The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-09
Us LIKE 4
ROMANCE
Tale of Missionary
Work in These
Islands.
HOW HAWAII WAS
CHRISTIANIZED
Entertaining Paper Read at a Port
land, Ore, Church Meeting by
Mrs. L. A. Parker.
(oregonian, Portland, ore.)

IA fLlCh 10 It's discovery ny CuiO-
peans in the 10Th century, very
little is known of the island
world of the Pacific, extending more
than 5000 miles north and south and
nearly 1000 east and west,
That the inhabitants of Polynesia
had a common descent is inferred from
their community of form, features,
Language. manners and customs. HUI
man sacrifices formed part Of the re-
ligion of the islands. They had a
superstitious apprehension of being in
jured by enchantment, or even being
prayed to death by their enemies;
but the most intolerable feature of
their religious system was the Taboo.
It made specified days. places, persons
and things sacred, and death was the
penalty for it's violation. Under its
laws, men and women, husbands and
wives, could not eat together, and wo-
men, even of the highest rank, were
prohibited, on pain of death, from eat
| ing the flesh of swine, several species
of fish and some kinds of fruits If,
| by reason of rank or otherwise, they
might expect to escape the death
penalty from men for infringing the
Taboo, the priests taught them to be-
lieve they would not escape destruction
by the offended gods. It does not ap-
pear that any Taboo necessarily war;
| cd CT Gil
of politico-religious control, and
| through its operation. no man save the
highest had any assured right to him
self, to the land he lived upon, to the
fruit of his labor. to his wife, his chill
dren or even to the straw-thatched hut
his humble home.
Such was the condition in Hawaii
when it was discovered by Captain
Cook in 177S. How he met his death at
the hands of the savage natives is a
familiar story to US all. 1t is hard to
realize that such a people, debased,
lawless, cannibals, untaught, and SEEM
Iingly unteachable, were to develop into
the cultured Hawaiians of today, gladly
welcomed into our great family of
states and given representation in our
Congress. 1t seems the more marvel
Gus when we remember that it was not
until 1919 that there was taken the first
step in this glorious evolution from
savagery to civilization, from heather
dom to "a nation whose God is the
Lord"
THE FIRST EFFORT.
/ In 1919 band of men and WOMEN in
the United States were preparing for
H.
Horn to rescue Hawaii from her idols
At the same time a movement in Ha-
wai itself drove the idols into Danish
ment. In view of the talk of the mod
ern woman it is an inspiration to re-
member that this Punishment Of idols
came about through the courage ac-
ton of woman, Kaahumanu, the most
influential widow of Kamehameha the
Great. She defied the Taboo, ate with
her son, and seeing no disaster follow,
her people gladly joined her in a revolt
against it's laws.
The destruction of Taboo was like
destroying the keystone of an arch, the
whole structure Of Taboo rites and idol
worship fell at once into ruins. 1t
should be especially noted that this
strange event resulted from no religious
motive whatever, but from a desire to
be more free in the indulgence of the
baser appetites and passions; yet there
was in it manifestly overruling
Providence.
Missionaries of the cross of Christ
were on their way to these people, ex-
pecting to find great opposition, per-
haps death at their hands. Instead Of
hi, rio
chiefs were the first to accept the new
religion and the common people were
as ready to follow them into Chris
tianity as they had been prompt in fol-
| lowing them out of idol-worship The
enthusiasm of American churches sent
men and money to Hawaii which, in
comparison with other foreign fields,
was out of all proportion to the size
of the country and it's population The
motives for haste were the open
doors" and the rapidly diminishing
| people. From an estimated 100000 in
! 1778 they had diminished in 1920 to $780,
600. Western civilization, through the
diseases and intoXieants brought by
sailors, had accomplished this much for
| Hawaii before Christianity reached her.
| Perhaps the largest single human
| factor in the evolution of the new life
was the earnest Christian character Of
the great Queen Regent Kaahumanu.
| For fifty imperious years she had lived
her heather life, then, from an exact
ing sovereign, greatly feared she be-
came che gracious, loved protector of
her people, the patron Of schools and
loyal friend of every philanthropic
| movement In June 1882. she knew
| that she must die; when in great pain
| she said: Il shall go to him and be
Icomforted"
a PATHETIC INCIDENT
The record of the spread Of the gospel
in these islands reads like romance.
You all remember the story OF
IObooEiah, the Sandwich Island COY who