You might know Maui as one of Hawaii’s cultural heroes. In their various lore, he is depicted as both a man and a god, or both. In the Island of Maui, though, the story was less colorful, but in no way was it less culturally important.
The Discovery
The land was named after a Polynesian navigator discovered the islands. In some versions of the oral legend, he named the island after his son. Eventually, the Polynesians came to inhabit the land and are the first settlers. These group of people were the ones responsible for keeping the culture alive, establishing language, economy, religion and the Kapu system, which governed the lives of all its inhabitants.
Around the year 1400, the royal families in Maui split the island into three territories. There was a bit of animosity between the territories, but it was eventually solved when one of the daughters of one territory married the king of another. This brought peace to the island for decades to come, until…
The First Foreign Explorers
It was Captain James Cook who first saw the islands of Maui. It happened on November 26, 1778, but he couldn’t land his ship because the surf was too high and it could have compromised his ship. The second person to see Maui and the first person to land on it was French Admiral Jean-Francois de Galaup, who landed on La Perouse Bay on May 29, 1786
All was well until Simon Metcalf, an American trader, happened upon Maui. A group of island denizens stole his small boat and killed one of Metcalf's guards (Though some say it's just one man, named Kaopuiki). This angered him greatly and led a retaliation against the people of Maui, by attacking Olowalu, a peaceful trading sight in Maui where Kaopuiki was from.
The retaliation killed nearly a hundred innocent Hawaiians, some of them children, and injuring more than a hundred more. The massacre was aptly named Kalolopahu, which mean “spilled brains.”
Sometime later, Metcalf's son arrived in Maui in their ship. The people of Olowalu remembered, and subsequently massacred the entire crew, except for Isaac Davis and John Young. These two men were imprisoned by Chief Kameʻeiamoku, then was sold to the rising ruler of the islands, King Kamehameha I. This clever king had the two young men teach him how to operate the ships and use the artillery. It wasn't long after King Kamehameha I defeated Prince Kalanikupule of Wailuku and ruled the island under one banner.
In 1819, he died and his wife, Queen Ka’ahumanu with their son, ruled the island. It was the queen that challenged the rules and norms of the island, ushering the start of the “Kapu” system degradation.
The First Foreign Religion
In 1821, Dr. Holman arrived on the shores of Maui where he built a house in Lahaina. There, he taught about religion to the locals, before leaving for Honolulu. In 1823, Queen Ka'ahumanu invited a few missionaries to spread their teachings in Lahaina. The missionaries, Reverend William Richards and Charles Stewart led the mission. These two missionaries later became advisors to the kings of Hawaii.
The missionaries effect wasn't much about religion as it is education. They taught reading and writing and helped Hawaiians create their first 12 letter alphabet. They built schools and a printing press. Soon enough, Queen Ke'opuilani and Queen Kaʻahumanu became the first people to be converted to Christianity.
By the 1830s, more and more missionaries came and by 1870, 13 churches stood bright and solemn around the lands of Maui.
Conflict of Interest
As more Hawaiians were converted, more people were becoming against sexual promiscuity and drunkenness, which was generally a part of the kingdom's culture. In 1837, King Kamehameha III banned the practice of Catholicism and banned missionaries from setting foot on the island.
Yet soon after, with much demand, the king gave in to the French Government’s order to practice religious freedom, letting them back in, and allowing missionaries to teach, but with the notion that the denizens are allowed not to follow, as per the rules of the religious freedom.
There are more tales to be told in the rich history of Maui, and this small snippet of their past was paved through conflict, a catalyst for change.
Want to remember your time in Maui? Carved Lake Art is offering a collection of custom-made topographical art like this Maui's 3D nautical wood art.
Want to remember your time in Maui? Carved Lake Art is offering a collection of custom-made topographical art like this Maui's 3D nautical wood art.
