The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-03-06
THE IRON RULE OF TABU
. IN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
HOW PRIESTS AND MOBILES
GOVERNED REMoRSELESS-
LY THROUGH INFLUENCE

II is probably not generally known
thar the word taboo" meaning an
linterdict, or something forbidden, Is
directly derived from the Hawaiian
word "tabu," which before the days
Of civilization in the Islands was
fraught with dreadful meaning, Il
was largely by the very complicated
system Of tahus that the priests and
nobility Of the Pacific islands main.
tanned their dominance over the peo-
pie, for the violation OF a tabu meant
death.
There were innumerable things
forbidden under this rule OF super.
stitions. Some applied to all OF the
people from the highest to the low
est. but different classes had their own
special prohibitions, and the lower
classes felt the weight of the tabu
rule much more heavily than the no
bility and priests. For the woman
there were also general tabus from
which the men were exempt For in
stance ia the matter OF foods, women
were forbidden to eat bananas, and
some other foods. Certain kinds Of
fish were tabu to any except the
higher classes OF society. and il was
forbidden for men and women to eat
together or in the same house Dur
ing certain phases OF the moon each
month, it was tabu to launch canoe.
or 20 fish; and during certain periods
Of The year certain kinds OF FISH and
other foods could not be aten.
Most OF these tabus were establish
ed by long custom, but the priests
were constantly establishing new
ones. Moreover the king, and some OF
the higher mobiles had the power to
bus, which during the time they OBJ
set up tabus, which during the time
they obtained, carried equal penalty
with any Of the others They might,
for instance, wish 10 preserve to them
selves from the common herd a GER
tain path, a bathing pool, or fish
ing ground. A small wand with bit
Of ta;a cl,'.i tied to the end, and
stuck in the ground, served to give
notice Of this and death as a sacri.
fee to some OF the numerous deities
was the penalty for the indiscreet
one who failed to give the tabued
spot a wide berth. Tabu Of this class
were tie terror OF everyone, for they
eie apt to be violated unwittingly,
which fact was no extenuation of the
line.
1t was always tabu to cross the
shadow OF a royal parsonage, or to
remain in his presence except in
PROSTATE position. In fact it was ex-
tremely unsafe to be very intimate
with royalty under any circumstance.
Victims for the many human sac
rifces were usually those persons who
had violated tabus, or were accused
Of doing so; although prisoners in
war also fell in this class. A band of
greatly dreaded and mysterious spys,
was maintained by the priesthood,
whose business it was to watch for
violators of the tabu laws, and drag
these unfortunate ones to the "hei-
aus" or temples. Tabus governed the
commonest domestic relations and
actions, and no one ever knew when
his movements were being observed
by the terrible "mu" as the spy was
called.
Although it is popularity supposed
that the old tabu rule was overthrown
BY ;he influence Of the New England
missionaries who came to the Islands
early in the 18th century, this was
not the case, although intercourse
With white traders and sailors Of the
whaling fleets probably influenced the
overthrow. One Of the kings, while
intoxicated, is said to have, deliber-
ately violated a number of most bind |
ing tabus at one time, by going into |
a women's eating house, eating with |
the women, and committing other
acts Of desecration. The whole peo-
pie were horror-stricken, and waited
in trembling for some terrible dis
aster to sweep away the populace;
but ftaer a few days when nothing
lntoward happened, they regained
heir courage, and the reign Of super.
itition was broken. A subsequent at
empt by the priesthood to regain
heir control, resulted in a bloody
)attle, but the reactionary forces
Il ,,t,t1 A,1. f,s~4z..- |