The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-03
WITCHCRAFT IN HAWAII.
The Kahuna Still Finds EmpIOyme nt
Among THE SuperstitiOus Natives.

Honolulu.-These has been another
outbreak of kahunaism in Hawaii with
the result that one of the sorcerers, or
kahunas, is in prison at Puma, Hawaii,
awaiting trial on a charge of man.
slaughter. AS briefly told in previous
dispatch, he is charged with having
caused the death of an old native by
beating him over the head with a BIZ
BILE in order to drive the devils from
| his bodv \ a.
This case is one of the most unique
in the annals of kahunaism in the is
lands. p 1t appears from the story told
al the trial in district court that ma
tive in the Pune district became i'll and
the government physician, DR. Holland,
| was called in. He was treating the
man with some hope of curing him,
when the native called in a kahuna,
believing that the physician was not
curing him rapidly enough. The ka-
hura Immediately threw away the rem
edies prescribed by the physician and
diagnosed the case for himself He
found that the man was possessed Of
| red devils, and after several incanta-
| TONS in which the aid of spirits was
invoked, decided that the only way to
drive out the devils was by liberal an
| plication of the Bible to the head Of
the patient. The sick man was COM
PEELED to sit upright in his bed and was
then beaten vigorously by the kahuna
with a heavy volume of the Scripture
When the kahuna's arm tired the mans
| wife was forced to continue the treat
ment, until the man sank unconscious
| in bed. A few days afterward the
man was beaten even more vigorously
with the Bible and he died.
The kahuna was arrested. first on
| the charge of practicing Wthcraft, but
afterward the charge was changed to
manslaughter. The man made no de-
| Tense. He said that he had done his
| best for ais patient but the devils had
| conquered. He testified that the mans
| eyes were red, that he was restless and
that his hair stood on end, and that
| these were signs that he had red dew
| lis. The only cure was by the applica-
ton of the Bible to the head, as the
| Bible told.
The kahuna was asked to point to
| the chapter in the Scriptures which
provided for this method of getting rid
| of the devil. but he became confused
| and refused to do so. Judge Kamau
| then held the kahuna for the grand
| jury on the charge of manSaughter.
| The wife of the man admitted that she
| had beaten her husband over the head
with the Bible. but said that she could
not disobey the instructions of the ka-
huna in whom she trusted implicitly.
This case has caused an investiga-
ton to be made Of the practice of ka-
| hunaism in the islands. Kahunaism is
| prohibited by law. 1t is a relic of an
! cient Hawaii, and all the efforts of the
| missionaries. from the day of their ar
rival, have been insufficient to stamp
| it out. 1t is witchcraft, pure and sim
| pie, but even some of the educated
1
| in it, There is something in it akin to
| the faith cure.
| The younger element is growing up
without fear of it, but among the old
| er natives it is estimated that there is
one kahuna to every fifty people. For
| kahunaism is a lucrative business An
| attempt was made at the last session
! of the Legislature to secure the repeal
of the law prohibiting the practice of
wtchcraft, but it failed to get through
! the Senate, though all the natives vot-
ed for it. At the session Just closed
another effort to legalize the practice
of the black art, though in a round
| about way, was made. A bill was in
PRODUCED to permit the practice of med
| icine without a license, which was
meant for the kahuna and no one else
A few months ago a woman witch
| doctor in Lahaina on Maui was sent
| " pliSOH Aol causing the uedLn OF a
father and two sons who, she said.
| had killed the pet cat of her faVorite
niece. All three of the men became i'll
| ana the kahuna was called in to cure
them. They died as result of her
treatment. She admitted that she prac-
ticed kahunaism. She said that she did
her best to save the lives of her pa
tients, but their great sin in killing
the cat had made cure impossible
| The kanuna has LAT haoon,a
somewhat modernized, or perhaps it is
only that fakirs have replaced the
real thing Many of them are black
mailers pure and simple. They claim
power to summon spirits at will, and
unless they receive everything they
want in the form of money or food
the credulous native is likely to suffer
from their wiles. The Kahunas claim
descent from the devil. and the princi-
pal theory of their practice is that
all men are possessed of spirits which
leave their bodies at night and poster
other people, also that spirits of de-
ceased relatives always return to earth
to infiict their presence upon people
they have known in life. The kahuna
for small considerat ton kills these
wandering spirits and permits the ma
tive to go in peace. Pigs and white
chickens must be sacrificed to obtain
this The man who is afflicted with the
spirits must provide the chickens and
pigs-and the kahuna eats them
The kahuna also claims the power OF
praying person to death, and il Is
not infrequent that cases are reported
too, where these witches are employ
ed for this purpose. Some cases are
reported too, where the kahuna has
been successful. for the prayers sc
work upon the fears of the supersti.
tious native that it is no wonder he
dies. In the stirring times of the revo-
luton kahunas were employed to pray
President Dole to death. and pigs were
sacrificed TO bring this about. but the
} head of the new republic was too prac.
teal man, and ate the pigs him.
self. The game was found to be rath.
err expensive. and other means were
tried TO encompass the death OF Dole
The present law seems sufficient "a
curb the kahuna. but II Is doubtful
whether II can ever be strengthened
until the white man outnumbers the
native IN the territory and can con-
troll the Legislature.
"