PRE-CONTACT HAWAIIAN SOCIETY (1700s)

I. Sources of Information

A. Hawaiian Historians

1. David Malo (b. ~1795)

2. John Papa I‘i (b. ~1800)

3. Samuel Kamakau (b. ~1815)

B. Early Western Contact

1. first written accounts & illustrations

2. foreign perspective

II. Structure of Society

A. Male / Female Relationship

1. ‘aikapu

2. sexual division of labor

3. marriage & sexual practices

4. family relationships

5. status of women

B. Ali‘i & Maka‘āinana Relationship

1. Tribute & Redistribution

2. Chiefly duties

3. Commoners' responsibilities

4. Court life vs. Country life

5. Who were the kauwā?

III. Land Use

A. Subsistence economy

B. Not "communal" land tenure

C. Settlement pattern

1. windward side = wetland agriculture (lo‘i)

2. leeward side = dryland agriculture (kula)

D. Fishponds (loko)

Hawaiian terms for family relationships

‘ohana  = family or kin group
kupuna  = grandparent, ancestor, relative of the grandparent's generation, grandaunt, granduncle
makuaka¯ne  = father, uncle, male relative of the parents' generation
makuahine = mother, aunt, female relative of the parents' generation
keiki  = child, offspring, descendant
ha¯nai = adopted children
mo‘opuna = grandchildren; relatives two generations later
kaikua‘ana = older sibling or cousin of the same sex; sibling or cousin of the same sex of the senior line, whether older or younger
kaikaina = younger sibling or cousin of the same sex, as younger brother or male cousin of a male, or younger sister or female cousin of a female
kaikuahine = sister or female cousin of a male
kaikuna¯ne = brother or male cousin of a female

Think/Write Question

Contrast Malo's and Kame‘eleihiwa's explanations of the relationship between ali‘i and maka‘āinana. Why do you think their descriptions are somewhat different?