Māka'ika'i Ke Kōlea Travel Writing And
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MĀKA‘IKA‘I KE KŌLEA TRAVEL WRITING AND THE “IMAGINED HAWAI‘I” IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY DECEMBER 2016 Noah Patterson Hanohano Dolim Thesis Committee: Noelani Arista, Chairperson John Rosa Suzanna Reiss Keywords: travel, travel writing, tourism, colonialism, imperialism, Hawai‘i, 19th century ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the help and guidance of others. First, I would like to acknowledge my committee members, Dr. Noelani Arista, Dr. John Rosa, and Dr. Suzanna Reiss. Thank you Dr. Arista for serving as chairperson and keeping me on track. I am very appreciative of the time and effort my committee has contributed to guiding me through this process, from attending meetings to reading and commenting on drafts. Serving on a graduate committee is a commitment that takes time away from their own research projects. I began different parts of the research and writing process in my various graduate seminars throughout the past two years. Invaluable experiences in seminars with professors and peers have contributed both directly and indirectly to this thesis. Again, much gratitude to Dr. Arista and Dr. Reiss, as well as both Dr. David Hanlon and Dr. Matthew Lauzon. A special mahalo to Alexander Mawyer from the Center of Pacific Island Studies (CPIS). As the term project for Dr. Mawyer’s PACS 603 class, we were tasked with drafting a thesis proposal for our research. He was the first person to read and comment on my proposal, which became the introduction chapter of this thesis. I am also very thankful for my friend and peer Sarah “Sawah” Tamashiro, who read drafts and supported me in the late stages of my research and writing. The use of Hawaiian language sources are integral to my research. During my time at UH Mānoa, I was honored to be a haumana in ka papa ‘ōlelo of Kumu Kaliko Baker and Kumu Lalepa Koga. In Kumu Lalepa’s class, I became familiar with Samuel M. Kamakau’s nūpepa articles via the publication Ke Kumu Aupuni. Additionally, I am extremely grateful to another friend and peer, Kalikoaloha Martin, who provided comments and input on my translations (any translation errors in this thesis are my own). I could not have endured and completed this journey without the endless support of my ‘ohana on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Island, and Moloka‘i. Your moral encouragement and uplifting words throughout the entirety of this process is truly appreciated. I am glad I could make all of you proud. Aloha nō. I am immensely indebted to you all, mahalo piha iā ‘oukou pākahi a pau. Me ka ha‘aha‘a, Noah Patterson Hanohano Dolim i ABSTRACT This thesis primarily focuses on the colonial and imperial aspects of travel writing about Hawai‘i produced in the late 19th century (1870s and 1890s). I argue that narrative themes found in these travel writings created the vision of the “Imagined Hawai‘i” for the consumption of white (primarily Euro-American) visitors and settlers. Travel writers invited visitors and settlers to a virgin landscape of agricultural opportunity, while constantly questioning the civility of Kānaka ‘Ōiwi and the viability of the Hawaiian monarchy. The culmination of these narrative themes suggested that Hawai‘i was the rightful inheritance of Euro-American settlers, and that both Hawai‘i and Kānaka ‘Ōiwi would be better off under American control. The historiography of travel accounts is dominated by European and Euro-American writers, therefore, I consider mo‘olelo huaka‘i (stories of travel) of Kānaka ‘Ōiwi as an important but missing space of discourse. By doing so, I show that Kānaka ‘Ōiwi engaged in travel much differently than their Euro-American and European counterparts. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements…………………………..…………………………………………...............i Abstract……………………………..…………………………………………………………....ii Introduction- Ka Ha‘alele (The Departure)……………………..…...………………...............1 Chapter Outline…………………………………………………………………………..15 Navigating the Past, Discovering the Future………………………...…………..............18 Chapter 1- Modes and Motives: A History of Movement..…………..………………………20 Travel and Travel Writing in 19th Century Hawai‘i……………………………………..34 Chapter 2- Producing Paradise: the “Imagined Hawai‘i” in the 1870s……..………………48 Paradise in the Pacific by William Root Bliss (1873)…………………………………..50 The Hawaiian Archipelago by Isabella Bird (1875)……………………………………..56 Notes by a Naturalist on the Challenger 1872-1876 by “H. N.” Moseley (1979).……...65 The Hawaiian Guide Book by Henry M. Whitney (1875)……………………………….67 Producing Paradise: Progress, Civility, and Extinction………………………………….70 Chapter 3- Pilikia in Paradise: the “Imagined Hawai‘i” in the 1890s ……..…………….…74 A Trip to Hawaii by Charles Warren Stoddard (1897 and 1901)………………………..82 Hawaiian Life: Being Lazy, Letters From Low Latitudes by Stoddard (1894)……….....84 Picturesque Hawaii: A Charming Description... by Hon. John L. Stevens and Prof. W.B. Oleson (1894)…………………………………………………………………………….87 The Tourists’ Guide Through the Hawaiian Islands by Henry M. Whitney (1895)….....95 Frances Stuart Parker: Reminiscences and Letters by Frances Stuart Parker (1907)…..97 Hawaii: Its People Their Legends by Emma Nākuina (1904)………………………….101 Addressing “Pilikias”: Progress, Protection, and Popularity…………………………...106 Chapter 4- Hele Aku, Ho‘i Mai: Re-visiting Mo‘olelo Huaka‘i…………………….……....108 From Kahiki to Hawai‘i and Back Again-Cross Migrations and Voyaging Chiefs…....110 Pele and Hi‘iaka as Malihini in ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui’s Voices of Fire………….113 Diplomacy and Race: 1842 and 1849………………………………………………..…120 He mana ko ka huaka‘i: Kalākaua and Emma, Part I—A Royal Duel…………………125 He mana ko ka huaka‘i: Kalākaua and Emma, Part II—Kalākaua, 1874………………126 He mana ko ka huaka‘i: Kalākaua and Emma, Part III—Emma, 1874…………..…….130 He mana ko ka huaka‘i: Kalākaua and Emma, Part IV—Kalākaua, 1881…………..…131 He mana ko ka huaka‘i: Kalākaua and Emma, Part V—Emma, 1882……………...….134 “A Change of Scene to Forget Sorrow”, Lili‘uokalani Goes to Boston, 1896-1897…...139 Re-visiting Huaka‘i: Kānaka ‘Ōiwi Travel......................................................................141 Epilogue- Ka Ho‘i (The Return)………....…………………………………………………...143 “State History” and Other Myths.....................................................................................145 Appendix A. Listing of ‘Ōlelo No‘eau......................................................................................152 Works Cited……………………...…………………………………………………………….156 iii -Introduction- Ka Ha‘alele (The Departure) During the fall, thousands of kōlea (Pluvialis dominica) make their annual departure from the unforgiving arctic tundras, flying across the Pacific to spend the winter and early spring in Hawai‘i.1 Thin and weary upon arrival, the kōlea eat from the ‘āina and replenish their health throughout their stay. One can see kōlea almost anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands; picking on bugs in grassy parks, hunting near the ocean, or strolling on golf courses. By the time the kōlea are ready to leave Hawai‘i and return to the tundra in the late spring, they have gone through some physical changes. As a result of gorging on hosts of insects, their bodies are full and recharged. Most noticeable is their change in plumage, from white and light brown to black and speckled golden-yellow. However, not all kōlea leave Hawai‘i, some choose to stay permanently and are seen year around. The majority of kōlea make the long flight back to their home where they spend the summer months, waiting to return to Hawai‘i again in the fall. Kōlea is also a metaphor, reflected in the definition of the word and in various ‘ōlelo no‘eau (proverbs or wise sayings). The figurative definition of kōlea is “a scornful reference to foreigners who come to Hawaii and become prosperous, and then leave with their wealth, just as the plover arrives thin in the fall each year, fattens up, and leaves.”2 This same thought is also echoed in ‘ōlelo no‘eau such as “Aia kēkē na hulu o ka umauma ho‘i ke kōlea i Kahiki e hānau ai. When the feathers on the breast darken [because of fatness] the plover goes back to Kahiki to breed. A person comes here, grows prosperous, and goes away without a thought to the source of his prosperity” (ON 56).3 1 Also known as the Pacific golden plover. 2 Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1986), 162. An alternate figurative definition of kōlea is to “repeat, boast...Kōlea ke kōlea i kona inoa iho, the kōlea just says his own name.” The word “kōlea” is an onomatopoeia of the “ko-lea” call of the kōlea bird. Kōlea also refers to “one who claims friendship or kinship that does not exist.” 3 Mary Kawena Pukui, ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings, (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1983), 9. “‘Ai no ke kōlea a momona ho‘i i Kahiki. The plover eats until fat, then returns to the land from which it came. Said of a foreigner who comes to Hawai‘i, makes money, and departs to his homeland to enjoy his wealth.” (ON 86), 12. “Kōlea kau āhua, a uliuli ka umauma ho‘i i Kahiki. Plover that perches on the mound, wait till its breast darkens, then departs for Kahiki. The darkening of the breast is a sign that a plover is fat. It flies to these islands from Alaska in the fall and departs in the spring, arriving thin and hungry and departing fat. Applied to a person who comes here, acquires wealth, and departs.” (ON 182), 22. 1 The title of this thesis, Māka‘ika‘i Ke Kōlea, describes the behavior of kōlea, both bird and traveler. Māka‘ika‘i is to visit, to stroll, to tour, or to look (as in sight-seeing).4 Additionally, the term “po‘e māka‘ika‘i” refers to visitors, sight-seers, tourists, or spectators.5 Another critique of foreigners’ behaviors is found in the phrase “Haole kī kōlea” (plover-shooting white man), which was “said in astonishment and horror at the white man’s shooting of plovers contrasting with the laborious Hawaiian methods of catching plovers, a way of saying that white people are strange and different.”6 These “strange and different” kōlea are the main subjects of my research.