Saturday, September 5, 2009

From the Beach to the Cliff

A L O H A!
Come On In. . .
click on photos to tavel through history
Kamehameha the Great (the 'lonely one') invaded Oahu in 1795


On his deathbed, King Kamehameha the Great said:
"I have given you -- the greatest good: peace. And a kingdom which -- is all one -- a kingdom of all the islands."



Hard to believe that this peaceful coast has seen invasion
by a fleet of war canoes.


“Then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink”
John Keats

Snack Break!

"...the avocado is a food without rival among the fruits,
the veritable fruit of paradise."
David Fairchild


"I'm standing for my ancestors"

"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born
is to remain perpetually a child. For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?"
Marcus Tullius Cicero


Their bones LIVE!
"If you could see humanity spread out in time, as God sees it, it would look like one single growing thing--rather like a very complicated tree. Every individual would appear connected with every other."
- C. S. Lewis

"Those who do not look upon themselves as a link, connecting the past with the future, do not perform their duty to the world."
Daniel Webster

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In 1790 (20 years before his 1810 unification the Islands) Kamehameha invited Englishmen John Young and Isaac Davis to join his forces, even welcoming them to marry into his family. Both men were regarded as "Ali`i or chiefs, and are today interred at Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum. (Non-natives continued to intermarry, assimilate and contribute to the multi-cultural Kingdom of Hawaii.)



Kamehameha's last great battle was fought on O'ahu in 1795 at Nu'uanu Pali. (TOP)
There his invading army defeated O'ahu's
King Kalanikupule;
ultimately driving hundreds
(perhaps even thousands) of Oahu defenders to the edge
of the famous precipice.



The Big Island and Maui invaders had the decided advantage of cannons and guns wielded by Englishmen and a specially trained cadre of Hawaiian warriors. Spears, shark tooth daggers, and other traditional stone-age weapons (some now tipped with metal) were also used in the battle, of course.



Kalanikupule's men (and few women) warriors who were not killed outright either jumped or were pushed over the edge, tumbling to their deaths on the rocky cliffs far below. The most famous remembrance of that event is the huge oil painting by artist Herb Kane shown above.



No one knows the final resting place of the
"Napolean of the Pacific."
Kamehameha's bones were entrusted to a family retainer who hid them on his Big Island of Hawaii in the old fashion.
The bones, or iwi, are held to possess great Mana, or spiritual power. They are hidden in caves so that enemies may not use the bones in rituals. A descendant of that trusted retainer guards the Royal Mausoleum to this day.
A L O H A! Cloudia

30 comments:

  1. What a story!
    The painting reminds me of Masada where the Jewish zealots killed themselves just before the Roman army breached their mountain top fortress.

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  2. That was an incredible story -- I'm learning so much with you sista!

    Hugs,
    Sue

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  3. It would seem from some further reading that Kamehameha was a king who knew to separate the war from the peace.

    Defeat the enemy but leave the civilians to no harm in battle. Although he was a man born at the right time for the right purpose I wonder what he would have done about the 1898 annexation of his kingdom by the US. He appears a pretty practical person but also he was the supreme authority of his kingdom...

    That is the trouble with questions, they always lead to more.

    Mahalo Shadow Sister.

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  4. I love the way you tell the history of Hawaii, Cloudia. A leader who leads and serves the best interest of the people. Kamehameha then. Obama now.

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  5. Hi Cloudia

    thanks for the interesting history refresher...

    Happy days

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  6. Another incredible history lesson - thankyou my friend. :)

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  7. You tell this so well, Cloudia!

    I like the CS Lewis quote too.

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  8. Another fabulous peek into the past and a look at the future through your eyes! Aloha!

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  9. Another amazing history lesson, Cloudia!

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  10. What drama. I'm going to have to find a book on Hawaiian history. I didn't think of it as being so fascinating.

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  11. I have just been catching up on your posts. I love to know the history of such interesting places. I also love Hawaii, having worked in the only Club Med in Hawaii, back in 1979. It was on the Hanalei Plantation in Kauai. I then sailed through most of the islands. I loved the people, the ocean, and the history. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Hi Cloudia,

    This was a very interesting post! I am learning so much about the history of Hawaii from your blog.

    Teresa

    PS I expect you'll want to delete the ads in Chinese for private detectives to catch philandering husbands and their mistresses.

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  13. Interesting piece of history, Cloudia. Also great photos!

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  14. Thanks for sharing! I must admit, I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to the past history of the Hawaiian Islands.

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  15. This blogging business is teaching me an incredible lot about places all over the world. Amazing! What did we all do before blogging?

    Even in paradise there was fighting and bloodshed, mankind just never changes.
    Aloha

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  16. Terrific history. That first painting you posted is marvelous!

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  17. Perhaps we should start referring to you as Professor Cloudia. Great story.

    However... 3 bucks for an avocado! I choke when the price goes over a dollar here. (I agree it is food without rival.) Aloha Professor.

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  18. Thanks, Tricia..I think they were $3 a pound, eh?

    Since living on the rural Hawaii land and having these grow in abundance it seems curious to pay for them!

    Aloha-

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  19. Hard to imagine invading war canoes on such a peaceful beach.So long ago but well remembered.

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  20. Wow...what an incredible journey through the past and a reminder for the present. Always as beautiful stopping by here as it is looking at those islands. Aloha to you Cloudia.

    Ekewaka (edward) ;-)

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  21. Very nice Hawaiian history there, Cloudia. It must be avocado season. We've got friends and neighbors sharing their fruit with us.

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  22. "To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born
    is to remain perpetually a child. For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?"

    This is so true!! Thanks for reminding us!

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  23. So glad to see you four friends here too!

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  24. Where does the Kamehameha quotation come from? It's a lot more than Samuel Kamakau, 19th century native informant, reports.

    See Ke Aupuni Mo'i, Ruling Chiefs, p211.

    Also, avocados are an introduced fruit -- not native.

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  25. Where does the Kamehameha quotation come from? It's a lot more than Samuel Kamakau, 19th century native informant, reports.

    See Ke Aupuni Mo'i, Ruling Chiefs, p211.

    Also, avocados are an introduced fruit -- not native to Hawai'i

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  26. Hoalawepu:
    Aloha greetings, and thanks for kindly commenting!

    It is my understanding that the Great One's last words were in Olelo Hawaii - therefore English translation is a judgement call. The version I used is from a soveriegnty site. There is generally more lattitude for private bloggers than for publishing scholars, therefore I do not footnote these posts. I DO try to be Pono. I am not of Hawaiian blood, or a Hawaiian studies scholar - just a person who wishes to preserve the host culture, which means honoring the Kanaka and referring all serious scholarly inquiries to native sites and scholars. Thus your visit is a gift much appreciated! If you would, please share the quote in a form that YOU find appropriate. Mahalo!

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  27. i without a doubt enjoy your own writing choice, very remarkable,
    don't quit and also keep penning as a result it just good worth to look through it.
    impatient to look over more of your own content pieces, have a good one ;)

    ReplyDelete

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