History 284W: Hawaiian History

Study Guide: Unit One

Lectures: Understanding Source, Bias & Perspective -- Origins of Hawaiians -- Environmental Impact --
Traditional Hawaiian Metaphors -- Pre-Contact Hawaiian Society -- Pre-Contact Hawaiian Politics
Captain Cook

After completing the assigned readings and attending the above lectures, you should be able to:

describe:

1. the origins of Hawaiians according to the Papa & Wäkea myth.
2. the early theories about Hawaiian origins & their weaknesses.
3. the settlement pattern of Oceania & Polynesia based on modern research (i.e. archaeology, linguistics, genetics, and ethnobotany).
4. the concept of indigenous peoples living in harmony with nature.
5. what prehistoric Hawaiians did to modify and alter their island environment.
6. the purpose & importance of Hawaiian genealogies.
7. the Wäkea and Papa myth & its historical metaphors.
8. the male/female division of labor.
9. the relationship between Hawaiian chiefs and commoners.
10. the patterns of land use and settlement.
11. the lessons learned in the story of ‘Umi (i.e. birth rank, pono behavior, religion, 'imihaku).
12. the reasons for Captain Cook's three voyages into the Pacific, and why they are termed voyages of discovery.
13. why the Hawaiians thought Cook was Lono.
14. the effects that Cook's visit had on the Hawaiians.