A Well-Made House.
Cover Image: Masthead of Nupepa Kuokoa, printed on March 24, 1922.
Aloha Nūhou Monday!
Dear Reader,
A 104-year-old article from Nupepa Kuokoa describes the practices and steps involved in building a house. The writer explains that all Hawaiian activities had rules and regulations that were observed for the good of the work and the people doing it. Plans were made before building the house. Weeds were removed from the building site, and stones were set evenly. Beams were laid on the stone foundation, and the posts were raised. Rafters that crossed the doorway were placed carefully so as not to bring trouble to the household. All things were done at the appropriate time. A house constructed improperly could bring misfortune to its inhabitants. A well-made house brought warmth and prosperity to those that lived in it.
The author concludes with a final message: The important knowledge is disappearing from us, for we release these practices to reach for something new. “He mea pono e paʻa mai i nā ʻike a pau, me ka hoʻokuʻu ʻole aku i kekahi.” “It is good to know all and not let any go.”
Image: Family standing at the entrance of a traditional Hawaiian house. Pre-1900, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Bishop Museum Archives, SP 200081.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
The following translation comes from Mary Kawena Pukui’s Hawaiian Ethnological Notes (HEN) collection at the Bishop Museum Archives.
Image: “He Wahi Mea i Hoomaopopo Ole Ia,” Nupepa Kuokoa, March 24, 1922, p. 2.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
Something Not Paid Attention To.
In all the labors of this race of people from the beginning of time, there were rules and regulations for each one. These rules were observed for the good of the work, from the work on land to that on the sea, the work for the body and for the soul, in the day or at night. Each kind of work was done at the right time; each one commenced and ended in the name of God.
Here is a little on house building. First and most important, after making the plans to build, was to know about the location, to weed it if there were any weeds and when that was done, to set the stones evenly at the same time to know the height according to the ground, to know how to terrace properly, to know the surroundings of the house whether far or near, to know which way the house faced because by everything about the land that laid before the house, one knew what the house was like to live in.
When the beams were laid on the stone foundation below, the posts erected, the beams and rafters put on, care was taken over any rafters that crossed the doorway, lest it bring trouble. Then the side posts were erected, and the clamps called the ‘īlio put on. If it held the beam and post too tight, that was wrong. It meant the biting of the dog (nanahu ka ‘īlio) and brought trouble. These things related above were done at the proper time.
When the house was completed, a housewarming was held and then it was occupied. If any desire came to add to or enlarge the house, that could not be done, said the ancients. If you added [to the house], it would be added to you and those who know how they lived these days know it to be certain.
In some houses in which you enter, O reader, it is warm and seems to invite you to stay. Some seem to repulse you, and some are spooky and fearful and make your flesh creep.
The way you live depends on the house you live in, said the ancients. If the house is good, living in it is comfortable, no quarreling, no troubles, and profits come in. If the house is bad, said that ancients, evil befell the family inside and outside of it.
Some houses are good except where gain is concerned, profit comes in and goes out again. It is like the fishnets used by the ancients. If one was begun wrong and the error not noticed, then one discovered it when it was let down for the fish. The fish came as far as the opening and went out again, then the fisherman knew that there was something wrong with the net. The ancients said that with this kind of net, if you dived down to look at it, it seemed to scare you or to repulse you. Signs like this the fisherman knew.
True, O reader, if we go into a well-made house, it has a warmth that we like very much. The important knowledge is disappearing from us for we reach out for that and let this go. It is good to know all and not let any go.
(Translation of “He Wahi Mea i Hoomaopopo Ole Ia,” from Nupepa Kuokoa, March 24, 1922, p. 2. Hawaiian Ethnological Notes (HEN) Collection, Bishop Museum Archives. No reproduction without written permission.)
Image: Four people in front of a traditional Hawaiian house, sitting on a stone foundation. A fifth person stands to the right, grasping one of the home’s wooden beams. Pre-1900, Hawaiʻi. Bishop Museum Archives, SP 5861.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
