Abstract
The meaning of the Hawaiian word kahu (“caretaker, guardian”) was expanded by early Hawaiian Christians to include ministers of churches, including missionaries. True to its title, this encyclopedic work offers biographical sketches of all Kanaka Maoli ministers who served in the ranks of the ʻAhahui ʻEuanelio Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Evangelical Association, or HEA in English). For many of the ministers described, these are the first biographical sketches printed either in Hawaiian or English, assembled from a wide range of mission reports, newspapers (English and Hawaiian), and other archival material. In the case of Hawaiian-language sources, the authors have made good use of the online newspaper databases and obtained translations from qualified Hawaiian language scholars. Likewise, Hawaiian names, including some known only from their often gruesome anglicized incarnations, have benefited from consultation with Puakea Nogelmeier, professor of Hawaiian language at Mānoa.
In addition to a helpful introductory essay about the Hawaiian Protestant churches and HEA’s sometimes scandalous reluctance to train and ordain Hawaiians as ministers, there are useful biographies of all the Hawaiians who attended the Cornwall school, whether or not they returned to Hawaiʻi, including, of course, ʻŌpūkahaʻia. Also, among the comprehensive list of kahu who served in Hawaiʻi, there are sketches of those who served the church as missionaries, mostly in Micronesia. A concluding section treats those aliʻi (members of the ruling caste) who played critical roles in the establishment of Protestant Christianity as the religion of the Kingdom.
Although the subtitle gives the time frame as 1820–1900, a few sketches, such as that of ʻŌpūkahaʻia, necessarily antedate this period, and many of the ministers who were trained or ordained prior to 1900 but whose ministerial service was in the twentieth century are also included. Most of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century kahu voiced their opinions about the overthrow of the monarchy and annexation, topics that are given a fuller treatment in the introduction. The authors’ treatment of all the kahu is sympathetic, whatever their views, but never hagiographic or apologetic.
No sketch can be better than its sources. In some cases, the authors are limited to questionable sources, which they have generally handled with caution. Readers, however, should be aware that the use of the Hawaiian-language newspapers, treasure troves of largely unmined information, do not lie wide open to any but those who patiently spend years perusing them. The online databases of Hawaiian newspapers include many nearly unintelligible transcriptions, and there are still significant numbers of papers that have never been scanned or typed. A researcher looking for a particular name, place, or word cannot conclude that a digital search has yielded anything like a complete listing of what might actually have been written. The authors have seemingly used these tools and obtained translations whenever it seemed that suitable material might be found. Still, there is usually more, sometimes much more, waiting to be uncovered.
In spite of this caveat, this is an unparalleled resource that can be read from cover to cover or used as a reference. The authors’ patience, diligence, and judgment have filled a yawning gap in our understanding of nineteenth-century Hawaiʻi.