Pages
mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-011
- 171 -
poorer than these island s. Incidentally, this attribute is common to all of Oceania. Of quadrapeds, there are rats and mice; of domesticated animals, the natives have pigs, goats, dogs, and cats. The last ones were brought in from the times of the discovery of the islands. Recenty, horses, horned cattle, and sheep were imported.
In those days reigned the king, Tameamea II [Kamahameha II] the son of the reformer and conqueror of the whole island group, Tameamea I,about whom Mr. Kotzebue, in the description of his voyage round the world on the brig "Riurik" talked in great detail. The son adopted the name of his father upon ascending the throne, and until that time he was called Rio-Lio [Liolio]. He was then about 25 years old, was of a very unattractive physical appearance, and did not distinguish himself like the rest of the nobility with tall stature and generally handsome figure. His mental abilities were also not outstanding, the reason why his wise father, knowing the weakness of his son, ordered on his deathbed that his favorite wife, the above mention queen, Kahumanna, should participate in ruling. Apparently, he[ Liolio ] was seemingly very contented with this order of his parent, and did almost nothing. He spent the whole day in his hut surrounded by his favorites, and sipping kava or rum, and occasionally madeira, which he preferred to all other wines. Sometimes, for a change,he got into his beautiful yacht and sailed among the islands in company of his favorite wife, Kamehameha [Kamamalu], who subsequently
mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-012
- 172 -
died with him in England.
The late king, Tameamea I, during his lifetime, despite his enlightened state of mind concerning religion, did not wish to introduce a new faith into the islands subjugated by him, but on his deathbed, he bequeathed to his son and to the regent, Kahumanna, the tast of doing it gradually. Upon his death, their first concern was to abolish the tabu,* burn the idols, and destroy the morai [place of worship]. Thus the inhabitants had no religion at all, because, having abolished the old one, they did not accept the Christian faith, although they already had teachers. The missionaries about whom was spoken previously were called, Biniam [Hiram Bingham], the senior, and Ferster [Asa Thurston], the junior. They had with them a kister [catechist?] or clerk, by the name of Lamis [Elisha Loomis], and a farmer. Lamis, in addition to his duties, managed a small printing establishment where was printed a short catechism and an alphabet of Latin letters, translated at that time by the missionaries into the Hawaiian language. Upon their arrival in 1818 [1820], the king granted them lands and gave them laborers, permitted them to preach Christianity, and to baptize whoever wanted it, but he did not embrace the faith, from laziness I suppose.
The missionaries started a school where about 30 children were taught writing, reading, the beginning of holy
*I consider it unnecessary to describe the meaning of this word because it was explained by many travelers before me.
mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-013
- 173 -
history, and religion. All the adults, especially the nobility, following the example of their ruler, shunned the missionaries and were not willing to accept the Christian faith, and any other instructions concerning management or husbandry, especially farming, although they could see with their own eyes that the Europeans cultivated the land better. The cultivated fields seeded with wheat and maize (which, by the way, was on the islands before the missionaries), awaited a rich harvest. The reasons for this indifference of the natives to something better cannot be found solely in laziness and following the old ways, but more in the influence of Europeans living on the islands, of whom stood out a fugitive French sailor by the name of [John] Rivés. They found it advantageous for themselves that the inhabitants of these islands should remain in ignorance, fearing that the teaching of the missionaries would improve the morals of these people, especially women leading a rather dissolute life, and that then they would not be able any longer to satisfy their passions, lust, and greed to enrich themselves through deceit by money gotten from American and other commanders of vessels visiting Hanaruro Harbor. In those days the debauchery in these islands still reigned in full strength, especially at Vahu, so often visited by Europeans, and most of all by American whalers. The unmarried women knew no shame. The married ones, fearing to be discovered by their husbands, were more restrained, and had affairs onlu with foreigners. Often the masters themselves sold their spouses from greed. If any one of them was
mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-014
- 174 -
caught in an affair with her countryman, death was her inevitable destiny.
During our stay, polygny was almost a general practice, especially amond the nobles. The king had seven wives, the governor of the island, a splendid man no older than 22 years, the same number. No matter how much the missionaries opposed this custom, it remained in force as before, although they set themselves up as an example, assuring the inhabitants that they lived extremely happily with one wife.
It was strange that the nobles of these islands differed strikingly in their physique from the common people. The common people were more of a middle size and lean. The nobles were almost all of a gigantic height, and corpulent. To what can be attributed this difference? To the laziness in which they spend their life, or a completely unworried life?
The people were divided into only two classes, the nobility and the common people. The first descended from the relatives of katsikoi or kings of former dynasties as well as the present. Until Tameamea I, every island had its own king, independent of the others, ruling the people in a completely despotic way. Tameamea united all the islands under one scepter and names the governors of the islands except one, Atosa, which kept its king, who only paid tribute. The people constituting the second class, although they were not real slaves, however, had to work for the first ones without remuneration; from them were taken sailors and soldiers constituting the military force of these islands.
mss142-vasilevShishmarev-i5-015
- 175 -
On March 24 we sighted, entering the harbor, a squadron of small vessels under the Sandwich flag, consisting of two brigs and four schooners. One of them, sailing in front, was the yacht belonging to the king, on which he himself was. This yacht was bought by him from an American trader for 80,000 piasters, and although it was decorated inside with gold leaf and mirrors and had 16 copper carronades of 12-pound caliber, it was not worth, however, by any means, such an enormous sum. The king, in the company of his adviser by the name of Kraimoku, detailed to him by his late father, went immediately to visit his sick stepmother upon landing. Following him, we, too, went ashore, wishing to pay him a visit there. We were conducted to the upper floor. We though that we would see in the rooms of the queen-regent, royal adornment, if not at least some kind of furnishings. How surprised we were when our eyes met naked walls and a large, empty room in all that place. The floor was covered with mats upon which, in the middle of the room, lay the sick queen, Kahumanna. She was treated by women in the Sandwich manner, that is, they pressed her stomach with all their might with their knees, and at the same time, not only these women physicians, but about a dozen other women sitting in a corner of the room, howled and cried in a heart-rending voice. To this cry answered also the innumerable crowd of natives situated below. When the king entered, his stepmother lifted her head and started to cry. This was a new signal to the general outcry in which the king himself