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Newspaper ad for a breath freshner produced by Browny of Honolulu, a perfume manufacturer in Waikiki. Circa 1950s. |
The
Hawaiian islands were inhabited by egalitarian communities for thousands
of years. About 1,000 years ago, a migration from Tahiti arrived. These
Malihinis (newcomers) came from a militarized and hierarchically-structured
society and imposed this model on the people they encountered. Unsurprisingly,
they made themselves the rulers.
Exploited as a subjugated group, some of the Kama'ainas (native-born) eventually intermingled with the Malihinis but others retreated into the valleys. The Malihinis called this latter group Menehunes, which literally means; mana (power) hune (impoverished or poor) - those with little power. The Malihinis,
adept at life in Tahiti, quickly absorbed the indigenous knowledge and
practices of the Kama'ainas. What we now know as 'Hawaiian' culture
is an adaptation
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