The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-12

1S41:
We have assembled today to give
thanks together for Gods goodness. His
goodness has been very great to us and
our nation. 1t cannot be enumerated.
To perceive this we have only to look
back to our day of ignorance and sin. !
Let me tell you some things / myself /
have witnessed. When l was child, L |
saw the idolatrous practices in the reign |
of Kamehameha l. There We're Two
kinds of heiau's or sacred enclosures
that I recollect; the one called the house |
of Lono the other the Louhi. The /
house of Lono was made of ii leaf, and
included three separate houses, besides
another small house. These were the
names of those houses: the Hale-umu /
the Maua, the Waiea, and the Hale |
pahu, and besides these was the Anuu /
! or handsomely wrought high wooden
| fence in front, and the idols made with
| hands. The lama was the only timber
allowed in all this sacred enclosure
except the idols which were made OF
ohia. This was the temple of Lono ex-
| clusively. and Lono's order of priests,
together with the king, only could Off
ciate in it. In consecrating this heiau,
| one day was sacred like our present
Sabbath, and if the prayer of the king
and priests in Waiea prevailed, or was
uninterrupted by any noise of man or
beast, then the next morning there was
a Kauila, or the sitting in rows rising.
maneuvering, singing songs. with the
sacrifice of many hogs for the god, the
priest, the people and the king. Those
to the god were laid upon an altar on
the ground, and also on scaffold up
high. This was a time of most rigid
kapu. Males and females dared not
even converse together. If man touch
ed a woman the penalty was death! SO
also if a woman touched man. l saw
one man killed for entering a private
house In the night, during this kapu.
Behold how much we ignorantly suffer-
ed in those times of idolatry, and we
might be still afflicted by these dread
full burdens of no profit.
The temple of Louhi was the temple
proper. 1t was larger than the other,
ana built of stone like that near Dia-
nond Hill. [Long since demolished
Ed It included five houses, the Hale
2 luhi the Hale-umu, the Maua, the
Waiea, and Hale-pahu. beside the Anuu
and the idols made with hands The
: god of this temple was called Ku. Ten
= days were employed in consecrating this
I temple, and there were distinct services
, each day, and many priests were en-
L gagged. They were distinct order from
those of Lono, and were called Kauahi.
, or the order Of Ku. OF this order was
Hewahewa the great high priest OF
j this group of Islands.
: According to the number and offices
of the priests SO was the number of the
deadly kapus, by which men We're kill
q I15 r. - 4I,;s, T
men (Keahi Kekuanui and Kane) sac
4 rifed in the temple called Kikiau, a
u KeaIakekua, Kona, Hawaii; one fol
O putting on the chiefs marc, another fol
j. eating what was sacred, and the thirt
, for going out of a kapu house and enter
q one that was not kapu. This was abou
the year 1918.
:. There were four great gods, of which
z have heard. whose names were Ku
u Lono, Kane and Kanaloa. These wer'
male gods; but there We're also femal
gods. such as Papa, Hoohoku, Walnut
Haumea Kalaniainuu or Kihawahine
These were female gods; but beside
these were very many little gods, which
our people worshipped Those abov
were only the great deities. 1 mysel
was guardian of one of the female del
ties, called Kihawahine. Very man,
articles of food were at different time
kapu'd by them, so that neither chief
nor their attendants could eat them
Nevertheless, both chiefs and peopl
placed much reliance in these falls
gods, because 1t was said, salvation be
longed to the pious alone, and to pra.
to the gods was the only way to tri
umph in sickness, in battle, and tn
pains of death. But the only salvation
l used to hear of was to live from child
hood TO extreme old age when one Cal
no longer walk
II a chief was taken sick, a boy wa
ohered in sacrifice, to propitiate tn
male god, who was angry, about some
thing, during the first night. 1t was tn
duty CT the priest and the kahu aku
to present the Offering before the feath
er idol in the heiau. But If no relic
was obtained, then a malo was present
ed to female god, and If the drear
was propitious, of running water, of
well of water, or even bitter water the
the priest and favorite of the god cam
and prophesied, saying, Your god ha
answered, you have no sickness
kamehameha l had great regard &c
his god, because he thought it was HI
piety that secured him the victory {
all the kingdom of Hawaii. also the
thought that this idolatry of Hawaiian
was true, because I had heard from m
infancy these things, and my mind wa
fixed that they were right.
When Liholiho began to break up tt
kapus, and men and women began
eat together, I had great adherence
his conduct, and even wept aloud in h
presence, saying to him. I'VE must fo
sake this work at once, or the god wi
be angry at u.s." But have since see
that I was much mistaken, for behol
that idolatry was all false and FOOLS
and others were greatly oppresst