The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1899-06-03
sEEA|TAIIAN FOLKLORE.
WHENCE The NATIVES CANE HAS
NEVER BEEN LEARNED.

/; Z Strange ESa-I2 :oGs Ea!:H 80 .'iFtHa' i-e'
| s&::;;s AMI Cations ";:&:.:ic II Some
; E:S;cc:s 20 Those Of tho Aa":eEss -EGe
i E.;Su system Led to seraas1 Ae=n.s
! Vow that Il, Hawaiian Islands a@e
r2r: OF ou. own country, said PROBES
So. {. i. Toy OF Harvard college II &
rc:c2t lecture, it has beco@e ~ IN
Eort.ns duty to st:dy this group,
! WHICH stands, and evidently always
stood, as isolated as it now IS IN the
waters and 1.-TWO Thousand miles fro.a
! an-waere." There is similarity Of
cyn ,ii.;ons O. most OF ths islands ct
the g:oun, and some OF the chief char
f! a2.e::5:i-a A:e that there ere few AMI
LIZ: and practically no fora, but z
ga: variety and brilliance n: :egsard
20 scenery and uncertain climate.
Whence the natives originally came
! MS never beea learned and probably
+! always vii! be unknown. The t:adi-
t;3as now existing point to al inor1i-
S.at:o2 from Samoa, bat these tr@di-
; tons a:e 100 vague to be depended
| u&on. The isolation Of the people OF
| Hawaii has caused 81 individuality Of
ard customs, and N many respects
they are unlike any other people.
| One striking instance Of this wai The
Ec-:n3: recognition Of the "Iabu,
aa> this practice was distinct lea
tire Of the people of the FolIyaeslan
Islands. The system Of restriction
grew out O. the religious conditions
and parvalcd the lives Of all inhabi.
tan:s.
! Often this strange practice led to
serious results. Certain food was set
aside for men, other food for women.
and vet a third for children. AS an
example of this rule, women we:a
forbidden to eat bananas, and it IS
known that one young woman was
putto death esrly in the present esn-
tar7 80: Violating tais edict. The
regulations pertaining 10 the "Tahu, I"
0: taboo practice, were enforced by
tbs kings and chiefs. The custom
also often ia:erfered with the trade OF
| fishing, which is the chief employ
| ne-!a Or the people.
The natives were forbidden to look
at their chiefs Or at their priests, or to
! allow tleie animals to do so. This
caused great inconvenience at times
when the chief or priests walked uy-
OH the streets, and particularly 50 il
a tnickly inhabited section. The in
labitants at these times must bind
cloths over the eyes Of their animals
as well as their own eyes. Another
peculiar feature Of the strange taboo
custom when regulation by which a
chic: was entitled to lay personal
claim to any obiector piece Of property
upon which he might happen to sat
! Lis feet. AS result of this there 'gs"e
often great embarrassment and hard
ship, for Il citizen was in danger as
any time OF losing his boat, his house
OF his field.
Il speaking Of the strict way il
which the "Tabu' system was car
ried out and enforced in every par
ticlilar, the lecturer said that many
persons who violated some edict, IN
alye tently or otherwise, had been
| k'c,,vn t; lie from fear Of the i'm
pending penalty.
E'Tor~ssoc Toy said that the ''Tabu"
! practice originated in the idea that it
was not lawful to touch certain things.
The idea may have started, be said,
! with the story that G question was
raised regarding the Book Of Ecclesi-
| astes. The rabbis asked if it was de-
! fled by touch of the hands and the
answer was received that it was. This
resulted in the book being consid-
cred sacred. From this time the idea
that there was danger in touching
many things. Where the system is
found elaborated, as it is in Hawai-,
it argues great antiquity OF the peo.
| pie, said the speaker.
The morals of the Hawaiiaus at the
time Of their discovery by the Euro
peans ia the eighteenth century were
not good, according to Professor Toy,
and there has been no improvement
as q result Of the contact with civil
zation that has followed. This, lie
remarked, was strong reflection on
the condition Of our own moral sys-
tenn.
In Hawaii four days in the lunar
month have been taboosd, the people
| during these times being forbidden
to mako any fire CT do any work
whatever, and the king spent these
days in meditation. This same prac.
tice, he pointed out, prevailed il old
Babylon. It was unlawful there for
| king even to take medicine On taboed
days.
Professor Toy sal d that Hawaii had
ea elaborate system Of. Worship, with
different grades Of priests and e ritual
many eviGences pointing to the TACT
that n long TIME had been taken to
| develop the system. The folklore Of
tae country. he sail, had the ''Eabu"
system as its central idea, while the
| folk-7ales evidently had really grown
out Of the religious eereno2y,a and the
meaning Of them lad been forgotten.
| They had been observed at one time
as matter OF absolute necessity, later
as matter Of conscience, bat finally
! they ali had been swept away and the
spirit under which they had been fol-
lowed hal vanished. The peopla give
their gods an elaborate genealogy,
lealing back to ancient tines.
The mes. important OF their gods
! was the creator god, who made heaven
| and earth. Then. with him, were
local creators. who made the noun.
tains and rivers.
The principal goddess around whom
| 4l,o;r La. nanti.e une Dala uhn rf1 / al