The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1894-02-23
natives and aggravate the evil al
ready existing"


"What was their religion?"
"Gloomy and terrible. To them
the earth, the air and the sea were
full of invisible and malevolent
beings. All sorts of disease were be-
lieved to be the work of evil spirits,
with whom sorcerers held commune
cations. A complicated and rigorous
taboo system covered the entire daily
life of the people with a network of
regulations and penalties. 1t was
taboo for men and women to eat to-
gether or even to have their food
cooked in the same oven. Women
were forbidden to cat pork, bananas,
cocoanuts and certain kinds OF fish,
on pain of death. There were certain
taboo days when TO canoe could be
launched, no fire lighted, and when
no sound could be made on pain of
death. Even dogs had to be muZzled
and fowls shut up in calabashes for
fear that they would break the magic
spell. There were times when many
people fed to the mountains from
fear Of the mu, whose business it was
to procure human victims for sacri-
fee"
'fWho was the mu"
'FThe unknown man who knocked
people on the head from behind. He
is still tradition and until lately the
natives feared his coming on certain
occasions, as for instance the building
OF house. In former days the COM
pletion of a new structure called for
human sacrifice. This was accomp-
lished by the mu.n
"When did the first missionaries
arrive?n
"The pioneer American missionaries
arrived at Hawaii on the 3lst of March,
1920. A year before Kamehameha L.
had died, and as soon as his iron hand
was withdrawn, the whole impressive
system of taboos and idol worship
crumbled away. The first news that
the missionaries received was: 'Liho-
liho is King; the taboos abolished;
destroyedp All public worship and
sacrifices ceased, and Hawaii pre-
sented to the world the strange spec
tacle of a nation without religion.
This event and the union of all the
islands under one strong government
prepared the way for the rapid spread
OF Christianity"
A HIGHLY RECEPTIVE RACE.
what did the missionaries accomp-
lish?"
at is difficult to answer in few
words. They found in the Hawaiians
an amiable and highly receptive race.
eager for knowledge and capable of
great advancement under enlightened
control. 1t is hard to realize the
wonderful change that has been ef-
fected. Few of the present generation
of natives have any idea of the con-
ditiOn of their ancestors seventy years
ago.
"The missionaries reduced their
language to writing, and translated
the Bible and a considerable number
of religious and educational books into
it. They taught the whole population
to read, to write and to sew. Each
mission station was center of civiliZ-
alton, an object lesson of Christian
family life, which could be taught in
no other way. Several of the first
generation of chiefs were wonderful
examples of the Transforming powers
of Christianity.
Drunkenness and gambling be-
came extremely rare, and the same
may be said of theft and crimes of
violence. Christian marriage became
established, Christian family life was
developed more and more, and vice
was driven into secret places. Life
and property became as safe as any
where in the world, and primary edu-
cation was universally diffused. By
the benign influence of Christianity
the poor serfs were emancipated, were
made land owners in fee simple, and
were freely given the right Of suffrage
and all the rights secured by our fore
fathers at Runnymede."
"How was a constitutional govern
ment evolved and what causes led to
the late revolutions?n