The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-27
ORIGIN OF Thu HAWAIIAN
The Subject Discussed in an Agri-
cultural Report.
Relieved That the People SpranE
From What Is Called the POIyne-
Sinn RncP-Their PrOgPnifOTS Emil
grated From Indian Archipelago

IN a report to the Department Of Agri-
culture upon the agricultural conditions
and capabilities of the Hawaiian Islands.
Or. ". c. Stubbs. Director of the Louis
lana Agricultural Experiment Station, has
the following to say regarding the origin
of the Hawaiian people:
The origin of the inhabitants of these
Islands has never been definitely solved.
The botanical afffnities of the plants and
the chronological resembIances of the ami
mails, including the people all point to
the islands of the south and southwest
Prof. Alexander, in his history of the
/ Hawaiian people, states that the inhabi-
tants of all the groups Of islands IN the
eastern Pacific from New Zealand to
| Hawaii and also to Easter Island, scat
tered over distance of 4.001 miles. may
be considered as one race. which is com
monty called the Polynesian race; for
they all speak dialects of the same Ian
=-'Iase, have the same physical features,
-ae same manners and customs, the same
general system of 'tabus, and similar
| traditions and religious rites They have
in common the name of the principal
gods, stories of the origin of fire; about
the deIuge. etc.
The PoIynestan language is a member
of a large and widely spread family, in
Guiding those spoken in Micronesia. the
Philippine Islands, the Malay ATchipel-
I ago. and Madagascar. 1t is thought that
the PoIynesians originally came from
southwestern Asia. but it is positively
! known that their prOgeuitOrs were emf
! grants from the Indian Archipelago.
1T is fairly we'll determined that the
island Of Savaii in the Samoan group. is
he point of departure for all of the
| Poiynesians of the eastern Pacific The
Maoris of New Zealand, closely resem-
! bling the Hawaiians, have a tradition
! that their ancestors came from Hawaii.
! The Marquesians claim that their ances-
tors came from Hawaii in the west, stop
ping at Fiji, Vavau, and Tonga The
I dialects of all these islands are similar to
the Hawaiian
The first settlement or the Hawaiian
Islands was made long ago, since human
bones are found under coral reefs and
ancient lava flows Judge Fernandez
thinks the islands were inhabited as early
as 800 A D. Whether the earlier settlers
were driven from other islands in war or
/ left them designedly, whether they were
/ seeking new islands or were driven out
OF their course by storms to known ones
VIII never be known. The original Ha-
waiians were great navigators. perform
/ ing voyages of many months duration in
large canoes. sailing with outriggers to
the windward, well provisioned, etc. They
sailed by the stars at night and by the
sun in the day Thus the settlement Of
all of the islands Of the Pacific may be
/ accounted for.
After separation from the world Tor
many generations, intercourse with tas
South Pacific islands was establish l.
and many Of these famous voyages were
made TO Kahiki CTahitD, but the inter
course ceasing over five hundred years
ago. the Hawaiians lost definite ideas of
the locality of these islands, and so IN
/ time Kahiki came to mean any foreign
( country.
The Hawaiisns were divided formerly
( into three classes. with wide and perma-
nent distinctions between them: First. the
nobility, consisting of the kings and
chiefs: second. the priests. sOrcereTs. and
/ doctors. and third. the common or labor
ing class. The first class were the sole
owners of the land and all that grew upon
il. They were also owners Of the fish Of
the sea, and Of the time and labor Of the
I people The latter owned nothing abso-
lutely The feudal system was practiced
here in an intensified form, the common
[ Iaborers not receiving more than one
u
second class were the learned men and
kept alive knowledge of astronomy, his
tory, medicine, etc Wars were common
and very destructive. The vauquished
were either destroyed or branded on the
forehead as slaves and made to serve the
remainder of their life. Marriage was
practiced by all, but the tie was not
strong, the husband dismissing his wife
at pleasure Polygamy was practiced by
all who could afford it. Descent came
through the mother only, hence, every
king and chief sought a wife of noble
birth This custom lent dignity and re-
spect to womanhood. Infanticide was
universally pTacticed. the girls being
more frequently destroyed than the boys
'Cannibaiism, formerly so freely and
frequently charged against the people,
WIS unknown and was looked upon by all
with horror ana detestation- They lived
upon t&ro. sweet potatoes. vans. bana-
mas, and fish. Cereal grains. as wen as
cotton, flax, and wool, were unknown to
them. Cloth (kapa) was made from the
bark of the mulberry tree, beaten out
with heavy wooden maIlets deliberately
carved This kappa was Of different qr.al-
ity and thickness, and frequently dy ed
and vanished It's uses were manifold.
No such thing as a loom was known.
There was an entire absence CT metals;
no beasts of burden; in fact, no domestic
animal save the dog and the pig. The
Hawaiians therefore remained UEduIy
long in the stone age The absence of
domestic animals and the lack of ,xten-
sive tracts Of fertile land prevented them
from being pastoral people They were
obliged, therefore, TO cOnTiRe their eACTtS
TO such work could be performed BY
their hands and to such burdens as could
-fa-f4f he of
men. Considering their environment, the
early Hdwaiians made remarkable indus
trial progress, evidences Of which are
everywhere to be seen on the islands
Terraces. artificial fish ponds. bitches
fer irrigation. large trenches for their
sports. immense temples. and numerous
gTess houses are everywhere to be seen
memorials Of the ingenuity, thought. and
| industrial activity Of these ancient people
In the magnificent POlyneSiau MuseU.n
in Honolulu, dedicated in memory Of his
wife Ca descendant Of the line of Kane
naTneha j. by Mr. Bishop. are found stone
and lava hatChets, knives. and fiShhoukS
Of sharks teeth KAPPA cloth of endless
qualities ana cOIors mats fans. nsh nets
ropes. baskets, numerous domestic i'm
pleH@nJS made Of hard wood or stone
caIahasheS Of large size and beautiful fin
iSh made from the hard wood Of the isl
and, pans for the cooperating of salt from
sea water. spears. laveIinS dangers
sings made from the fibre Of the CO.
coanUt hUsk or OF human hair. long and
deep canoes OF wonderful carving ca
pacity and extremely S@awOrthE when
dashed together and with maSts carry
ing sails made Of bark, all testified TO the
skill enterprise and industry Of these
wonderful people. isolated for over 500
years from the world