of the stranger, and summoned Kalanikuahulu, one
of the last of the old bards, in the presence of the
King to contend with the champion of Tahiti. Dur
ing the contest which ensued, Kaomi claimed that
Wakea was the progenitor both of the Tahitian and
Hawaiian races, and that he (Wakea) lived in Tahiti.
kalanikuahulu, claimed that Wakea belonged to
this Island (Oahu), and lived at Kailua, Koolau;
that his birth place was at Kapiko-O-Wakea, whence
the place derives its name to this day"
The Hawaiian Sage then asked him of Tahiti-'Do
you claim no other progenitor than Wakea P' The
reply was that they had no other. "Then," said
Kalanikuahulu, we date further back than Wakea.
One of our sources was Kumuhonua (male) and
HolOiho, (female) who came from Kahiki-ku eastern
Kahiki) and not Kahiki-moe where you are from
The champion of Tahiti was silent.
At the introduction of the scriptures and civiliza-
ton among us, our Sages and wise men belonging,
so o speak, to the " Herald's College, - began to doubt
the existence of men before the S%criptural Adam, and
dropped the idea of any people before kumuhoDua
and Holoiho, our Adam and Eve, aiming rather at q
reconciliation with the Mosaic account.
Kamakau, who is among the foremost of those IA
miiar with our folklore, states in his history the
existence of a race of kings further back than Ku-
muhonua, some six or seven generations, making out
that Hulihonua and Keakahulihonua were our first
progenitors.
To return to the subject of your hypothesis, | am
glad TO see that you are bold enough to contend
against the old popular theory that We were immi-
grants from the west, but are, as you contend, from
the east. This suggestion of yours comedies with
our old traditions and furnishes valuable hints for
further research and discussion.
Had our first teachers in the new regime been men
OF scientific tostes, a great many OF the oral tradl-
tons might have been collected and preserved; but
aiming only at the propagation OF the new faith, the
recital of old meies, celebrating the deeds of the
ancient kings was considered criminal for a period of
more than twenty years. Thus was crushed out
with a deadly blow the only landmark of the ancient
chief families of Hawaii mel, so that the evidence that
now comes to us is vague. But L hope enough re-
mains to sustain the theory you have advanced.
Yours truly,
ONE OF THE OCEANIC RACE"
1 have omitted that portion which has reference to
genealogical tables, on which the seal of secrecy
now rests; but which will no doubt be eventually
brought to light.
Kapiko-o-Wakea, in Koolaupoko, looks towards
the coast of California. There is not a year passes
but trunks of Douglas pines and red woods are
drifted and stranded on the shores of Koolaupoko.
Near the Evolutionary dwelling place of Wakea, tut a
few years since 1 saw a full length trunk of a Douglas
pine, four feet in diameter, stranded on the shore,
with the bark not yet worn of by the action of the
water. Were the ancient inhabitants descended from
Hulihonua and Kumuhonua the autocthons, and was
an immigrant from the American coast! If