Hawaii History:
(from “History of the Catholic Mission in the Hawaiian Islands” by Father Reginald Yzendoorn, SS.CC., Honolulu Star-Bulletin Ltd., Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, 1927)
The Hawaiians have preserved the reminiscences of bygone ages under the form of genealogical lists and all kinds of poetry. The therein contained data, students of ancient Hawaiian lore have striven to unravel – a toilsome task – and with the material thus obtained they have undertaken to raise the historical structure of the nation’s past. The Hawaiian Islands were settled as early as the fifth century.
But, the Middle-Ages of the Hawaiian Islands have no secrets. The long and dry genealogical lists of chieftains apprise us that “Nanamea and Puia were the parents of Pehekeula, who marrying Uluae had a son by the name of Pehekemana, who married Nanahapa and begot Nanamua” and so forth for over fifty generations.
There seemed to be the existence of a Catholic mission in the Hawaiian Islands during the sixteenth century, fixing the date of a first discovery of these Islands by the Spaniards.
(to be continued tomorrow)
Blessings, pono and pule!
Fr. Brian Guerrini, ss.cc.
Priest
Molokai