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17 Chapter 1 A Land and a Disease Set Apart Nānā no a ka lā‘au ku ho‘okahi “Look for the plant that stands alone.” —‘Ōlelo No‘eau, Mary Kawena Pukui Mo‘olelo The Hawaiian Islands began to form several million years ago, and they lie some three thousand kilometers from the nearest continent.1 They are the most geographically isolated archipelago in the world, and, as one writer has noted, “more than any other factor, it is the isolation of these islands . . . that has shaped Hawai‘i’s natural history.”2 Indeed, it might also be said that more than any other factor, the remoteness of these islands has shaped Hawai‘i’s cultural and social history as well. All plant and animal life had to come from somewhere else, blown by the wind or brought by the ocean currents. Likewise was the arrival of Hawai‘i’s first human inhabitants. Further, because of the islands’ isolation , its plant and animal life, and human culture, would each evolve in its own respective way. Through growth and erosion, evolution and decay, all life forms that came to the shores of Hawai‘i would shape, and be shaped by, its variety of environments.3 Just as Hawai‘i’s native plants and animals are unique to these islands “as a result of its isolation and speciation,” so was the development of the Hawaiian population and culture unique because of its isolation.4 It is thought that the first Polynesians migrated to the Hawaiian Islands sometime between 200 BCE and 400 CE. These early voyagers would have survived by gathering, lowland agriculture, and fishing. The cultivation of kalo (taro) would set many basic patterns for Hawaiian culture. For instance, the regulation of water, the location of houses, festivals and rituals honoring the gods, and daily eating habits were all influenced by this food staple. The Kānaka Maoli were exceptional engi- 18 chapter 1 neers and cultivators as they developed intricate networks of irrigation canals, built terracing walls and fishponds, and cultivated as many as three hundred types of kalo, as well as numerous varieties of ‘uala (sweet potatoes) and ipu (gourds).5 The ‘āina was not only essential to the survival of the Hawaiians, but it was also the basis of their cultural and social structure. The ‘āina was regulated by the ali‘i (chiefs) and home to the maka‘āinana (commoners , those who attend the land), who considered themselves kama‘āina (native born, born of the land). The land had personal status as an ancestor or progenitor, it was the place where the graves of ancestors, kulā iwi (the plain of one’s bones), were found, and it nurtured the people (the kama‘āina).6 Perhaps most important, Native Hawaiians viewed their ‘āina as a precious and limited resource, one that was to be used, but also one that required continual care. Certainly the early Hawaiians altered their environment , but they also held it in great respect.7 The environment was protected largely by the kapu system, which helped to regulate the use of the ‘āina. The kapu system, which distinguished what was sacred from what was not, in accordance with the Hawaiian gods, not only controlled but preserved all the resources available to Hawaiians, including the ‘āina. It is evident in the oral traditions of Hawai‘i and the Pacific that twoway voyaging continued between Kahiki (beyond the horizon) and the Hawaiian Islands at least until the 1300s.8 Within that time period a significant wave of migration and settlement brought a more structured hierarchy to the islands. Thought to be introduced through the Tahitian kahuna (priest) Pā‘ao, the kapu system was established to regulate the relationships between the ‘akua and the ali‘i, the ali‘i and the ‘āina, and the ali‘i and the maka‘āinana. Ruling chiefs competed for resources and challenged for power, and many strove not only for interisland kingdoms, but also to unite all of the islands under one. As the power of the ali‘i grew, four main island kingdoms emerged. While their specific parameters would increase or decrease with different ruling chiefs, they were essentially the kingdoms of Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, and Hawai‘i. Pi‘ilani of Maui was the first to establish an interisland kingdom. The great ali‘i Kahekili, also of Maui, in his wars against Kalani‘iopu‘u during the eighteenth century, was on the verge of uniting all the kingdoms. But unification...

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