The Kapu System
In pre-contact Hawaii, the Kapu System was the religious law system that ruled almost every act of Hawaiian life. The system was based on the beliefs of spiritual power or mana. It contained several rules (Kapu) in which provided the native Hawaiian society clarity on what was forbidden and what to do to please the gods. Punishment for breaking kapu would usually result in death: clubbing, stoning, burning, etc. The people believed that breaking kapu would anger the gods and endanger the community. Some rules included:
This system would be abolished until 1819 when King Kamehameha II broke the Kapu by eating forbidden foods with the women in his court.
- The men and women had to eat separately
- The food for the men and women had to be cooked separately in different ovens
- A wife was forbidden to enter the eating house of her husband while he was eating
- Women were forbidden to eat certain foods such as pork, bananas, coconuts, and certain fish.
- The first two men killed in battle during war were offered as sacrifices to the gods.
This system would be abolished until 1819 when King Kamehameha II broke the Kapu by eating forbidden foods with the women in his court.
Hawaii's Relation to Mormonism
The Church of Ladder-Day Saints (LDS Church, AKA Mormonism) established themselves in 1850 after the Edict of Toleration which King Kamehameha III promoted, which allowed the Catholic Church the right to worship as well as other faith traditions. George Q. Cannon was one of the first missionaries to convert native Hawaiians to Mormonism.