Digging for Treasure in Old Books

Thanksgiving Day at the Sandwich Islands in 1858

edwindwight Christian History of Hawai‘i, Digging for Treasure in Old Books, Kahu, Maui Christian History
New England Farmer Newspaper

In 1858 the Rev. Jonathan Green, Kahu of the Po‘okela Church in Makawao, Maui, a native Hawaiian church he organized, wrote a letter back to his homeland in New England describing the celebration of Thanksgiving in Hawai‘i. The letter appeared in the July, 1859 issue of the New England Farmer magazine.

EDITORS FARMER:-Gentlemen, Reminded by the closing year of my delinquency in writing you, I hasten to devote a part of this day of public thankagiving to this purpose. The occasion will suggest a subject of interest to you and your readers, as Thanksgiving day, though at a distance, will remind them of scenes in which they all delight to participate.

“Hawaiian Thanksgiving !” do I hear you exclaim? with the remark, “You can be as thankful, certainly, as any of us, and God, who is no respecter of persons, will accept your gratitude. But as for the Thanksgiving supper, with tables groaning with New England luxuries, around which gather hosts of friends, this, of course, you know nothing about. A dish of poi and a baked dog or raw fish spread on a clean mat, or on some fresh ferns, will doubtless constitute your Thankgiving repast.” Well, friends, I mean to take in good part this specimen of banter which I have supposed you might employ when hearing that the king and chiefs of Hawaii are so far adopt ing the customs of New England, as to appoint a day of thanksgiving and prayer to God, for His kindness to the nation during the past year. Nor will I deny that both chiefs and people are calculating somewhat largely on thrusting their fingers into the poi dish, and thence to their mouths, ere the day closes; nor do I doubt that many a fat and sleek animal of the canine species is now in an oven of hot stones remunerating in part the expense of feeding. I am not horrified in relating, and I hope you will not be in hearing, that dogs are often strangled and eaten by chiefs and people. Foreigners, generally, universally perhaps, cry out, shame, shame, at the practice. I know not that any of them, knowingly, eat of this dish, though I shrewdly guess that more than one gentleman from en lightened lands when dining with the chiefs of Hawaii, have eaten with a gusto from a creature! whose vernacular was bow-wow, instead of baa, as they supposed. I know not as I have ever tasted dogs’ flesh. I have no particular desire to do so. Still, I see no moral wrong about it, nor do I feel like dissuading my people from such a practice. De gustibus non disputandum est, or, let there be no disputing about tastes, is a maxim which is worthy of consideration. Most heartily do I wish that the men from our country would do nothing worse than eat dogs’ flesh.

But to return to the subject of Thanksgiving supper, which seems to be a sine qua non in the idea of a Puritan Thanksgiving. I am glad that you feel a doubt of our ability to get up a supper on this occasion, which will at all compare with yours, as in laboring to remove this doubt, shall be able to tell you of the change in our circumstances since March, 1828, when, as one of the second reinforcement, some eight years after the establishment of the mission, I landed at Honolulu.

At that time there were no Thanksgiving days appointed by the government, and had there been we could not have got up much of a supper. Our four was very poor, sour, and often musty. Butter and cheese, fresh beef and mutton we rarely tasted. Salmon from Oregon we could obtain, but without Irish potatoes and butter, this scarcely relished. Molasses we used for our tea and coffee. We had an occasional fowl, but as we bought them of the natives, they were lean and unsavory. Of vegetables we had kalo and sweet potatoes-of fruit, bananas or plantains-also, melons. These were our facilities in 1828 for getting up a Thanksgiving supper. In 1829 no flour having arrived from Boston, there was much suffering in the Mission families at Honolulu, and the health of not few individuals was greatly affected. Since that time there has been a gradual improvement in the means of living so that to-day, we can have a Thanksgiving supper purely Hawaiian, composed of the following dishes, viz.: Baked beef and lamb, both beautifully fat and tender, and good enough for John Bull himself; fine large and fat turkey and baked fowl; excellent mullet from fresh water ponds; roasted pig fed on milk, ten der and savory; potatoes, both Irish and sweet ; kalo, of which the poi is made, but which boiled or roasted is excellent; bananas or plantains cooked in almost as many ways as your apple, and, on the whole, an excellent substitute; bread fruit, onions, beans and lettuce, Indian corn, tomatoes and cabbage. To these vegetables, there can be added at some of our stations, turnips, beets and carrots. Bread, of course, at Makawao, must not be forgotten. This we have plentifully, made of coarse meal ground in our hand mills or fine bolted at our steam mill at Honolulu. With these ingredients we can have chicken pie; also, custards, as sugar, eggs and milk are abundant; pumpkin and banana pies like wise. Butter and cheese, with fig, guava and olelo-Hawaiian whortleberry-preserves. Pia or arrow-root puddings, Hawaiian coffee with cream and sugar. A part or all of these we can furnish for our supper this evening also melons, oranges, guavas and figs. Or if our friend, Dr. Alcott, will sup with us, be shall have good baked potatoes and bread, pia, also, with figs and oranges. Please recollect, gentlemen, that I did not spread this table to cause a surfeit, but to show you what a change the blessing of God on industry has wrought in our circumstances of living since 1828.

Evening.-I have just returned from the house of God, where I addressed our people on the goodness of their heavenly Benefactor during the year which is near its close. It has been, on the whole, a year of prosperity to the Hawaiian nation. Health has prevailed as a general thing. Peace has blessed the nation with its balmy influence. The earth has yielded her usual increase, so that to-day we may justly speak of the watchful care of a benignant Providence, and of the loving kindness of God to us all. In addition to the products of the earth purely Hawaiian, there have been sown and reaped a larger number of acres of wheat in this district than ever before, and though a good deal of this was destroyed by the caterpillar, still some 16,000 bushels were secured and sold, besides a good deal reserved for seed. Considerably many oats were raised, also corn and beans. Besides these essentials, the islands are fast developing their capabilities of producing fruit. Oranges are becoming increasingly plenty. Peaches, also, will soon become abundant. Figs have long been so, also guavas and custard apple. I have not doubt that Hawaii will become famous as a fruit growing country. In this prospect I greatly rejoice, and I am exhorting the people to turn their attention more to fruit-growing. Oranges and figs eaten freely would conduce much to the physical health and enjoyment of all classes among us. Some of them are beginning to think more favorably of this department of labor and enterprise. The growing of wheat, however, at present secures most of their attention. Though It is not a very profitable branch of enterprise still multitudes wish to try their hands at it, and as the Hawaiian Steam Flouring Company pay cash for wheat, an increasing number are thrusting in the plow, and scattering the seed over the furrowed fields. One benefit the people are certainly deriving from the introduction of wheat into their country,-they are forming habits of industry. In this I greatly rejoice. Of the success of their labors I will tell you in my next communication.

Yours with respect, J. S. GREEN

KEALIIKUKAHAOOA the Faithful

edwindwight Christian History of Hawai‘i, Digging for Treasure in Old Books, Kahu

from The Friend June 1903

Christianity spread across the Hawaiian archipelago beginning in 1820. While literacy, the printed word, harmonious hymn singing, church gatherings, and western medical care inspired the people of Hawai‘i to become a Christian nation within a generation, the faithfulness towards – and a belief in – Christ lay at the heart of this transformation of the Hawaiian people and formation of their unique style of Christian worship. Following is the story of a Native Hawaiian man from Moloka‘i named Kealiikukahaooa whose life embodies this transformation. He likely lived out in Hawai‘i every year of the nineteenth century, seeing first-hand the transformation of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Kealiikukahaooa lived to be over a hundred years old, he grew up worshipping a pantheon of Polynesian gods; as a man in Kamehameha-era Hawai‘i he lived under the fear of breaking one of the stringent laws of the ‘Ai Kapū system, with facing a penalty of being sacrificed at the altar of a heiau. He saw Kamehameha in person, and observed the missionaries arriving beginning in 1820 about six months following the death of the legendary king. In mid-life he left behind his troubled past and learned how to read. His text was the scriptures of the Bible as translated into the Hawaiian language. In the early twentieth century he dwelt in Waianae, O‘ahu with his son, the Rev. Joseph Kaiakea Kekahuna pastor of the Protestant ekalesia [church] in Wai‘anae. Rev. Kekahuna studied under missionary William P. Alexander at Wailuku and ordained in 1869. Kealiikukahaooa as an elderly venerated kupuna could look back on decades of life as a devoted Christian while maintaining his cultural heritage as a Native Hawaiian who knew both the old and the new ways of Hawai‘i.

In the household of the Waianae pastor, there lives an aged man, who is probably over one hundred years old. The household includes further Rev. S. P. Kaaia, his wife, his cousin, Rev. J. Kekahuna, the judge of the district. While visiting there not long since, I noticed the careful attention given to the wants of this old man, and on inquiry, I learned the following interesting facts:

Kealiikukahaooa, father of Rev, J. Kekahuna and uncle of Rev. S. P. Kaaia, was the son of Kapaiulani, konohiki (chief man) of the land of Ohia and Manowai, Island of Molokai. He was a grown man when the missionaries came in 1820, and had seen Kamehameha the First. He joined the church in 1842, under the pastorate of Father Hitchcock, and has been a constant church attendant ever since. He never drank liquor, neither awa, uala, nor imported liquor of any kind. He never smoked, nor was he ever troubled with any hoomanamana (fetish worship) tendency. He looks with disapproval on all kinds of bottled drinks, is suspicious of soda water and everything that has a “pop.” Once when ill it was with difficulty that he could be persuaded to take any medicine. This centenarian can still read without glasses; indeed he has never used them. He has a retentive memory and can repeat chapter after chapter of the Bible. He learned to read in his maturity and has ever since made constant use of Scripture; before he joined the church he was a probationer for several years. He was the father of nine children. When Kekahuna had learned what he could at the district schools and expressed a desire to continue his studies at Lahainaluna, his father took him one Saturday in his canoe over to Lahaina and thence to the school at Lahainaluna, where young Kekahuna was installed as a pupil, a classmate of other men who have also made their mark in Hawaiian history.

“During those days,” said the judge, “there was very little money in currency, and I went through the course of study with practically none. Every Saturday my father would take his canoe across the boisterous Molokai channel and trudge up the hill with packages of paiai and dried fish as my food for the week. When I needed clothing he would bring an extra supply and barter it for a little money. He thus helped me through my three years of school life without leaving me at any time in want of necessary supplies. Through the stormy days of winter, when the winds and the waves of the channel were high, or in the sultry season, when they died away, and he had to use the paddle, that canoe would be beached every week somewhere along the shore and the weekly supply of provisions would come to hand. Do you think I could ever forget those days of strenuous effort and patient, loving service?” 0. P. E…

Preparing the Way added to American Antiquarian Society collection

edwindwight ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia Touring, 200th anniversary of Sandwich Islands Mission, Book and Author News, Christian History of Hawai‘i, Digging for Treasure in Old Books, Opukaha‘ia - Henry Obookiah, Opukaha‘ia and Hawai‘i, Ōpūkaha‘ia in New England, Samuel Mills Jr.
American Antiquarian Society exterior
A key collection of published Hawaiian language materials can be found in the archives of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The American Antiquarian Society has accepted for inclusion of its collection a copy of my new book Preparing the Way – A Pictorial History for the Hawai‘i Mission Bicentennial 1820-2020. This pictorial history provides an illustrated narrative of the formation and sending of the pioneer Protestant missionary company sent to Hawai‘i from Boston by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1819.

The American Antiquarian Society library located in Worcester, Massachusetts dates back to the Early Republic days of the United States. The Society describes itself as: “Founded in 1812 by Revolutionary War patriot and printer Isaiah Thomas, the American Antiquarian Society is both a learned society and a major independent research library. The AAS library today houses the largest and most accessible collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, music, and graphic arts material printed through 1876 in what is now the United States, as well as manuscripts and a substantial collection of secondary texts, bibliographies, and digital resources and reference works related to all aspects of American history and culture before the twentieth century.”

During a research visit in 2018 I discovered a book with perhaps the first mention of plans for an American Protestant mission to evangelize the Hawaiian Islands. In searching for unknown, obscure details about the Christian History of Hawai‘i, I will often begin with a general term like the key word “Obookiah” and see what publications show up. Through a search for “Samuel Mills” in the digital card catalog available within the AAS library an 1810 book titled A Collection of Letters on Missions turned up. A note within the card catalog notation showed the book was self-published at the Andover Theological Seminary by American Foreign Missions founder Samuel Mills Jr. and Adoniram Judson, who sailed from Salem, Massachusetts in 1812 as the leader of the first foreign Protestant mission sent from the shores of the young United States. In the rear section of the book the Sandwich Islands is mentioned. Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia was in Andover with Samuel Mills at the time of the distribution of the book. One wonders if Henry helped his friend with the packing and shipping of the books, which were sold in advance by subscription to church congregations in New England to promote foreign missions. The book also gave one of the first notices of the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, inspired in spring 1810 by a request from Mills, Judson and two other Andover students. That took place at Bradford, Massachusetts, about eight miles north of Andover.

The American Antiquarian Society collection houses rare and newspapers with a Hawai‘i tie. The family of James Hunnewell, an officer aboard the brig the Thaddeus upon which the pioneer company sailed to Hawai‘i, in recent years has donated their collection of Hawaiian language mission press publications. This includes a copy of the first Hawaiian alphabet, struck off the Mission Press in January 1822.

The Rev. Samuel Damon (February 15, 1815 – February 7, 1885) of Hawai‘i joined the American Antiquarian Society in 1869. His ancestor Samuel Damon of Holden, Massachusetts in 1836 donated a corner of the property where the AAS is today located. The Rev. Damon served as the pastor of the American Seaman’s Friend Society chapel in Honolulu from 1841 to 1869 during the height of the American whaling ship era. He founded and published The Friend, a monthly newspaper He was the editor and publisher of The Friend, a monthly newspaper printed in Honolulu. The Friend was an outreach to the thousands of sailors who arrived in Hawai‘i each year during his life in Hawai‘i and included news of ship arrivals and departures and a wide variety of news about the Hawaiian Islands.

“How a Massachusetts Library Became ‘A Hotbed of Hawaiiana’” is the title of a Honolulu Civil Beat article about the Hawai‘i ties to the American Antiquarian Society.

Poai Lincoln performs at the American Antiquarian Society in October 2019 during an event for the 2019 Hawai‘i Mission Bicentennial in New England.
Poai Lincoln traveled from Hawai‘i to perform at the American Antiquarian Society in October 2019 during an event organized by the Hawaiian Mission Houses for the 2019 Hawai‘i Mission Bicentennial in New England. Poai accompanied acclaimed Hawai‘i actor Moses Goodes who performed in the main room of the AAS his one-man drama My Name is ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia.

New details on death of George Kaumuali‘i – Humehume

edwindwight Christian History of Hawai‘i, Digging for Treasure in Old Books
Kalanimoku home where Humehume died
George Kaumuali‘i (Humehume) died in the home of Kalaimoku (Kalanimoku) located along the coast makai of the Sandwich Islands Mission Station in Honolulu in 1826, according to a report by missionary printer Elijah Loomis. The dirt road pictured is apparently today’s Queen Street.

New details on the death of George Kaumuali‘i [George Tamoree – Humehume] appear in the April 25, 1828 issue of the Philadelphian newspaper. The unsigned front page news report titled simply George Tamoree was apparently written by Elisha Loomis. Elisha had returned from Hawai‘i to the United States in 1827 due to illness. Loomis served as the printer for the Sandwich Islands Mission’s Pioneer Company.

In the article, Elisha tells of seeing George the day before his death from influenza in 1826 in Honolulu. He reports that Kalanimoku, the Christian prime minister of the Hawaiian Kingdom, told him details of George’s painful last hours.

Elisha knew George Kaumuali‘i well. Both Elisha and George studied together during the summer 1819 term at the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut, they sailed together aboard the voyage of the brig Thaddeus leaving from Boston in October 1819 for Hawai‘i, and for years after their arrival in Hawai‘i in the spring of 1820, both in Kaua‘i and in Honolulu during the last years of George’s life.

Click here to read the article.

Elisha returned to New York State due to illness (he died later in the 1830s). He continued his service to the American Board’s mission to Hawai‘i by printing Ka Euanelio a Mataio [The Gospel of John] and other Gospels on a press in Rochester. Elisha edited and published a Christian newspaper in Rochester to earn a living while continuing despite bad health to print the Hawaiian language Gospels which were shipped back to Hawai‘i for distribution.