parent. To say "mother," they used the combination, Mkûa ouahina, female parent. There was no expression for "son" or "daughter." They used the word keiki, child, or little one, to which they added kana or ouahina, as before, according as the child was male or female. The language had no terms for "brother" or "sister."[1] The word employed to express "wives" is collective; it applies to the wife's sister as well as to the wife proper, and signifies literally "female"; in the same way, for "husband" they used the word kana (male), and applied it also to the husband's brother and sister's husband. All the sisters of a woman were called "the wives of the husband of that woman," even when they were not actually so.[2] The Hawaians had no expressions for "grandfather" or "grand-*mother." Their word kapuna signifies an ancestor of any degree beyond the father and mother (mkûa). Neither had they any special denomination for "grandson" or "grand-*daughter." As brothers and sisters did not generally intermarry, the women called the husband or husbands of their sisters, not "husbands," but "intimate companions" (punalua).[3]
It was possible for either the paternal or maternal family to evolve from this confused system of kinship, based at first apparently on the promiscuity of brothers and sisters; but it was the latter which at first arose, and in the time of Cook the rank and dignity of the chiefs were transmitted in the female line.[4] A singular custom noticed by Cook in the Society Isles may perhaps be interpreted in the sense of maternal filiation. They spoke of the transmission of the title and dignity of the chiefs to their first-*born, and that even at the moment of birth. As soon as the wife of a chief had given birth to a son, the father was reckoned as deposed, and became a simple regent; he owed homage to his son, and might not remain in his presence without uncovering to the waist.[5] At Tonga maternal filiation was well established; rank was transmitted by the
- ↑ L. Morgan, Ancient Societies, p. 374.
- ↑ Id., ibid. p. 428.—MacLennan, Primitive Marriage, p. 375.
- ↑ L. Morgan, Ancient Societies, p. 428.
- ↑ De Varigny, Quatorze ans aux îles Sandwich, p. 14.
- ↑ Cook (Second Voyage), Hist. Univ. des Voy., t. vii. p. 417.—Moerenhout, Voy. aux îles, etc., t. ii. pp. 13, 15.
