Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Workshop 10 presented as part of the 200th ‘Aha Pae‘āina:
"The Religion of the Hawaiian Chiefs: Ali‘i, Missionaries, and Religion in Early 19th Century Hawai‘i"
The years 1819 to 1820 marked a watershed in the history of the Hawaiian Islands. With the passing of King Kamehameha I in 1819, the Kapu System was abolished, setting off a catalyst for change in the systems of faith, government, and society. A major agent of change was the missionaries who came to Hawai‘i in April 1820 to spread the Gospel, and in the process, the islands were forever changed.
Nearly everyone who spends much time in Hawai‘i soon forms an opinion about “the missionaries” who, as many accounts have it, cajoled, browbeat, and, eventually, converted an entire “heathen” nation to Protestant Christianity. But how could a handful of overdressed New Englanders who, when they first arrived, did not know the native language or culture, convince an entire nation to put on more clothes, adopt western views of sin and sexuality, and replace their traditional Polynesian religion for that of Boston? Could there be more to the story?
Presenter:
Dr. Jeffrey “Kapali” Lyon, Chair of the Department of Religion at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He graduated with a BA from Biola University in both ancient Greek and Biblical literature, received a MA and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from UCLA, and a MA in Hawaiian language and literature from the Hawaiian Language College at the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo. In recent years, Dr. Lyon’s research has focused on the first Christian missions to Hawai‘i, early Hawaiian Christianity, translations of the Bible into Eastern Polynesian languages, and 19th century Hawaiian language accounts of pre-Christian Hawaiian culture and religion. He and Charles Langlas are the editors and translators of The Mo‘olelo Hawai‘i of Davida Malo.
Workshop 10 presented as part of the 200th ‘Aha Pae‘āina:
"The Religion of the Hawaiian Chiefs: Ali‘i, Missionaries, and Religion in Early 19th Century Hawai‘i"
The years 1819 to 1820 marked a watershed in the history of the Hawaiian Islands. With the passing of King Kamehameha I in 1819, the Kapu System was abolished, setting off a catalyst for change in the systems of faith, government, and society. A major agent of change was the missionaries who came to Hawai‘i in April 1820 to spread the Gospel, and in the process, the islands were forever changed.
Nearly everyone who spends much time in Hawai‘i soon forms an opinion about “the missionaries” who, as many accounts have it, cajoled, browbeat, and, eventually, converted an entire “heathen” nation to Protestant Christianity. But how could a handful of overdressed New Englanders who, when they first arrived, did not know the native language or culture, convince an entire nation to put on more clothes, adopt western views of sin and sexuality, and replace their traditional Polynesian religion for that of Boston? Could there be more to the story?
Presenter:
Dr. Jeffrey “Kapali” Lyon, Chair of the Department of Religion at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He graduated with a BA from Biola University in both ancient Greek and Biblical literature, received a MA and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from UCLA, and a MA in Hawaiian language and literature from the Hawaiian Language College at the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo. In recent years, Dr. Lyon’s research has focused on the first Christian missions to Hawai‘i, early Hawaiian Christianity, translations of the Bible into Eastern Polynesian languages, and 19th century Hawaiian language accounts of pre-Christian Hawaiian culture and religion. He and Charles Langlas are the editors and translators of The Mo‘olelo Hawai‘i of Davida Malo.
