Austin's Hawaiian weekly. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1899-190?, 1899-11-11

All authorities agree that the Polynesans, and
especially the Hawaiians, are one of the oldest
peoples on earth. Although a colored race, they
are as unlike the African negro as the white man
is unlike him. They undoubtedly sprang from
Aryan stock, and are probably closely related to
TIL. Hindoo. Their philosophy, such as has
besn retained in their legends and folklore, points
to Chaldean origin, and they must have pos
sessed at one time many of the arts of that
from the Mesapotamia basin by the Chaldeans
and settled in Borneo, from which place they
were again dslodged by the Malays or the race
that inhabited this island just prior to the advent
of the Maays. This theory is supported by the
fact that the Dacks of Borneo are the only people
that resemble the Polynesians in manners, GUS
toms and language. The path travelled by the
Hawaans and other Polynesan races is easily
traced by the names they gave the localities
through which they passed. These names are
similar, and, in some cases, Identical with those
of the localities the Polynesians now inhabt.
The antiquity of these races is established not
only by the philosophy so carefully retained in
their folklore, but by the fact that their language
lis derived from the same roots that form the
basis of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Sanskrit,*
and has retained, in greater degree than any
other known language, its primitive simplicity
Somewhere about the sixth or seventh century
Nanaulu, hardy sailor who had been roaming
the seas from island to island, discovered the
:sequestered and uninhabitited islands of Hawaii.
He was chief of the highest rank, and brought
with him all his wives, servants retainers and
warriors. From this beginning the Hawaiians
multiplied until, at the time of their discovery by
Captain Cook, they numbered about four hun
dred thousand people. During the eleven or
twelve centuries that elapsed until they came in
contact with modern civilization, being unsus-
tanned by competition with other peoples they
reapsed into savage state, losing nearly all of
the arts of that ancient civilization which they
at one time must have possessed. This decline
is easily traced through their folklore Espe-
cially is this noticeable in their religion which,
at the outset, recognized one supreme God
Kane the originator, assisted by Ku the builder,
and Lono the executor. This trinity was sur
rounded by numerous lesser gods and goddesses
representing the elements. All were endowed
with poetic attributes, and their organization
was similar to that of the Homeric hierarchy.
Their sacrifices were simple, usually consisting
of fruits and flowers and, at grand festivals, a
pig or white chicken This beautiful and
poetic religion prevailed for 400 years, and the
descendants of Nanaulu dwelt in peace under
the palms of their sea-girt isles. But little is
known of this period, for there were no wars to
inspire the bards to chant the heroic deeds of
their chiefs; but we have the carefully-kept
genealogies of the reigning chiefs and priests,
together with record of their exploits, each
family having herald who orally transmitted
these records to his children.f
Father yons' Researches on Iawaian PhiOlogy