The Great Mahele

In 1848, An event called the “Mahele” changed the traditional Hawaiian system of land tenure from communal use to private ownership (Kameeleihiwa 3). Events in the past of Hawaii, like the Mahele of 1848, left a devastating mark in Hawaii’s history; It helped eventually lead to the overthrow of the monarch and still affects today’s problems in Hawaii. To understand the native Hawaiian’s perspective of the Mahele, one must first learn the Hawaiian mentality. In Hawaiian culture it is believed that Wakea (sky-father) and Papahanaumoku (earth-mother) are the parents of the Hawaiian islands. If anything the Hawaiian islands belonged to Wakea and Papa. The islands, being born from an akua (God) was therefore an akua itself. Land in Hawaiian tradition was not owned but held in trust (Kamaeeleihiwa 10). Also in Hawaiian culture it is believed that there is a familial relationship between the land and the people. The land or “aina” is considered to the eldest sibling of the Hawaiian race and therefore is responsible of taking care and providing for it’s younger siblings. In return, it was the younger siblings responsibility to take care of the land. This concept therefore created a personal relationship Hawaiian people had to the land (Andrade 25). Because land in traditional Hawaii was communal, all people had access to the land which was administered by the chiefs and cultivated by the makaainana (Kamaeeleihiwa 8). This system of Land
Char 2 tenure worked well for the Hawaiian people for centuries (Kamaeeleihiwa 203). Since the arrival of the missionaries in Hawaii, the population of the Hawaiian people had dropped drastically. Missionaries brought their religion in Hawaii and with their arrival brought foreign diseases. Calvinist’s opinions were valued by the Alii Nui because they had learned to speak the Hawaiian language well. Calvinist came up with an argument which insisted that private ownership of the land would save the Hawaiian race from

Cited: Nation Within: The History of the American Occupation of Hawai 'i. Kihei, Hawaiʻi: Koa, 2009. Print. "Jan. 17, 1893 | Hawaiian Monarchy Overthrown by America-Backed Businessmen." The New York Times A synopsis of traditional Hawaiian Culture, the events leading to he 1887 Bayonet Constitution and the overthrow of the Hawaiian Government (0 AD- 1898). June 23,1995. Print. Kameeleihiwa, Lilikala Native Land and Foreign Desires. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1993. Print. Kester, Matthew issues, sacred summits. Kahea: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance.. November 14, 2013. Petition of 300 Lanai Citizens to Kamehameha III