Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-06-25
IN HAWAII.
Employment Among the SUI
perstitious Natives.


previous dispatch, he is charged with
having caused the death of an old
native by beating him over the head
with a Bible in order to drive the
devils from his body.
This east is one of the most unique
in the annals of kahunaism in the
islands, says the New York Sun. 1t
appears from the story told at the
trial in district court, that a native
IN the Puma district became i'll and
The government physician, DR.. Hol-
land, was called in. He was treating
the man with some hope of curing
him, when the native called in
kahuna, believing that the physician
was not curing him rapidly enough.
The kahuna Immediately threw away
the remedies prescribed by the ply
stefan and diagnosed the case for
himself. He found that the man was
possessed of red devils. and after
several incantations. in which the
aid of spirits was invoked, decided
that the only way to drive out the
lewis was by liberal application of
the Bible to the head of the patient.
The sick man was compelled to sit
upright in his bed and was then
beaten vigorously by the kahuna
with a heavy volume of the Scrip
lures. When the kahuna's arm tired
he mans wife was forced to %
tinue the treatment, until the man
sank unconscious in bed. A few days
lfterward the man was beaten even
more vigorously with the Bible and
le died.
The kahuna was arrested, first on
the charge of practicing witchcraft,
but afterward the charge was
changed to. m~anslaughter. The man
made no defense. He said that he
had done his best for his patient, but
the devils had conquered. He testi-
fed 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 devils. The
only cure was by the application of
the Bible to the head, as the Bible
told.
The kahuna was asked to point tc
the chapter in the Scriptures which
provided for this method of getting
rid of the devil, but he became con
fused and refused to do so. Judge
Kamau then held the kahuna for the
grand jury on the charge of man,
slaughter. The wife of the mar ad.
mitted that she had beaten her hus,
band over the head with the Bible
but said that she could not disobey
the instructions of the kahuna, il
whom she trusted implicitly.
This case has caused an investiga
ton to be made of the practice o.
~kahunaism in the islands. Kahuna
ism is prohibited by law. 1t is ;
relic of ancient Hawaii, and all the
efforts of the missionaries, from the
lay of their arrival, have been in
sufficient to stamp it out. 1t i.
witchcraft, pure and simple, bu'
even some of the educated people
among the Hawaiians believe in it
There is something in it akin to tn,
faith cure.
The younger element is growing NJ
without fear of it, but among tn,
older natives it is estimated tina
there is one kahuna to every 50 PEG
pls. For k%ahunaism is a ~lucratiy;
business. An attempt was made a
the last session of the legislature t.
secure the repeal of the law prohib
ting the practice of wirchcraft, bu
1t failed to get through the senate
though all the natives voted for it
At the session just closed anothe
effort to legalize the practice of thu
black art, though in a roundabout
way, was made. A bill was intro
duced to permit the practice of med
icine without a license, which wa
meant for the kahuna and no on
else.
A few months ago a woman witcl
.loctor in Lahaina on Maui was sen
to prison for causing the death of
father and two sons who. she sale
had killed the pet cat of her "favorit
niece. All three of the men becam,
i'll and the kahuna was called in t.
cure them. They died as a'result o
her treatment. She admitted tina
she practiced kahunaism. She sal
that she did her best to save the live
of her patients, but their great sit
in killing the cat had made cure i'm
possible.
The kahuna has of late becom
somewhat modernized, or perhaps i
is only that fakirs have replaced tn
real thing. Many of them are black
mailers pure and simple. The,
claim power to summon spirits a
will, and unless they receiv
everything they want in tn
form of money or food, the credulou
native is likely to suffer from thei
wiles. The kahunas claim descen
from the devil, and the principal the
DRY of their practice is that all me,
are possessed of spirits which leav
their bodies at night and poster 9th
er people, also that spirits of de
ceased relatives always return t
earth to infict their presence upo.
people they have known in life. Tn
kahuna for a small consideration
kills these wandering spirits and pei
mits the native to go in peace. Pig
and white chickens must be sacrifice
to obtain this. The man who is al
ficted with the spirits must provid
the chickens and pigs-and the ka
huna eats them.
The kahuna claims the power O
praying a person to death, and it j
not infrequent that cases are report
ed, too, where the kahuna has bee
successful, for the prayers so wor
upon the fears of the superstition
native that it is no wonder he die,
L. H. .4.t. 4... n A. -~1.