The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-24
THE WOMEN
OF HAWAII
By Nary II. Krout.


of Hawaii have been no exception to
this rule
Tall, erect, walking with easy and
imposing carriage, with dark, flashing
eyes, long. straight silken black hair,
even those who had no claim to posi-
tive beauty possessed decided comeii-
ness, to which their gentleness and
grace lent an additional attraction. I'm
der the old chiefs, even in the days of
the Kamehamehas, the lot of the average
Hawaiian woman was often one OF
great misery. By the working of the
tabu, a religious Introduction evolved
by a cruel pTiest-craft for the main
tenance of their authority, a prohibition,
which in some form or other has pre-
vailed throughout most of the islands
of the South Pacific, the women were
completely cut off from many of the
rational pleasures of life. Not only the
woman's happiness, but life itself was
dependent upon the husbands will. He
could divorce her; even put her to |
death for certain offenses. She was |
forbidden to sit with him at table, to !
occupy the best places in the hut, to i
eat bananas or the choice fish set apart |
for her lord and master. 1t is related |
that the daughter of chief was detect /
ed by priest eating a banana. Be |
cause of her fathers high rank her life !
was spared, but both eyes were put out.
In those primitive days, women were
sAa1so forbidden to enter the heiaus, or
temples, which, it was considered, were
profaned by their presence. While the
men were waglng war with their neigh
bors, fighting sharks, fishing, or hunting
sandal-wood the women were preparing
1t
made by maceratng the inner bark of
the mulberry in water-which furnished
their clothing and bed-covering. They
did the cooking, gathered bananas, and
strung leis-the thick garlands of brill
liant and fragrant flowers with which
The present generation still adorn their
hair and throats Infanticide was a
common crime, which was encouraged,
rather than punished. One woman con-
fessed that she had killed eight of her
children and. buried them under the
floor of her. hut-a frequent place of
sculpture The excuse offered for the
prevalence of infanticide was that the
islands were small, and even with the
equitable division of the land for taro
patches and the construction of enor-
NOUS artificial ponds which were well
stocked with nlullet, there was always
danger of famine. 1t was considered
expedient, therefore, to keep the popula-
ton within reasonable bounds. even If
the superfluous children were destroyed
at birth. At the same time, parents
VINO made way with their own offspring
inconsistency accepted and adopted the
children of their neighbors and friends,
and these were often petted and indulg
ed to a far greater degree than their
own would have been. For peculiar
reasons, which also obtained through
out large part of Polynesia, descent
was traced through the female line.
Notwithstanding the small esteem III
which women ordinarily were held, there
were among the old Hawaiians, female
chiefs of high distinction, of great in
telligence, and of splendid courage.
Many of these were readily converted
to Christianity and became the stanch
friends and powerful champions of the
missionaries. There was one notable
exception, Liliha, the beautiful wife of
Boki, who, in 1870, was acting governor
of Oahu. She refused to accept the
teachings of the missionaries, and with
her husband, who was greatly her IN I
ferior in intellect and courage, attempt {
ed to seize the island and overthrow (
Kaahunanu, the queen regent. Both
were reckless and eXtravagant, and the
people were ruthlessly oppressed to fur
nish money which they squandered. I
They refused to obey the law of the I
land and finally, when Boki sailed to |
the South in search of sandal-wood,
Li1iha fortified Honolulu and held it {
for several days, until, at the command t
of her father, which she dared not dis {
regard, she was forced to yield. She {
died finally in obscurity, mourning to T
the last for Bolli who never returned {
from his ill-starred quest
While the chiefs, or kings, as they S
were called after the accession of Ka- q
mehameha l, became enfeebled through I
RIGHTEOUSNESS and intemperance, the ac-
tual management of the government T
passed into the hands of women. They c
possessed that high wisdom which has t
been characteristic of great women rulers i
of all races, desire for the well-belng t
of their subjects rather than for per- I
-sonal ACKNOWLEDGMENT: and IN conformity a
with this idea they gathered about them i
the best councillors by whose opinions e
they were willing to be guided. v
Even chiefesses of lower rank were c
invested with absolute authority, and e
could claim obedience and service from t
their people. This spirit still survives IN II
a modified form. and was singularly c
illustrated not many years ago. A Ha- J.
waiian driving in her carriage saw a Il
mar misconducting himself in some Il
manner peculiarly offensive to her, IN $
the streets of Honolulu, She ordered Is
her driver to halt, descended from the "
vehicle, walked to the offender and adj II
ministered sound box on the ear. re- a
buked him stern1y, and then went on d
her way with the air of one who had Il
done her duty. The explanation of this II
strange interference, which the man |
a full-blooded native-did not dream OF e
resenting, was simple; he and his kth p
- e. rre,era+;Ouc had beeY1 re- | c.