"End the Kapu!"

Early in his reign the new king met with Ka’ahumanu and the council of high chiefs.  All were seated on mats in a circle in a new open-sided building at Kamakahonu.  The king asked for Olohana, who was John Young.  The friend and counselor of Kamehameha, now seventy-seven-year-old, moved to sit at the king’s right.  Ka’ahumanu sat opposite the king.  Many important matters were discussed at this meeting.

Who was John Young in the context of the new king's reign?

• The king's brother

• The friend and counselor of Kamehameha

• The governor of Maui

• A high chief

Decisions were made concerning the distribution of lands and the selection of governors.  The council included Boki Kama’ule’ule, the governor of O’ahu, Ke’eaumoku II the governor of Maui, Moloka’i and Lāna’i and Kuakini who would replace John Young as governor of the island of Hawai’i.

What was one of the main topics discussed in the meeting with the new king?

• The expansion of the kingdom

• The introduction of new taxes

• The distribution of lands and selection of governors

• The construction of new buildings

Hawaiians believed their ali’i were direct descendants of the great gods.  The kapu system set the ali’i apart from the workers.  An ali’i could place a kapu on a person, place or thing at any time.  The families of ali’i, their possessions, even the land surrounding their homes, were all kapu.

Kapu was most burdensome in its effect upon the maka’āinana, or workers and upon all women, even ali’i women.  One of the kapu best remembered now is the ‘ai kapu which forbade men and women from eating together.

What did the kapu system primarily affect?

• Only the king

• The maka’āinana and all women

• Only the workers

• Only the ali'i

  One of the kapu best remembered now is the ‘ai kapu which forbade men and women from eating together. Women were also forbidden to eat certain foods including pork, most varieties of bananas, coconuts and certain kinds of fish, particularly shark.

Which food was forbidden to women under the kapu system?

• Chicken

• Pork

• Rice

• Beef

Ka’ahumanu and her followers did not like the kapu.  They felt some of the laws were cruel or unfair to women.  Women were not allowed to do many things that men could do.

Even as the co-ruler, Ka’ahumanu would not have as much power as Liholiho because of the kapu.  She wanted to get rid of the kapu and tried to get the king to do away with it.

Who was Ka’ahumanu in relation to the king?

• His daughter

• His co-ruler

• His mother

• His sister

But Liholiho had been brought up in the old ways.  He did not want to do what Ka’ahumanu wanted. 

He remembered his father’s words that he should be loyal to the gods and all would go well.

Even the King’s mother, Keōpūolani, tried to convince him to end the kapu.  She told him the kapu was not needed, that other gods, like the gods of Westerners, seemed more powerful.  She saw that the people who believed in those gods did not follow rules as strict as the kapu, yet they were not punished by the gods. Liholiho disagreed and feared his people would not accept the change.  The kapu had been part of Hawaiian life from its earliest days.  Keōpūolani wanted to prove to Liholiho the kapu were not needed.  According to some historians she sent for her son Kauikeaouli, Liholiho’s five-year-old brother, to stage a demonstration.  Together they both ate bananas of a type forbidden by kapu to women. Liholiho watched as his own mother defied the kapu.

What did Keōpūolani do to demonstrate that the kapu was not needed?

• She left the kingdom

• She wrote a letter to the king

• She ate forbidden bananas with her son

• She organized a protest

It is said that Keōpūolani invited Liholiho to eat with her and his brother but Liholiho refused to violate the kapu.  The king returned to his headquarters in Kawaihae on the island of Hawaii.  He expected to hear the news that something terrible had happened to his mother and brother for breaking the ‘ai kapu.  But nothing happened to Keōpūolani and Kauikeaouli.  Still Liholiho was not convinced.  Instead he sent this message back to Ka’ahumanu and the council: the kapu continues.

What was Liholiho's initial reaction to his mother and brother breaking the kapu?

• He punished them

• He expected something terrible to happen to them

• He joined them in breaking the kapu

• He was convinced to end the kapu

It is said that Keōpūolani invited Liholiho to eat with her and his brother but Liholiho refused to violate the kapu.  The king returned to his headquarters in Kawaihae on the island of Hawaii.  He expected to hear the news that something terrible had happened to his mother and brother for breaking the ‘ai kapu.  But nothing happened to Keōpūolani and Kauikeaouli.  Still Liholiho was not convinced.  Instead he sent this message back to Ka’ahumanu and the council: the kapu continues.

What message did Liholiho send back to Ka’ahumanu and the council?

• The kapu is under review

• The kapu will be revised

• The kapu continues

• The kapu is abolished