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The four most powerful gods of Hawai'i were Ku, Kane, Lono and Kanaloa. Kane was procreator - the leading god. Ku is a male generating power - appealed to for rain, growth, fishing, sorcery and the patron god of war. Lono was god of thunder, clouds, winds, sea, agriculture and fertility - his personage could assume up to 50 forms. Kanaloa companion of Kane, was the lord of the ocean and the ocean's winds. Kanaloa was also revered as the patron god of healing. These four deities plus other specialized gods and spirit allies ('aumakua), were revered by Hawaiians of all ranks
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The Hawaiians developed one of the most complex "Stone Age" cultures ever encountered by "civilized" observers. Simple but remarkably subtle and regulated under systematic laws known as Kapu (from the Tahitian work taboo). Kapu existed in all aspects of the life-style - planting, harvesting, fishing, war and peace.
Each of the islands were divided into multiple land areas (ahupua'a), governed as cheifdoms. At times this gave way to a clannish-feudalistic structure in battles of succession, particularly after arrival of the war-like Tahitians. Recordingly, most battles were well-planned and prepared for by both sides.
These wars ended after Kamehameha successfully defeated all other ali'i antagonists and consolidated six of the eight Hawaiian Islands into one Kingdom.
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By the late eighteenth century, Kapu was almost oppressive -particularly in view of the 'westerners' who adhered to different ways. In the early nineteenth century, the Kapu system was abolished by Ka'ahumanu and Liholiho - Kamehameha II
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A diverse art of the Hawaiians was body adornment: Necklaces, head-bands, anklets - of flowers, nuts, seeds, shells, ivory, teeth and human hair. Both sexes adorned full body with a variety of tattooing and burning designs into skin.
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The Hawaiians created the most exquisite variety of fine artwork and personal adornments found anywhere in Polynesia. Wood and stone sculpture was extremely graphic and vigorous. Hawaiian ancient featherwork is still considered the finest examples known - a cloak requiring over 450,000 feathers. Hawaiian Kapa, the soft barkcloth fashioned of paper mulberry, was finest in the world.
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