2003-05-27 TBLASMAN (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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M. ROY:Thank you. So, to repeat, then, the names Kamalu and so names of people who were close to the court or close to Kamehame D. ROY:They were close, in a sense, they were close to Kamehameha. However, theyÓre all in one man. One man had the same names in M. ROY:Thank you. Can you assess in that day when these, when t person was alive, Kawaihoa, Kamalu, the same person, what was the cultural condition of Hawaiian people with regard to understanding a new way of monetary system? D. ROY:That is the first time they experienced poverty. The dollar and the, the dollar value upset their equilibrium in the sense of actual values that tended to the land and their traditional past. They would, in cases like this, consider this a very, very important part for the aliÒi that lived there and would not think of encroaching upon it for personal uses. And, consequently, that land was allowed to turn to growth, and you see very little work on it today. And, as a matter of fact, in other areas, you find the same thing happening. Most places that were considered important to the Hawaiian people at that time had been allowed to go into growth, and they do not return to that for any commercial activity. And, to begin with, the aliÒi, this is something that was never brought to my attention as I was growing up in college. The anthropologist that was instructing me never told me why the Hawaiian people rejected the idea of trading, or bartering, or actually making a profit from a business activity until I came across the book of Sam Kamakau in where he casually mentioned his experiences when it related to the attitudes of the people towards mercantile or merchandising. There was an epitaph that he referred to which was ÐSon of a Peddler,Ñ which was much like the words, ÐSon of a Bitch.Ñ In their minds it was a disgrace to be selling merchandise for profit. And then I realized that at that point why it was that the Hawaiians were always at the lowest scale in business. It was not popular for them, not preferable to get into business for them for that purpose. M. ROY:More, would you relate that to the aspect of what youÓre saying is that they would disdain the practice of selling, bartering for game? D. ROY:There were some barter in the ancient culture; but, however, it was mostly among relatives where one would give and exchange for gif elevations would be trading with the lower elevations with marine products that the mauka elevations would not have. M. ROY:Have you told me in the past, Mikahala Roy, that these fa Hoopali, etc. that youÓve mentioned today, were land-rich and wealth-poor? D. ROY:John Hoopali in my, as far as I knew at that time, was a recipient who had to have welfare given to him in the way of poi and subsistence articles. However, John Hoopali was worth well over $2 million at that tim M. ROY:When you speak of lawyers such as Mr. Dillingham and 33