HAITIANS 449 HAWAIIANS

(Mouvement Ouvrier-Paysan) that sought to establish a Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and International Law of populist democracy headed by ex-provisional President the Committee on the /uciciary, House of Representatives, 94th Con­ Daniel Fignole. gress (Washington, D.C., 1976). In 1964 the exiles (except the Fignole supporters) de­ MICHEL S. LAGUERRE cided to unite under one leader, Paul E. Magloire, and to create La Coalition Haitienne. This organization pub­ HAVASUPAIS: see AMERICAN INDIANS lished a weekly newsletter, Le Combattant Haitien for about five years and broadcast a morning radio program "Vonvon." In 1970 the coalition was dismantled to HAWAIIANS form La Resistance Haitienne which attracted a broader The ethnic designation "Hawaiian" is generally re­ base of popular support. served for the descendants of the original Polynesian in­ When Duvalier died in 1971 a number of Haitian habitants of the Hawaiian Islands. A combination of presidential candidates presented themselves in New circumstances has rendered the term ambiguous and York. Antoine Colas, Henry Vixamar, Emmanuel variable in current usage, however, and it is far from Fordes, and Ernst Fenelon campaigned actively among clear precisely who is a Hawaiian in the contemporary the Haitian population. At that time various world. The situation has been greatly complicated by Marxist-Leninist and Maoist political groups emerged Hawaii's history of immigration, which has produced a from underground activities; today they number more cosmopolitan population that includes substantial than thirty. numbers of people with Polynesian, European, Chinese, Also in 1971, a progressivist coalition, the Comite de Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Portuguese, or Puerto Rican Mobilisation, was formed to overthrow the administra­ ancestry as well as their various intermixed offspring. A tion of Jean-Claude Duvalier. Before the end of that particularly high rate of intermarriage between native year, because of internal dissent within the Comite de Polynesian Hawaiians and immigrants has resulted in Mobilisation, a new coalition, Le Mouvement Haitien an increasing proportion of people whose ethnicity can d'Action Patriotique, was founded on an anti-imperial­ be described as problematic. Some people regarded as ist and anti-dictatorial platform. The most recent, Le Hawaiian may have only one great-grandparent of Ha­ Regroupement des Forces Democratiques Haitiennes, waiian ancestry, while others may have nearly all Ha­ was formed in 1977 to force Jean-Claude Duvalier out waiian ancestors. One person of mixed background may of office after he completed his six-year term. identify himself as Hawaiian; another of equal or While emigre politicians have agitated for the over­ greater genealogical purity may consider himself or throw of the Duvalier administration, other herself something else. Some with a low proportion of have become eager participants in American politics. In Hawaiian ancestry may have had far greater exposure to 1968 Haitian formed the Haitian American traditional cultural knowledge and practices than Political Organization, a group of activist Democratic others with a higher proportion. Furthermore, within party members. Haitian-American candidates for elec­ Hawaii's multieiiinic community, people of mixed an­ tive offices in and Queens have had little cestry tend to change their ethnicity according to cir­ success; in 1977, however, during the campaign for cumstances. For these reasons the boundaries of the mayor in , black candidate and Manhat­ group are unclear, and official statistics pertaining to tan Borough President Percy E. Sutton appointed a Hai­ the Hawaiian population must be regarded as question­ tian, Louis A. Brum, chairman of his "election commit­ able. tee on the nationalities." A recent estimate of persons of Hawaiian or part-Ha­ waiian ancestry in the islands, based on a state Depart­ Bibliography Helpful surveys of the historical development of Haitian society are ment of Health survey conducted in 1974-1976, is 151,- found in Sidney W. Mimz, Caribbean Transformations (, 1974) 652, making them the third largest ethnic group in the and James G. Lcybum, The Haitian People, rev, ed. (New Haven, 1966). state following the Caucasians [haoles] and Japanese Articles in popular periodicals provide the most current information Americans. In this case the criterion for inclusion was on the changing community of Haitian Americans in New York City. The most useful come from the daily papers in New York City. Jervis reporting one or more native Hawaiian great-grandpar­ Anderson, "The Haitians of New York," The New Yorker (March 3i, ent. In addition, according to 1970 Census data, approx­ 1975), is very informative. imately 27,000 people of Hawaiian ancestry reside on The first systematic study of the Haitian population in New York is the mainland, more than half of them in . an unpublished dissertation by Nina Barnett Click, "The Formation of a This article discusses only Hawaiians and part-Hawai- Haitian Ethnic Group" (Department of Anthropology, Columbia Uni­ versity, 1975). It deals with institutional factors that have shaped the ians living in Hawaii. (For those on the mainland, see Haitian-American community in New York City. Also useful is Michel Pacific Islanders.) It is not clear how ethnic ties and eth­ S. iaguerre, Ethnicity as Dependence: The Haitian Community in New nic identity have changed among Hawaiian migrants to York City (New York, 1978), Pierre-Michel Fontaine, "Haitian Immi­ California. Having a greater familiarity with the Ameri­ grants in : A Commentary," in Roy Bryce-Laporte and Delores Mortimer, eds., Caribbean Immigration to the United States (Washing­ can way of life to begin with, they have had an easier ton, D.C., 1976), provides an overview of to Boston adjustment than the Samoans and Tongans with whom and discusses their adaptation. Migration Today 7 (September 1979): 9- they are sometimes confused. 46, is a special issue on Haitians. The situation of the Haitian family in the United States is discussed The initial colonization of the Hawaiian Islands took in Michel S. Laguerre, "The Impact of Migration on Haitian Family and place some 1,500 years ago by Polynesian voyagers, Household Organization," in family and Kinship in Middle America mostly from the Marquesas Islands more than 2,000 and the Caribbean, ed. Amaud F. Marks and Rene A. Romer (Van Gor- miles to the south. A subsequent immigration from Ta­ cum, Netherlands, I978)i and K.H. Rey, The Haitian Family (New York, 1970). hiti is believed by archaeologists to have contributed to The status of Haitian refugees who have sought political asylum in their cultural development. The settlers thrived in the the United States is examined in Haitian Emigration: Report of the benign environment; by the time Captain James Cook HAWAIIANS 450 HAWAIIANS

discovered the islands for Europe in 1778 the popula­ had evolved. In 1819, a year before the arrival of the tion had grown to approximately 300,000. first Congregational missionaries from New England, The Hawaiian language is a branch of Eastern Polyne­ the traditional religious system was dramatically over­ sian, which includes among other tongues Tahitian, turned when Liholiho, son of the recently deceased Ka- Marquesan, Easter, and New Zealand Maori. In the ab­ mehameha and heir to the position of premier chief, or sence of a written language, oral traditions played a king, of the islands, broke some sacred taboos at a pub­ great role in perpetuating cultural tradition and prac­ lic feast. Along with the traders who swarmed to the is­ tices. At the time of the first European contact the Ha­ lands, the missionaries wrought further great changes. waiian social system was highly stratified, with a sanc­ They vigorously attacked many traditional Hawaiian tified class of chieftains [alii); a class of specialists practices and attempted to replace them with Yankee [kahuna] who controlled vital knowledge in arts and beliefs and customs. Commercialization of the econ­ crafts, medicine, and religion; and a class of commoners omy led the chiefs to engage in trading and to claim [makaainana] who made up the bulk of the population. rights in land, fishing grounds, and other valuable prop­ There was also a small pariah group [kauwa] of individ­ erty that went well beyond traditional prerogatives. uals who were regarded as ritually impure and degraded. Pressure to make land available to aliens resulted in a The religious concepts oimana and kapu supported the redefinition and reallocation of land rights in 1848, in status system. Mana refers to potency; it is power which less than 30,000 out of some 4 million acres were derived from the gods and genealogically inherited. The awarded to native tenants. The remainder were set concept of kapu (taboo) refers to ritual avoidances, on aside for approximately 250 chiefs, designated as crown the one hand, and the requirement for obeisance to per­ lands of the Hawaiian monarch, or placed in the public sons possessing mana on the other. Failure to comply domain. By sale and lease, crown and public lands in­ with taboos resulted in the imposition of supernatural creasingly came under the control of foreigners, and as well as secular sanctions. many Hawaiians were enticed into disposing of their Among chiefs primogeniture was the principle for de­ land for trivial sums. Combined with the demoralizing termining status, with first-born children of first-bom effects of depopulation from European diseases and parents taking precedence. Respect for rank based on other wrenching changes, this had a shattering effect on genealogical seniority permeated the entire social sys­ Hawaiian society, particularly on the welfare of the tem and was fundamental for ordering social relations. common people. Even within families children were required to be def­ Like most Pacific Islanders who had been isolated for erential to their elder siblings. Among commoners, centuries and lacked immunity to newly introduced however, the importance of rank was complemented by diseases, the Hawaiians suffered a tragic decline in pop­ a strong emphasis on affiliation and the maintenance of ulation following contact with the West. The first offi­ interpersonal harmony. Reciprocity between kinsmen cial census of the islands in 1853 reported a total of was basic to the functioning of the extended family 71,019 , less than a quarter of the [ohana], which depended on a continual exchange of nmnber who dwelt there before the Europeans came. goods and services for its well-being. Chiefs functioned The decline continued until 1910 when the total Ha­ as redistributive agents within the economic structure, waiian population, including those of mixed ancestry, drawing from their subjects food and other commodi­ dropped to 38,547. As a result of depopulation and the ties that they returned in the form of favors and ceremo­ massive immigration of aliens brought to work on the nial feasts. In general, the value of material goods was sugar plantations that were established in the mid-19th subordinate to the significance of social relationships; century, Hawaiians became a minority group in their transactions were aimed primarily at affirming existing own land, and by 1900 Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians relationships and consolidating new ones. Generosity constituted altogether only 24.4 percent of the popula­ —the willingness to share what one had—was a pri­ tion. The proportion continued to decline despite the mary virtue. fact that absolute numbers began to increase at a rapid The extended family was rooted in the land [aina) of a rate after 1910. particular locality and functioned as a corporate group A high rate of intermarriage between Hawaiians and for many purposes. It was the responsibility of the se­ immigrants resulted in an increasing proportion of nior male to supervise the affairs of the group. He pre­ people with mixed ancestry. As early as 1853 nearly sided over family councils and exercised authority in 1,000 people were listed in the census as "part native." such matters as worship, communal work, entertaining By the close of the century the number of Hawaiians of strangers, welcoming visiting chiefs, and other activi­ mixed ancestry recorded in the census had increased to ties involving member households. The socialization of nearly 10,000, constimting more than a quarter of all children was largely a concern of the extended family Hawaiians in the islands, and by 1930 they exceeded rather than the individual household, with all available those claiming to be "pure" Hawaiians. From 1930 elders taking responsibility for teaching children basic through 1960 the U.S. Bureau of the Census classified skills such as fishing, weaving, farming and building. those with any Hawaiian ancestry as part-Hawaiian. Adoption of related children was a common practice. The category therefore had a residual quality, inasmuch Social harmony among family members was reinforced as persons with any degree of Hawaiian ancestry not by a variety of customs and symbols, while conflicts eligible for inclusion in other groups were so classified. were deterred by the threat of supernatural interven­ The 1960 Census showed 10,502 Hawaiians and 91,597 tion. part-Hawaiians resident in the state of Hawaii, compos­ The arrival of Europeans and the opening of the pre­ ing 1.7 and 14.5 percent of the population respectively. viously isolated islands to the outer world had disas­ In 1970, however, people of mixed ancestry were classi­ trous effects on the Polynesians and the society they fied either by self-identification or by race of father, and HAWAIIANS 451 HAWAIIANS the part-Hawaiian category was dropped. The census re­ some see in the Hawaiian people a uniqueness that de­ port for 1970 is therefore not comparable with previous rives from their Polynesian past. Despite the loss of ones; it shows 71,274 Hawaiians forming 9.3 percent of much of their cultural heritage and the acknowledged the state's population. This compares with a health de­ corruption of Hawaiian art and music displayed to tour­ partment estimate for the same year of 135,152, or 18.3 ists in Waikiki, many important values that formed the percent of the population, using the criterion of one or underpinnings of traditional Hawaiian life still show more native Hawaiian great-grandparents. A count considerable vigor. Those of this persuasion advocate a based on language other than English spoken in the revitalization of Hawaiian ethnicity and a unification of home during a person's childhood (but not necessarily the Hawaiian community for the purpose of preserving by the respondent) yielded an estimate of 18,700. the Hawaiian lifestyle. Demographic data compiled according to ethnic des­ A three-year study of a working-class Hawaiian ignation in Hawaii for 1970 show the Hawaiians to homestead community on Oahu revealed that tradi­ have an exceptionally high fertility rate, more than dou­ tional principles guide the behavior of many contem­ ble the state average; their median age was 20,8 years. porary Hawaiians. These researchers found that the Despite a drift to the city of Honolulu over the years, people they studied placed a strong emphasis on affilia- the strongholds of Hawaiian ethnicity remain in non- tive values and deemphasized individual achievement. plantation rural and semirural areas, especially in rela­ One manifestation of this commitment was a tendency tively remote subsistence communities, on cattle among the residents to choose to invest resources in so­ ranches, and in Hawaiian homestead communities. cial relations rather than in the accumulation of ma­ Contrary to its avowed purpose of rehabilitating Ha­ terial wealth. The more money people had at their dis­ waiians by returning them to the soil, the Hawaiian posal, the more they tended to expand the number of Homes Commission Act of 1920 promoted movement people in their households and personal networks. Ex­ to urban areas, partly because the areas allocated for tended families were prevalent in the community, and homesteading were marginal lands unsuitable for farm­ nearly one-third of the households contained children ing; as a result most have been leased by wage-earners who were adopted, usually in accordance with tradi­ for house sites. Over half the lessees now reside on the tional practices. Exchanges of food, labor, and other island of Oahu vrithin commuting distance of Hono­ commodities between households were common. The lulu. Within Honolulu itself, Hawaiians have always researchers also documented the persistence of tradi­ been the most widely and evenly distributed of all the tional supernatural beliefs and the practices associated ethnic groups. with them. A 1976 needs-assessment study of the Hawaiian Although the traditional social structure based on people revealed that, although the population as a genealogical priority completely disappeared following whole is not a depressed one, segments of it are. The the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, se­ findings showed considerable economic differences niority remains an important principle for allocating between the Hawaiian population and other groups in privileges and responsibilities, particularly among kins­ the state. The percentage of non-Hawaiians in profes­ men. At the community level, however, leadership has sional and managerial occupations was almost twice been fluid and increasingly has been based on accom- that of Hawaiians (18 percent compared to 10 percent). phshment. For some time following annexation to the Median family income for Hawaiians was some 15 per­ United States in 1898, Hawaiian politicians, in alliance cent below the state average. Approximately one-fifth with the Caucasian elite, were a prominent force in the of the families had incomes below the poverty line, and islands. This changed after World War II when political 22.0 percent received welfare aid in 1975 compared to control of the islands shifted to ; for 13.5 percent for the state as a whole. Nor did Hawaiians most of the 1950s and 1960s Hawaiians as a group were fare as well as other groups on most health indicators. politically passive. Death rates at all ages were higher than rates for the The 1975 state legislature included seven representa­ general population. Hawaiians also have higher rates of tives and three senators of Hawaiian background, and in specific conditions such as cancer, diabetes, coronary 1976 the first Hawaiian representative, Dan Akaka, was heart disease, prematurity, infant mortality, and con­ elected to the United States Congress. genital malformations. Other problems were noted in Sparked by a number of political issues and en­ housing, education, and the law. couraged by the rise of ethnic militancy on the main­ As a consequence of their overrepresentation on in­ land, a revitalization movement developed among Ha­ dexes categorized as social problems, Hawaiians have waiians in the 1970s. Led by the younger, relatively been a prime target population for various health, edu­ well-educated segment of the population, several orga­ cation, and welfare programs. Implementation of these nizations have taken root that champion Hawaiian so­ programs has raised issues over the viability of Hawai­ cial, political, economic, and cultural causes. Interest ian traditions and customs. On the one hand, some in traditional art and musical forms, in the Hawaiian commentators assert that Hawaiian culture is dead and language, and other aspects of the cultural heritage that these social problems are the consequences solely amounts to a genuine renaissance and has become the of economic impoverishment. They point to the demise focus of a revitalized ethnic identity. of the Hawaiian language (which is spoken only in iso­ But the central theme for militant Hawaiians has lated rural enclaves) and the disappearance of most been the alienation of land and its abuse. In the mid- other formal cultural practices. They advocate provid­ 1970s Kahoolawe, an uninhabited island, but a place of ing Hawaiians with better educational and economic social significance for many Hawaiians, became a sym­ opportunities so that they can more rapidly assimilate bol of the Hawaiian cause. The island is used by the into the local middle-class society. On the other hand, U.S. Navy for target practice. In defiance of legal orders, HAWAHANS 452 HEALTH BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

groups of young militants led by Walter Ritte and Em- world view, symbols, values, and patterns of social con­ mett Aluli, occupied Kahoolawe for brief periods, forc­ duct that together constitute the essence of the life of ing the navy to halt the practice bombing and in the the group, its ethnic identity, and its adaptations to one process drawing national attention to their cause. They of life's major concerns—health, along with its corol­ are leaders of an organization known as the Protect Ka­ laries, sickness, mental illness, and death. Health be­ hoolawe Ohana, an outgrowth of a group founded in liefs are integral to virtually every person's daily life. 1973 on the island of Molokai to fight for more public They merge with, and are often difficult to differentiate beaches. The organization has spread throughout the is­ from, other beliefs that govern behavior in such areas as lands and is concerned with redressing the political, religion, ritual, and relations among kin. Routine prin­ economic, and cultural grievances of the native Hawai- ciples, usually unexamined, guide therapeutic activities ians. and make up the practical strategies used to manage At a conference in 1976 sponsored by the Council of health problems effectively. Hawaiian Organizations, five common goals were de­ A few important distinctions will be helpful in the fined and given priority: to achieve self-determination discussion that follows. First, beliefs and practices vary through establishing and maintaining political influ­ widely. People have all sorts of ideas about the nature of ence in the state of Hawaii,- to establish a land base for health and sickness—for example, that colds are caused use by native Hawaiians; to ensure that the educational by "germs" or an imbalance of "hot" and "cold" quali­ system adequately provides for what the Hawaiian ties in the body. They also have beliefs about how people define as their needs,- to achieve economic self- healthy they are and how best to stay that way, and sufficiency,- and to strengthen the spirit oiohana (fam­ about how to label and categorize various symptoms. ily) and puwnlu (cooperation) through the establish­ When people decide they are sick, yet another set of ment of a communication system. The first edition of beliefs determines how they will act and the choices the Native Hawaiian, a newsletter reporting on issues they will make among the various remedies or nos­ concerning the Hawaiian people, was published in trums available to them. Finally, beliefs help determine Honolulu in June 1977. how people evaluate the efficacy of the treatment they From the very beginning Hawaiians were receptive to choose. outsiders and assimilated them through marriage, adop­ Health beliefs fall generally into two categories: tion, and neighborliness. The values placed upon gener­ those concerned with preventing sickness, and those in­ osity and aloha were extended to all, with the result volved in treating sickness when it occurs. Cures can that group boundaries were not clearly marked—by involve both technologic treatments (such as massage, race, by language, or by culture. This has posed a se­ herbs, drugs, or surgery) and symbolic treatments (such rious problem for those who are attempting to mobi­ as rituals or talk therapies) or frequently both. All social lize the Hawaiian community for political purposes. As groups for whom there are adequate medical ethno­ a rallying point some incipient leaders have encouraged graphic data have ways of controlling, and culturally ap­ antagonism toward groups in power, particularly the proved ways of explaining, both dysfunctional behavior haoles, who have come to the islands in increasing and ill health. numbers since Hawaii became a state in 1959. These Most important, what is known about the health leaders perceive mainland haole immigration as the pri­ beliefs and practices of American ethnic groups paral­ mary cause of social, political, and economic changes lels knowledge about the historical experiences of the that have disrupted their lifestyle, and they direct their groups themselves. Although similarities among group anger accordingly. The critical problem for Hawaiians beliefs abound, in most cases a result of the widespread today appears to be the need to define what is central to influence of the scientific medical system and its suc­ their ethnic identity, so that they can mobilize effec­ cess in curing disease, the impact of scientific medi­ tively to pursue their common goals. Once this has cine has been restricted to the last 60-70 years. There been determined, it is likely that conrmitment to those are still many differences among groups, closely linked goals will become a mechanism for preserving Hawai­ to the maintenance of other cultural traditions within ian ethnicity. these groups. Two factors in particular contribute to the diversity of American health beliefs and practices: the Bibliography homeland medical cultures of immigrant groups, and For an account of traditional Hawaiian society, see E.S. Handy and American folk medicine—an amalgam of medical tra­ Mary Kawena Pukui, The Polynesian Family System in Ka'u, Hawaii ditions existing in the United States prior to the 20th IWeUington, New Zealand, 1958). The social history of Hawaii follow­ century. ing discovery is well told by Francine Gray in Hawaii: The Sugar- Coated Portress (New York, 1972); Andrew Lind, Hawaii's People Members of American ethnic groups who come into (Honolulu, 1967), provides useful sociological and demographic data. contact with orthodox medicine that differs signifi­ The effects of acculturation are explored in Ernest Beaglehole, Some Modem Hawaiians (Honolulu, 1939). Three more recent studies, Ron­ cantly from their traditional practices will often react ald Gallimore, Joan Boggs, and Cathie Jordan, Culture, Behavior and by ignoring the treatment prescribed, or misusing it, or Education: A Study of Hawaiian-Americans (Beverly Hills, Calif., complaining about the quality of the care they are get­ 1974), Ronald Gallimore and Alan Howard, eds., Studies in a Hawaiian ting. The results are generally poor. Nevertheless, al­ Community (Honolulu, 1968), and Alan Howard, Ain't No Big Thing: most everyone eventually does come into contact with Coping Strategies in a Hawaiian-American Community (Honolulu, 1974), treat various aspects of the contemporary scene. the medical profession, and in the process acquires still ALAN HOWARD other beliefs and practices which are then added to the ethnic and popular store of health notions. The results are considerably less coherent than those in a tradi­ HEALTH BELIEFS AND PRACTICES tional cultural setting,- they often diverge across family Beliefs about maintaining health and curing sickness and individual lines, even within the same local ethnic are part of the culture of any group. They stem from the group. A general description of ethnic health beliefs is