Hawaiian Forts

Ellis mentions an old Hawaiian fortified place that he visited:— "All that at present remains is part of the wall, about 18 ft. or 20 ft. page 422high, and 14 ft. thick at the bottom, built of lava, and apparently entire. In the upper part of the wall are apertures resembling em¬brasures. … The fortification was probably extensive, as traces of the ancient walls are discoverable in several places; but what were its original dimensions, the natives who were with us could not tell. They asserted, however, that the cavern of Raniakea [Rangiatea], if not the fort also, was formerly surrounded by a strong palisade."

This writer also remarks that, in time of war among the Hawaiians:—"Each party usually had apart or pakaua, natural or artificial fortress, where they left their wives and children, and to which they fled if vanquished in the field. These fortresses were either eminences of difficult ascent, and, by walling up the avenues leading to them, sometimes rendered inaccessible; or they were extensive enclosures, including a cave, or spring, or other natural means of sustenance, or security. The stone walls around the forts were composed of large blocks of lava, laid-up solid, but without cement, sometines 18 ft. high, and nearly 20 ft. thick. On the tops of these walls the warriors fought with slings and stones, or with spears and clubs repelled their assailants. When their pari was an eminence, after they had enclosed the avenues, they collected large stones on the edges of the precipices overlooking the paths leading to the fortification, which they rolled down on the heads of their enemies."

In a paper published in Paradise of the Pacific, July, 1911, the Rev. W. D. Westervelt, quoting a native authority, remarks:—"Kauwiki was a battle hill, a very strong place, good for rest in a hard fight. It was well fortified with a wall of ohia trees tied together by fibres of the ieie vine. Sling stones were piled on the summit, fresh water was just under the hill, and much awa was cultivated near it. This was the place for the people to assemble for safety, although it was not apu-honua, or temple of refuge."

The following communication from the Rev.W. D. Westervelt of Honolulu, throws light on the Hawaiian use of the term pa, and on their fortified places:—

"The native word pa, in Hawaiian literature almost always refers to an enclosed place, and very seldom is the combination pa kaua (meaning fort) used. The 'battle enclosure' or pa kaua was a prom¬inent term in Ellis' time because a large fort, stone walled and supplied with mounted guns, foreign style, had been built near the beach. A street running inland was called Fort Street (after it). This use of the word pa was intensified by the fact that the Russians had built a stone fort on the island of Kauai. These were real pa kaua [pa taua] or enclosures from which to fight. The Hawaiians did not have fortified villages like the Maoris, but they had battle hills, or fighting hills, page 423which were sometimes fortified with stakes and stones, and were usually somewhat difficult of access. These were not called pa kaua, but puu Kaua, or battle hills. I cannot recall any instance of earthworks like those we saw in New Zealand; the Hawaiians fought in the open."

Jarves, in his History of the Hawaiian Islands, also says that no fortifications were erected, but that non-combatants retired to natural strongholds on steep eminences, when fighting was going on.

The name pa kaua is our Maori term pa taua, and pari or pali denotes a cliff. The remark concerning defenders being stationed on the top of a wall is of interest.