Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 7, 1 July 1999 — Well-built Hawaiians impressed first malihini [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Well-built Hawaiians impressed first malihini

By Claire Hughes Dept. of Health N 1796, William Ellis, a missionary ' for the London Mission Society, was sent to establish missions in the Society Islands, Tahiti and the Marquesas. He landed in Hawai'i in 1820. The Amenean missionaries and the Hawaiian chiefs were pleased with Mr. Ellis and his native assistants, and they were invited to remain permanently. In February of 1823, Mr. Ellis brought his family ffom Huahine, Tahiti to Hawai'i. At that time, the American Mission had permanent stations only on O'ahu and Kaua'i. An exploration of the island of Hawai'i was planned with two objectives in mind - to learn more about the country and people and to explore estabhshing missions. Rev. Ellis and three American missionaries, Asa Thurston, Atemas Bishop and Joseph Goodrich, landed at Kailua in June 1823 and spent the next two months making the circuit of the island. According to available records, those were the first white men to accomplish this feat and also the first white men to visit the volcano of Kīlauea. A journal records their historic accomplishment and observations.

Rev. Ellis returned to England in 1824 and rewrote the journal, making it a personal narrative that provides compar-

isons of life and customs in Hawai'i with those in the Society Islands. He published five editions in London in 1825 and 1842. It is from the journal of Ellis' travels that the description of the physieal characteristics of Jr

Hawaiians in last month's article was taken. The entire quote reads, "The natives are in general rather above j the middle stature, well formed, with fine muscular hmbs, open countenances and features frequently resembling

those of Europeans. Their gait is graceful and sometimes stateiy.

"The chiefs in particular are tall and stout and their personal M appearance is

so mueh superior to that of the eom- / mon peo-'i ple that some have

imagined them a distinct race. This, however, is not the fact; the great care taken of them in childhood and their

better living have probably oeeasioned the difference. Their hair I is black or brown, strong, fre- | quently curly; their complexion g is neither yellow like the W Malays, or red like the Ameriean Indians, but a kind of olive and sometimes reddish brown.

Their arms and other parts of the body are tatu'd; but, except in one of the islands, this is by no means so eommon as in many parts of the Southern Seas." Writing about the food that I nourished these physically m exceptional specimens, Rev. I Ellis wrote, "Fish was

not so abundant on their shore as around many of the other islands (south and i west of Hawai'i);

they have, however, several

varieties, and the inhabitants proV cure a

tolerable supply. The vegetable productions are found in no small variety, and the most serviceable are cultivated with facility. The natives subsist principally on the roots of the Arum esculerxtum, whieh they eall taro, on the Com>ol\ulus batatas, or sweet potato, called the uara, and uhi, or yam. The pnneipal indigenous fruits are the 'uru, or breadfruit; the niu, or coconut; the mai'a, or plantain; the 'ōhi'a, a species of eugenia; and the strawberry and raspberry. Oranges, limes, citrus, grapes, pineapples, papawapples, cucumbers and water melon have been introduced, and excepting the pineapples, thrive well. French beans, onions, pumpkins and cabbage have also been added to their vegetables, and, though not esteemed by the natives, are cultivated to some extent for the purpose of supplying the shipping." A mo'olelo about a mythical Hawaiian character: Olomana was a noted warrior, famous for his great strength and enormous height. He was described to be 12 yards or 6 fathoms in height, measured from the head to toe. Ahuapau, the king of O'ahu, feared him and never traveled to Ko'olau, as the area from Makapu'u point to Ka'ō'io point at Kualoa, was sacred to Olomana and kapu. He was challenged by Palila, a young soldier from the kapu temple Alanapo in Humu'ula on Kaua'i. Although Olomana asked to be spared, Pahla cut him in two, and his remains are known to us as Mount Olomana. ■ Tall and muscular, the late Olympic swimmer Thelma Kalama glows with health in this studio photo taken in 1950 when she was 1 9. For her story, see page 12.

- uj! l īllo

W PHOĪO: BENMY'S STUDIO