PRE-CONTACT EDUCATION IN ANCIENT HAWAI'I

PRE-CONTACT EDUCATION IN ANCIENT HAWAI'I

Rubellite K. Johnson

At least four distinct divisions may be discerned in ancient Hawaiian education in the historical literature available to us today:

1. The division of education which provided instruction between generations within the immediate family, as from parents to children or grandparents to grandchildren. 2.. The division of education separating males from females in the economic activity of the community, or that in which the extended family assumed the role of daily instruction. 3. The division of education that existed at the court principally for the instruction of chiefs as administrators and warriors, or that which was distinct from the education of other males in economic, rather than political, skills and military leadership. And 4. Speclalized education in the trades, requiring skilled artisans, kahuna (all italics editor's). as professional tutors.

In the first division of education, the social institution of the tabu system requiring that the male sphere of influence be kept separate from the female was an agency of community regulation issuing from the religious code with the force of Jaw. Places of training were set aside principally for the men, on the one hand, and for the women on the

other, as were also the kinds of subject matter taught and learned. In the art of bark-cloth, kapa, making, for example, houses, hala kuku kapa, were built for the women to keep the tools and materials for beating bark cloth. Women went there to do the work of beating cloth and applying the designs and making the vegetable dyes. But, as carving was a skill taught and learned by men, the art of kapn-tool carving requiring wood-carving skills and bamboo­design carving techniques, was a male sphere of craftsmanship, and the men supplied the necessary implements for doth-making arts. We are not certain from the records we have today, however, how these activities were kept separate, and whether men did such work for the women away from the knpa-beating houses occupied by the women. Similarly, while women occupied the various houses assigned to them for their unique tasks in the daily economic life of an ancient Hawaiian village, men built the houses, carpentry being the craft in the male sphere of action and power taught and learned under the guidance of tutelary male gods.

The male child of educable age, after being weaned from his mother, was taken away from the company

of females at the earliest possible moment and from that time henceforth took all of his instructions with adult males:

When it came time for the child to be weaned, it was provided with ordinary food only, and was then taken from the mother and installed at the mua, or men's eating house. In regard to this removal of the child to the mua the expression was u11 kll i mu11. The eating /11bu was now laid upon the child, and it was no longer allowed to take its food in the company of the women.I

He ate pork with the men in the mua, where he also learned the rituals for the god, Lono-i-ka-makahiki, embodied in the "lpu o Lono" image which was enshrined in the mua. This prepared him for more elaborate rituals to be performed at the htiau, temple, during the labu days of the month for eight months of the calendar year. Tradition records the training of male youngsters on the heiau:

Kaluaopalena and Mahinui, the daughter of Hina, were the father and mother of Palila, who was born in Kamooloa, in Koloa, Kauai; but he

3

(Palila) was brought up in the temple of Humuula. . . . When Hina saw that the child was full grown she took him to the temple of Alanapo and brought him up with the spirits, where he was educated in the arts of warfare and in all the training proper for the development of great strength. After the years of training his two hands were equally developed and could deal out death to all his enemies.1

In these exercises, it will be seen that men of the extended family, and not only the men of the immediate family household, took upon themselves the joint responsibility of educating their young sons in matters of tradition, i.e., of intellectual exercise and training of the mind to memorize history and genealogy, as well as in matters of economic well-being and sufficiency. The principal places of instruction were at the heinu and the hnlnu, work houses, set aside for occupational training in daily work assigned to males of the community- net­making, adze-making, canoe-making, fishing, navigation, astronomy, wood-carving, house-building, cordage-making, planting and harvesting, house-thatching, making the imu (earth oven), animal husbandry, fire-making, bird-snaring, etc. Women assisted in the preparation of food- but not in preparing the imu - food-gathering, working in the fields and shellfish gathering, doth-making, featherwork, mat-plaiting, basketry, and child-rearing.

As no males were exempt from ceremonies at the heiau during the regular tabu days of the month and at appointed times for worship on the heiau po'oknnnka, human sacrificial temples dedicated to the god, Ku, we may assume that instruction in ritual prayers and the order of ritual performance was part of mandatory male training over which the organized priesthood officiated. Since faulty performance could result in the loss of life, we must also assume

4

that rigorous discipline was exacted by the priests in the training of young men just as it was demanded of them and of the chiefs in their own period of learning.

As this training was no doubt arduous in its demands on the perseverance of young people, just as it must have been on adults, we are curious as to what age the novitiates were when such training began. Inasmuch as training at court­where the tnbu was enforced in service of the chiefs as it also was, in greater degree perhaps, in the service of gods at the heinu, bearing in mind that chiefs were also gods incarnate during their lifetime- was equally rigorous in matter of tnbu, protocol, and punctilious performance of duty. The example of the life of John Papa 'l'i as a knhu, retainer, in training for personal service to the young chief Liholiho at the court of Kamehameha the Great is revealing in what it tells us about the age at which discipline in training was enforced:

From the time he was little, Ii was taught by his father, Kuaena, the rules of good behavior, in preparation for this position in the royal court, where he was destined to go at the age of ten. They brought him up carefully, instructing him in all things, and saw to it that he was quick and capable, as they wished him to be when he went to live in the presence of the chiefs.1

Once when the parents of the boy brought up the subject of his going to the court, they warned him of the things he might encounter in the place where his older brother Maoloha had died for committing a misdeed . . .. "Your uncles who are now in the royal court do not go about as they please, but heed the instructions they received from their elders. So do we teach you. Because we have nothing to give those in whose house we live, your father and I have agreed not to keep you to ourselves though you were born to us, a son from our loins. We know that you are capable of taking care of yourself if you heed our teachings. These you practiced before us, therefore I am letting Papa, my kaikunanr (older brother), place you with

any chief he chooses. To him you must be obedient. Thus did your uncles become seekers of the welfare of their chiefs' homes from the time they were poor until they became prosperous. They bore with patience the poverty and the many troubles that rested upon them. So must you, if you heed our teachings and those of my l:aikunanr for whom you are named."•

In this instance 'I'i speaks of his parents' personal guidance in his training before presenting him to the court for service in training. In this preparation a strong parallel exists between the autobiographical treatment by John Papa 'l'i of his preparation for lifelong employment, beginning at the court of the first Kamehameha at age ten following training at home by his own parents, and evidence from traditional accounts of famous heroes. The role of the mother in the rearing of sons for professional work is understood in the legend of Kaipalaoa, the ho'opapa, riddling youngster;

. . . Kaipalaoa took up the profession of wrangling or disputation. Wailea, his mother, was skilled in the profession and so took the education of her son upon herself until all she knew had been imparted to the boy. She then said to him: "Go to your Aunt ... she will complete your education." She taught him all she knew relating to the profession: the things above and the things below, in the uplands and in the lowlands; the things that happen by day and the things that happen by night; of death and of life; of good and of evil. She taught him all that she knew, whereupon he was classed as an expert ... ,5

The parental role in training a youngster before others add to his instruction outside the immediate home is again and again encouraged in tradition. In the legend of Laukiamanuikahiki, the heroine, we find:

After the birth of Laukiamanuikahiki, Hina and her husband brought her up all by themselves.•

In the case of Kuapaka'a, the role of the father in teaching the son the office of 'iwiku11mo'o-"backbone of the king," personal attendant to the king-is explicit:

After Kuapaka'a had grown up to the age when he could talk and think, Paka'a said to him: "I want to teach you the mtlt (songs) relating to your master and also the general knowledge of all things; for it is possible that in time he will miss me and will come to make a search; if he does I want you to be in a position of readiness to meet him." The course of instruction did not take many days, for Kuapaka'a was a bright boy and everything was mastered in a way that gave him a thorough knowledge of the different subjects.1

As the boy grew up the father educated him in all things pertaining to the office of an immediate servant under the king; and also in the different branches of learning of those days until his education was complete.8

The tradition of Kuapaka'a corroborates what John Papa 'l'i relates about how the hereditary position of both the kahu and 'iwikuamo'o posts at the court were handed down from father to son:

Owing to the hereditary position of his family, Ii was trained from earliest childhood for a life of service in the court of the high chiefs, with the understanding that he would serve the chief of his choice. From the age of ten, Ii served as Liholiho's companion and personal attendant, and was close to Liholiho during the period when the heir was instructed in the conduct of government and in ancient religious rites. 9

Tradition also records that special children, or gifted children, were taken by grandparents to be educated as favorite children, puri11hele1 destined for a life of great distinction:

After the examination the old people called the parents of Kawelo and said to them: "Where are you two? This child of yours is going to be a soldier; he is going to be a very powerful man and shall someday rule as king." Because of these wonderful traits, the old people took Kawelo and attended to his bringing up themselves.to

The raising of a child when he becomes a disciplinary problem is also posed as a problem in child­rearing for grandparents, and in the story of Kawelo a device, other than punishment of the young child, is the employment of attractive distractions:

Kawelo as a child was a very great eater; he could not satisfy his hunger. Kawelo ate so much that his grandparents began to get tired of keeping him in food, so at last they began to search for something to entice Kawelo away from the house and in that way get him to forget to eat .... One day they went up to the woods and hewed out a canoe. After it was brought down to the seashore it was rigged up and given to Kawelo. As soon as Kawelo got the canoe he paddled it up and down the Wailua river, and after this it became an object of great interest for him everyday.II

This employment of psychological understanding of child behavior and the use of reward as distraction from vice, or lack of self-control, is an interesting insight into child-rearing techniques in ancient Hawaiian life. So also is the apparent regard among Hawaiians for bringing up children in the company of other children, of recognizing the need for children to grow up with their own age group:

Kaka'alaneo sent out his messengers to make a circuit of Maui and find out all the chiefesses who were also with child on that same day. The intention of the king being to procure servants and playmates for the coming heir. In due course of time the queen gave birth to a baby boy and he was called, Kaulula'au. All the children who were born on the same day on Maui were brought to the king and reared with the prince, Kaulula'au.11

In this case, when Kaka'alaneo's son, Kaulula'au, became a disciplinary problem and went about Lahaina uprooting the breadfruit trees of Lele in order to feed his young companions, the king banished him to the island of Lana' i

where the young prince survived the ghosts, spending his juvenile energies outwitting the ghosts and finally eradicating the island of these troublesome spirits, whereupon his father, the king of Maui, welcomed him home with open arms.

Yet, there is no indication of uniformity in treatment of chiefly children. Where there is evidence that peer-group relations were important considerations in child­rearing, another tradition records isolation of chiefly children, even from their siblings, while being reared in the same house and the same court by the same attendants or parents. In the legend of Hoamakeikekula, a child is raised until the age of twenty without companions. Two children, brother and sister, in the legend of Kapuaokaohelo, raised by two attendants for twenty years are never allowed to go outdoors nor to see each other.u

Nowhere in traditional literature, however, is the account of child­training so informative as in the account of John Papa Ti. The values­training is presented with the details of his reaction and his tolerance for discipline against the background of parental admonition and encouragement:

A number of boys always followed him, and they carried the fishes on the return trip. When they neared the houses, they all stopped to rest and open the bundles; and Ii selected suitable fishes for the male and female gods and divided the remainder for himself and his friends. Then each boy went to his own home. The first time he returned from net fishing the remaining fishes were counted in the presence of his mother and she requested that some be set apart for the male and female gods. "They are already separated, H said the boy. "My companions have had their share, and this is ours." This caused his mother to say, "My son, these fine deeds that you have done here with us will benefit your work in the place we have told you about. You are going into the court with my l.:ail.:unanr, Papa. If you continue as you are now doing, all will be well.

5

Take care of all of the leftover food and everything else placed in your charge. When you are asked for them say, 'Here they are.' In so doing you will be recognized as my child and that of my (4ibt1411t."14

While much instruction was given to direct the attention of a trainee to effect his duties in exemplary manner, much education was received not as directed activity but by way of example:

These things relating to worship were not regarded by the boy as worthless, for he had seen them done by his parents from the ti~ he was little. He was obedient to his parents in the worthwhile and the worthless things they taught him, so he was well versed in this kind of worship. To his mind, these gods were like the true God. later, we shall see more of the real nature of the boy.u

At Waiale'e a few days later, when the strangeness had begun to wear off, the boy took his calabash and salt dish and sat outside of the door of the house. There he ate, for he respected the gods and was somewhat religious. While he ate, he seemed to relish his salt as he would meat, judging by the large scoops of poi he took. His bihaltint was watching him from inside the house and, seeing his great relish, asked, "What kind of meat have you?" "Just salt," answered the boy. "Oh, my poor brother," she said. Then she came out of the house and went to the beach. She returned shortly with four 1114nini and two 'opult fishes. She scaled the 'opult, stripped off the skins of the manini, and laid a sufficient number of fishes before him. Thus the boy knew that his kaih4hint was concerned over him. He was to remember all of the things she did for him while he remained there.••

'l'i's mother inculcated in her son the morals of the family by chiding him when she felt her son should not harbor revenge for acts of violence done against him:

6

When the boys returned home laden with their possessions, they greeted Ji's parents with a pressing of the nose,

honi i h ihu, with them a gesture that was like a holy kiss. They told the parents of all the benefits derived from their stay at Waianae, also mentioning the injury inflicted by Kahma and their plan to punish him if he should visit their place with his parents. The mother said, "You must not do that. Ho'omanawanui ka mRika'i loa (To be tolerant is best). This is the right procedure, for it is what you must be in the royal court in the future. Therefore, you must think of that man and this man, that boy and this boy, that chief and this chief, that you must act rightly. Thus does the uncle for whom you are named. He serves all of the chiefs in the court, where you are going to live.'' Her words made the boy realize that this was the right thing for him to do.11

Thus the boy's parents frequently discussed subjects pertaining to the nature of man, "from head to feet and from inside to outside, his goings and comings, his life at home, his observations of commands, both right and wrong, looking at them both, selecting the good and setting aside the bad, choosing between things that bring life and setting apart those that bring death, and so on." "These will make you wise," they said.la

His puents taught him without punishing him. They cared for him tenderly, knowing by his deeds that their son was good.•9

The age of 'l'i at this time was about seven, and from the account given above, it is seen that moral instruction was a matter of serious consideration between parents and children in the immediate household and was not left to the community at large to be effected in the conduct of daily social life. The influence of the mother is here demonstrated as very effective in training 'l'i for court duties by age ten, although in skills 'l'i must have spent much time away from her in the company of men.

Even at court the influence and usefulness of women is displayed as of significant amount:

One of the chief employments of the women about court was to compose mtlt in honor of the ali'i which they recited by night ilS well as by day.zo

The training of young chiefs at the court is also discussed by 'l'i insofar as the young Liholiho is concerned:

Whenever there was a meeting in the Ahutna house in the evening, the king instructed the heir carefully as to how to do things, describing the lives of former rulers such as Keakealaniwahine, Kalaniopu'u, Koihala, Kamalalawalu, Kauhiakama, and Hakau. Thus liholiho learned the results of abuse and disregard of the welfare of chiefs and commoners and about farming and fishing and things of like nature. In the discussions with the king the heir derived understanding which has passed down to his heirs of today. We can see the power of the law of the privy council and the executive councils in this time of education. This should remind us of the good work of that first king.21

The adaptability of education of the chiefs to meet changing needs of the times, due to the arrival of other peoples on the scene, is also accounted for by 'l'i:

It was the agents who suggested that Liholiho learn English. They fostered the idea until a haolt man was found to teach him. This man landed at Kaho'olawe some years before after a ship on which he had been the mate was wrecked at sea. . . . It is believed that the man chosen to be Liholiho's teacher was an American, for his ship, the Marshall, was from the United States. This good man lived with the heir to the kingdom for some time, and taught him some English words and how to write them. He used this knowledge to obtain bottles of rum from ships' captilins. Apparently he wrote only for rum, nothing else.zz

When Ii first saw Kaoaopa in Honolulu, he saw the model ship, moku ho'oholoholo, which the heir to the kingdom, Liholiho, sailed to-and-fro in a sea pool. It looked exactly like a real man-of-war with twelve guns mounted on it .... These small ships were much visited. The first such ships were made that the king's heir would know about some of the arts of the foreigners. Without this teaching, the people would have remained ignorant of such things.1J

Despite the influence from outside in the education of the young chief Liholiho, heir to Kamehameha's kingdom, the emphasis in his education was on ancient manners:

Kamehameha was lying down, and the two sons, Kina and Lunalilo, sat on either side of him. It was thought that one of them was to utter the 'Amama

prayer, but the king did not wish it so. The young chief Liholiho sat at some distance from him, on the lap of Keeaumoku, who was instructing him in how to utter the 'amama. This indicated that the other two would be denied this right, despite sitting so dose to their father. The people and some of the chiefs behind them offered words of encouragement, for the kingdom and the kingship were highly prized. The kahun11 paused in their work of praying, waiting for the '11mam11 to be said. Then the voice of the king was heard to ask, "Where is the young chief?"

He is sitting on Keeaumoku's lap, someone replied.

The king said, "Have him utter the ·AmAma to the gods."

So the young chief rose from Keeaumoku's lap, walked forward to the spot where the sacrificial pigs and dead men were heaped up with the coconuts and bananas and said, "O Ku, Kukailimoku I Ku of the bitter path I Lononuiakea I Kane and Kanaloa I Here are all the offerings I Before you I Curse I The rebels without and within I Who wish to seize the land I Grant life to Kamehameha I And to all the chiefs I To the people in general, the common people I And the kingdom, from one end to the other I And to me also I It is said I It is finished.1'

'l'i continues:

The young chief turned to go back and the happiness of the spectators and the king was great. Keeaumoku was the happiest of all because he (Liholiho) spoke so well.H

The role of Ke'eaumoku in training Liholiho to recite the 'amama implies that Ke'eaumoku was one of the kahu, or guardians of the young Liholiho, or one of special tutors with whom the chiefs trained. As Malo remarks: 'The person who brought up an ali'i and was his guardian was called a lcahu."26 The martial arts were taught by specialists at the court: "Among those about court who were expert in all soldierly accomplishments, and the arts of combat were very much taught. Many took lessons in spear· throwing, spear·thrusting, etc."21 The chiefs brought experts with a reputation for results to court:

Here let us talk a little of Kekuhaupi'o, Kamehameha's companion during training for spear fighting. Kalaniopu'u had sent for Kekuhaupi"o, who was living in South Kana, because he had heard of Kekuhaupi'o's prowess in sham battles. His fame had preceded him, and when he arrived, the chiefs took a great liking to him. It was known that Kamehameha was the chief he served and that the instructor who had trained them both in spear dodging was an expert. Kekuhaupi'o was a warrior from head to foot and was excelled only by Kamehameha.is

Kamehameha kept the men at court in constant physical and military fitness:

It was the custom of the chiefs to have sports such as racing, maikA throwing, diving feet first, hiding the 110' 11, boxing, surfing, sledding, sham fighting, and many others. These increased when the kingdom was at peace, as It was when Kalaniopuu first became king.

It was customary to hold frequent sham battles at the court to train the men in the art of war. The contestants, armed with spears of hau wood, were divided into two groups. As the men were divided, so were the chiefs. Kiwalao headed one side and Kamehameha the other. Kamehameha's side was always victorious, for he was an expert in dodging spears, and the other side became much annoyed.29

One who avoided being hurt by a hau wood spear and was clever in dodging and parrying was admired. The rules were not the same in all the schools that taught spear dodging, for the king had many more rules in his school than in those of the others. If an opponent was trained according to the king's rules, he would not be touched, no matter how many spears there were, because the man was trained in dodging from his head to his feet.

Kaoleioku was famous for his spear throwing. Because he knew just where to strike a dodging person, his spear did not miss. It is said that Kanepaiki was the best dodger. He was trained by one of Kekuhaupi'o's companions in arms, Keauhulihuli, who was famous for his courage and spear dodging. Kanepaiki's skill was his ability to see all the s~au coming toward him and to parry them. Spear dodging practice kept the men trained for warfare. Such performances led the children to go about with spears of bulrush stalks.>0

After these pro;ects, three schools for lua fighting (p11 ku'ialuA) were established by Kamehameha, and perhaps there were some smaller ones. Hahakea was the instructor at one of them. Namakaimi was the instructor at another, and Napuauki and his assistant were teachers at the third. At the school taught by Napuauki and his assistant were twenty-four boys from Kamehameha's court who were trained for more than two months. Among them was the king's own son Kekuaiwa, who was older than the chiefess Kinau. Ii also attended this school as did Kekuanaoa, father of Kamehameha IV and V . .. . n

Tradition records the importance of military and physical training at

7

the court, as in the story of the chief, Lono-i-ka-makahiki, who during his childhood expressed a dislike for his father's fancy for weapons:

Sometime after Lono-i-ka-makahiki had outgrown his childhood days and had almost attained manhood, he began to learn the art of dodging and throwing the spear; he also learned how to box and wrestle. These things were in time mastered by him. When he became proficient in these arts of defense and of war, the teachers who had charge of his training in these matters then held the last customary ceremonies. When Lono+ka-makahiki became older and more matured in thought he expressed a desire to know the things that would be of the most use to him, especially in the games, so he tried each one of them, as well as the different arts of warfare indulged in by his father, the things that were told him by his retainer as the things most desired.n

Evidence here comes to light about schools set up by the chiefs where special tutors in the arts and sciences were hired to train the king's army and court retainers. Less is known about their operation than about the organized hnlnu hu/n, dance schools, where male and female students were trained in chanting, music, and dance. Nathaniel 8. Emerson has given the hnlnu huln appreciable dimension in chapters on huln instruction in Unwrilltn Liltraturt, oftentimes called the "Hula Masters' Bible."

Just as the chiefs saw to their sons' training in the arts of warfare, tradition, and art of the dance and chant, they urged them to study fishing with superb masters:

Not very long after Kawelo began to learn dancing, but being unable to master this he dropped it and took up the art of war under the instruction of his father-in-law, Kalonaikahailaau ... . After Kawelo had mastered the art of warfare, he took up fishing. Maakuakeke of Waialae was the fishing instructor.JJ

8

The chiefs also surrounded themselves with kal1una skilled in the medical arts:

Papa was the owner of the houses for the worship of the god of healing. Lonopuha and Kaneikoleamoku and others. Such houses were built for the gods following training in feeling for and diagnosing diseases, in studying the location by making an outline of the body with pebbles, in selecting the medicine to use, and in the treating of the ailment after diagnosis. As Papa was most skilled in this art, he acted as Kamehameha's medical b1h1ma whenever the king was sick. Whatever nature of disease the chiefs had, Papa excelled in treating them. . . . The method of training promising members of the court as medical lcahun11 is believed to have developed because of the great death rate among chiefs and commoners in the year 1806, perhaps owing to the terrible 'olcu'u disease . ... All of these things composed and arranged for memorizing were learned by all the students of the art of healing."

To summarize the education at the court, the description by Malo is appropriate in conclusion:

It was the policy of the government to place the chiefs who were destined to rule, while they were still young, with wise persons, that they might be instructed by skilled teachers in the principles of government, be taught the art of war, and be made to acquire personal skill and bravery . . . . The young man had first to be subject to another chief, that he might be disciplined and have experience of poverty, hunger, want and hardship, and by reflecting on these things learn to care for the people with gentleness and patience.''

These values, enunciated by Malo, as required of chiefly character, were expected of all educated young men in the performance of duty,

exemplified in the upbringing of John Papa 'l'i. Forbearance was a great virtue, holding one's tongue in retaliation for injustices, and enduring pain even when innocent of wrongdoing or being taken advantage of:

When li's female relatives (/caikunhi~tJ went to pull grass at the designated place, the boy accompanied them. Absorbed in pulling grass, they forgot about the boy, assuming he had gone home. . . . When Ii glanced up he saw Liholiho and the person who carried his possessions. Right then his peace of mind left him, because he realized that he was going to be beaten and might even die as a result. After he had been beaten for some time, the person who carried the possessions of the chief said, "Do not give such a cruel beating to the servant who will be your follower when he grows up." When the boy was finally left alone, he did not realize it immediately. After a time, when the 01ches and weariness of the beating he had received lessened, he lifted himself ... and returned home ... lay down near Papa's feet without being noticed ... until the young chief's companion came to report the beating the boy had received from the chief ... that they remembered about leaving him. The boy said nothing, nor did his mother. He understood the thing she had taught him, to be patient and forbearing.Jo

From the account given by 'I'i one receives the impression that most of what he learned came from the close teaching within his own well­educated family, that not the least of his sophistication in manners about the court and the countryside was the result of his mother's capable instruction and wise counsel:

When the boy and his mother boarded a canoe and left the harbor of Kou, he asked for and was given a paddle to wield. Earlier he had learned a little 01bout paddling a canoe made of w1J1w1/i wood that his parents had provided for him. It was his mother who taught him how to paddle, and he became adept at it ... his mother trained him in the observance of the kapu noho,l7

Given the testimony of Ti and the writings of Malo regarding education for men, chiefs, and at the court, we are left with sparse details on the edification of women for their tasks in the home. As we may infer, however, from what 'l'i conveys about his own mother's role in his training, women had no superfluous role as repositories of training in ethics, moral conduct, and useful skills. What does come across is that the family unit was the heart of the educational system, and that it was the unit most basic to the community system in which young people, once given a foundation by their parents and grandparents, assisted by uncles and aunts, entered into special training with masters in the various skills of economic enterprise. It gives us pause for thought, as we realize that children are today geared for survival by the state, with the role of parents as educators of children minimized both in authority and efficiency. The moral center around the hearth and the home as source of ethical philosophy and moral support seems, by comparison with the ancient Hawaiian system of strong family guidance, an empty circle.

Footnotes

•Malo, David. H11w11ii11n Anliquilits, Bishop Museum Special Publication 2, trans. by Nathaniel B. Emerson. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 19Sl, p. 87.

zfornander, Abraham. Mrmoirs of lht Brrniet P11u11hi Bishop Mustum, Vol. V, Pt. I. New York: Krauss Reprint Co., 1974, p. 136.

3'l'i, John Papa. Fragmtnls of Hawaiian History. trans. by Mary Kawena Pukui, Dorothy B. Barrere, ed. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 19S9, pp. 22-23.

~Ibid., p. 22. 'fomander, op. cit., Vol. IV, Pt. Ill, pp.

S74-S75. •Ibid., pp. 596-606. 'Fomander, op. cit., Vol. V, Pt. I, pp. 72-

77. •Ibid.

MKahuna and Apprentice" Drawing by Joseph Feher Bishop Museum

.. l'i, op. Cit., p. xi. 1ofornander, op. nl., Vol. VI, Pt. I, pp. 2.

71 . 11fornander, op <ii, Vol. V, Pt. I, p. 2. u fornander, op <it .. Vol. JV, Pt. Ill, p.

486. UJbiJ. , pp. 532-S40, u'J' i, op. er/., p. 24. UJbid., P· 26 toJbrd., p. 24. 11fb1d., p. 28. 18Jbid. 19Jbid. 10Malo, op. crt., p. 67. 11'J'i, op. ell., p. 129. l2Jbid., p. 128. 23Jb1d., p . 30. UJbrd, p 37. »Ibid. :•Malo, op. <1t , p. 59. 21Jbid., p. 20. U'J'i, Op. cil.1 p. 9. Z9Jbid., p. 7.

30lbid., P· 66 . llJbii/., pp. 68-69. J2 fornander, op. cit., Vol. IV, Pt. II, pp.

262-263. Hlbid., Vol. VI, Pt. I, p. 6. H'l' i, op. ell., p. 46. n Malo, op. cit., pp. 53-54. J•'l'i, op. cil. , p. 54. n JbiJ., pp. 28, SS.

Rubtllilt Kawtna Johnson is an Associalt Profrssor in tht Otpartmtnt of Inda-Pacific Languagts, Un1vrrsil!I of H11w11i'i 11t Manoa. As an instructor, mt11rchtr and ltcturtr in tht 11rls, mrnus, anJ fo/Horic lradil1ons of /ht P1uifrc lsl11ndtrs- witlr 11n tmphnsrs on Polyntsia- sht has 11uthortd m11n!l 11rticlrs, pnptrs, and boolcs 011

htr findings and rtmains tht outstanding scholar on llrt lilrrary traditions of H11wai'i.

9