PU'UKOHOLA HEIAU NHS • KALOKO-HONOKOHAU NHP • PU'UHONUA O HONAUNAU NHP A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawai'i Island

CHAPTER I:
BEFORE THE WRITTEN RECORD (continued)

D. Development of Hawaiian Culture

1. Early Environment of the Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands consisted of high volcanic landforms separated by miles of open water. A great diversity of environmental conditions existed among islands and upon each one. The first Polynesians reaching this new homeland found a virtually unspoiled landscape. Although somewhat barren and dusty in places, there were as well undisturbed reefs and lagoons, sandy beaches, dense inland rain forests, broad alluvial plains, precipitous cliffs, high peaks, and moist valleys and uplands, in addition to a mild, salubrious climate. And until European contact the area remained relatively pest and disease free.

The most serious deterrent to technological advancement was the absence of metals, such as copper and iron, in a usable form, forcing reliance on stone, wood, shell, and bone for tools, weapons, and household implements. Fortunately, one of the assets of their new home was an abundance of volcanic rocks, some of which were hard enough to be used as adzes, cutting implements, and abraders, while others could be broken up into blocks suitable for construction. Other types of stones, such as waterworn pebbles and talus fragments, were also used in building. [13]

The volcanic nature of their new home affected many aspects of the developing Hawaiian culture. The percentage of land available for cultivation was small. The rugged, mountainous interiors were neither conducive to habitation nor good for agriculture due to excessive rain and scarce sunlight. Some areas of the islands had abundant water, while others were very dry. Tidal waves, mud and rock slides, and volcanic eruptions were a constant threat, undoubtedly causing considerable damage and loss of life. Seasonal flooding, droughts, and other environmental conditions seriously affected agricultural as well as maritime pursuits and necessitated careful planning and community cooperation to insure an adequate and constant food supply. [14] All things considered, however, these pristine tropical islands offered an abundance of raw materials and a favorable environment for the formation of a distinctive socially and politically complex culture.

The archeological profession is still actively debating the nature of pre-Western contact Hawaiian culture. This has resulted in the formation of several models illustrating the evolution of Hawaiian settlement and subsistence patterns, material culture, and socio-political organization. A detailed analysis of each of these models is not presented here, but rather a summary of the probable general development pattern of Hawaiian society prior to the arrival of Europeans.

2. Settlement Patterns and House Styles

Over the last twenty years archeologists have begun intensive investigations into the nature and patterns of aboriginal cultural adaptations to the varied environmental situations found in the Hawaiian Islands. The term "settlement patterns" refers to the nature and distribution of dwellings and other buildings reflecting the natural environment, level of technology, class differences, trade patterns, warfare, political and religious systems, and cultural traditions. [15]

Little is known about the earliest Hawaiian population, but because of their Polynesian background as fishermen and agriculturalists, during this formative time settlement probably began along the coastlines near rich fishing grounds. These scattered, often temporary, coastal homesteads, consisting of a few houses, were probably occupied by extended family groups. Although the character of a shoreline might seem promising for a village site, its selection depended upon shelter from winds and the availability of fresh water. In ancient times, water was available from several different sources. Surface streams in the larger valleys provided water for domestic use and later were used for irrigation purposes. Along the coastal plains, ground water was available in volcanic rock, limestone, and gravel. This lower-level fresh water (basal water) floats on the salt water because of its lesser specific gravity. Where there were no streams, coastal villages depended on basal water obtained from shallow wells dug in the sand a few feet from the shore. In some areas fresh water escaped along the coasts, causing springs under the surface to erupt through the salt water. This water could be captured in gourds for use. Settlement also extended into the lowland zone of alluvial windward valleys where there were fertile agricultural resources. [16]

Initially, some of the settlers living farther away from the coast on the hillsides and in the valleys where there were many rock caves, might have used these for housing. At some point these first arrivals began constructing shelters and arched dwellings of wood and bark on level spots along the curves of the land, along sandy shores and the banks of streams, on ridges and hills, and in gulches and wooded areas — wherever suitable material for thatching existed. Some evidence has been found that these early settlement structures contained fire hearths and that cooking was done in traditional Polynesian earth ovens. [17]

In time, the focus of permanent settlement became the fertile, well-watered windward valleys, but with continued exploitation of rich fishing grounds. Activities were not confined to the windward lowlands, and eventually small permanent nucleated settlements became dispersed throughout ecologically favorable locations on all the major islands. The archipelago's population was probably increasing, due in large part to the lack of restrictions on agricultural land and to plentiful natural resources. [18]

Evidence of house structures from this period reveals small, round-ended huts with internal, stone-lined hearths. Other types of houses, including rectangular shelters, might also have been present. [19]

Explosive population growth ultimately necessitated expansion into even the most arid and marginal regions of the archipelago. During that time, the population established numerous new sites and settlements, mostly in previously unoccupied areas. Small clusters of houses continued to appear in the interior portions of windward valleys, away from the coast, and along leeward coastlines. The first settlements in these latter areas were situated at the most favorable spots, near natural fishponds or around sheltered inlets. This period was characterized by the rapid dispersal of population from the fertile windward regions into leeward valleys and along leeward coasts. Throughout this period the continued settlement and development of less favorable areas occurred. [20]

Large numbers of rockshelters now served for both temporary and permanent occupation. Houses with rounded ends persisted in limited numbers, but the dominant permanent house style was rectangular. These structures frequently rested on stone-faced, earth-filled rectangular terraces, and a pattern of separate dwellings and cookhouses was established. The C-shaped shelter also appeared during this time, correlating with the development of leeward agricultural field systems. [21] Just prior to contact, there were few significant lowland tracts not subject to some level of occupation and exploitation. An apparent decline in growth rates, however, led at this time to a leveling off of the population. The effect of such controls as abortion, infanticide, and warfare on this trend is uncertain. [22]

3. Material Culture

Little is known about the earliest Hawaiian material culture. Stone adzes of various types were certainly used, and because these people were fishermen, depending initially almost entirely upon the sea and its produce for their subsistence, simple fishhooks were manufactured as well as trolling lures. Other items found from this early period include coral abraders and flake tools. [23] Cultural items most susceptible to change during the settlement period would have been those used in sea exploitation, because of the different raw materials, marine conditions, and types of marine resources in Hawai'i. [24]

Ultimately certain distinctive patterns of Hawaiian material culture did begin to develop. Fishing gear was refined to adjust to local marine environmental conditions and available materials. Elaborate two-piece bone fishhooks appeared and trolling lures became more distinctive. Styles of coral and sea-urchin files, awls, scrapers, and flake tools remained about the same. [25]

Few new portable artifact types developed over the years, and the basic Hawaiian material culture inventory changed little until the arrival of Europeans and the introduction of foreign goods and materials. [26] However, elaboration of elite status goods, such as feather capes and whale ivory pendants, and wood carving increased. Craft specialists standardized and controlled the production of these valued goods as well as of utilitarian items. [27] At the time of European contact, these status items were much admired for their design and artistry.

4. Subsistence

If the Hawaiian settlers had been totally dependent on the land resources of the islands they were settling, it would have been very difficult to survive. The upland forests, often extending to the foothills, provided some food plants such as pandanus and edible ferns. The forests also were habitat for bats and birds, which could be utilized for food, while the feathers of the latter also became an important aspect of personal ornamentation. In addition, the fertile soil and water resources could be exploited for agricultural purposes. These indigenous island resources were supplemented by a limited number of plants and animals the voyagers brought with them by canoe. These included taro, yams, and breadfruit (not successfully transplanted until the 1200s); fiber plants like the paper mulberry whose bark could be manufactured into clothing and decorative items; medicinal plants of many varieties; and a few domesticated pigs, dogs, and fowl. However, careful tending of these food plants and domesticated animals for several years would have been necessary before they could provide an adequate food supply.

The early settlement period, therefore, was probably characterized by primary dependence on the sea and its products for subsistence. On adjacent land, however, if sufficient rainfall and protection from salt spray allowed, the villagers could raise sweet potatoes or yams. Expert fishermen, the first settlers were adept at exploiting the rich marine resources found in nearby reefs and bays, including fish, shellfish, squid, crustaceans, marine mammals, and seaweed. They not only rapidly became familiar with the various habits and characteristics of the different kinds of fish on the coasts and the best places and times to catch them, but also acquired an intimate knowledge of their breeding places and feeding grounds. This almost total dependence on the sea would last until crops were growing well and domesticated animals were reproducing in sufficient numbers, allowing the Hawaiians to expand into a land-oriented economy. [28]

In time there was extensive development and intensification of all aspects of food production. Fishing and shellfish-gathering continued as a major specialized activity. The Hawaiians not only became adept at spearing and poisoning fish, but also at formulating precise techniques for the manufacture of fishhooks, lures, basket traps, and nets with sinkers. The population also collected salt for treating pork and fish in dry coastal areas by evaporation, frequently in natural or manmade saltpans.

Economic production intensified with the development of large irrigation works, dryland field systems, and methods of aquacultural production. There is direct archeological evidence for taro Irrigation in the form of stone-faced pondfields and irrigation channels constructed in interior valleys. These irrigation systems reflect the intensification of production in areas that had already been occupied for centuries. Leeward areas, however, also underwent rapid agricultural expansion as dryland forests and scrub were cleared and various kinds of field systems were laid out. The first true fishponds and associated aquacultural techniques probably developed during the latter half of this period. The earliest ponds were constructed by the fifteenth century and Increasingly thereafter as chiefs could command the labor necessary to transport the tons of rock and coral used in the enclosing walls. These ponds, which yielded several hundred pounds of fish per acre annually, were not only feats of engineering technology, but reflected chiefly power and were a major symbol of the intensification of agricultural and aquacultural production. [29] Many of the larger pondfield irrigation systems in the valley bottoms appeared in the final centuries prior to European contact. In addition, a large number of fishponds were constructed along the island coasts, under the direct control of the chiefly class. [30]

During the early colonization period in the islands, Hawaiian society probably remained structured along the lines of its ancestral concept of hereditary chieftainship, with settlers organized into corporate descent groups. The rank differential between chiefs and commoners was probably not great for the first few centuries after settlement when bonds of kinship would still have been important in a small population group. The precise nature of the religious beliefs of this early population is unknown, although the pan-Polynesian concepts of mana (spiritual or supernatural power) and kapu (taboo) were probably still a part of their social and ritual lives. [31] Sacred places were probably only designated by small platforms or some type of enclosure.

Eventually a distinctive Hawaiian cultural pattern began to emerge. Although little is known about this stage of socio-political and religious systems, the discovery of some elaborate burials from this period indicates that some sort of status differentiation between chiefs and commoners existed. Probably the ancestral pattern of corporate descent groups had not yet given way to the later rigid class stratification. [32]

In time, the socio-political structure of Hawai'i underwent a radical change, resulting in new forms of religious belief and ritual, in increasing rank differences, and in formation and stabilization of the basic social and political framework found at European contact. The increase in population was a major factor underlying these substantive changes. The spread of settlement into previously unoccupied lands, the establishment of inland field systems, and the dispersed residential pattern provided significant opportunities for agricultural development and intensification, for territorial and political reorganization, and for intergroup competition.

Ultimately, corporate descent groups no longer held land in common. That system was replaced by the ahupua'a pattern characterized by territorial units under the control of subchiefs owing allegiance to a central chief and subject to redistribution in the event of conquest and annexation by a new ruling chief. The establishment of the ahupua'a as the central unit of territorial organization probably dates from this time. As the amount of land available for agriculture diminished, the definition of territorial boundaries increased and local conflicts over arable land brought about intergroup warfare and competition among chiefs. Success in warfare enabled increasingly powerful chiefs to annex conquered lands and place the control of ahupua'a units in the hands of their lesser chiefs. Ultimately, rigid class stratification and territorial rather than kin- based social groupings were established.

Because it was so closely interrelated with these social and political changes, the religious system underwent significant development and elaboration. The Makahiki ceremony, closely tied to the ahupua'a pattern of territorial organization, probably began at this time, developing by the end of this period into a ritualized system of tribute exaction. The rise of intergroup warfare and conflict probably arose with the elaboration of the Ku cult, which was accompanied by an emphasis on increasingly massive temples (heiau). [33]

By the end of this period, Hawaiian culture had been substantially transformed from its ancestral Polynesian predecessor; the basic technological, social, political, and religious patterns witnessed at European contact were now in place.

In 1810 Kamehameha completed the unification of the Hawaiian Islands, basically ending the old political order. This was also the approximate time that foreign goods and ideas began to make serious inroads on the native culture. A wealth of oral traditions handed down by such nineteenth-century scholars as Samuel Kamakau, John Papa I'i, David Malo, and Abraham Fornander provide much information on the political developments of Hawaiian society at this time. (Kmakau, Papa I'i, and Malo were native historians. Fornander is an important source whose writings should be carefully evaluated due to religious influences and some questionable interpretations.)

The political history of all the major islands during the final two centuries prior to European contact comprised constant attempts by ruling chiefs to extend their domains through conquest and annexation of lands, with campaigns often extending beyond the borders of individual islands. The expansion of a chiefdom was generally short-lived due to usurpation by a junior chief enlisting the aid of various malcontents. The later political history of the islands was therefore very cyclical. Another significant aspect of this late-period political organization was the system of marriage alliances between ruling lines of various islands. During this period, high-ranking women were regarded as the main transmitters of rank and mana.

Various cultural elaborations resulted from the intense rivalry and warfare and cyclical conquest characteristic of highly advanced chiefdoms as they attempt to unify and emerge as states. The Ku cult rose in importance, resulting in construction of increasingly massive luakini (temples of human sacrifice). The kapu system, especially the sanctions surrounding the high chiefs, also underwent further elaboration. [34]