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The military
in ancient Hawaiian society was at the same time incredibly advanced
and primitive. Chiefs deployed thousands of warriors in large-scale
pitched battles, creating a rich and colorful military history. They
developed a wide array of hawaiian
weapons and tactics that were both effective and devastating.
For example, they independently developed pike formations, something
that was seen in Western history as late as the American Civil War.
However, the Hawaiians did all of this without the use of metal! They
used incredible ingenuity to fashion heavy tropical woods into pikes,
spears, daggers (including double daggers) and war clubs. They also
employed stones in maces. They were amazingly resourceful, using swordfish
swords for daggers and sharks teeth on slashing weapons. Perhaps the
most interesting weapons they deployed were there trip weapons and
strangulation cords. The ancient Hawaiians also wove slings and formed
deadly high-speed ammunition from dense volcanic rock. All of this
added up to a very unique, and deadly military and exciting history.
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Ancient Hawaiian society was geared
towards warfare, it was the most effective way for a chief to gain
and hold territory. Warfare was endemic and to support the chiefs
in their constant struggles the ancient Hawaiian society formed
into a feudal society. Chiefs formed a ruling class and below them
were the kahunas, a class made up of priests, navigators and possibly
other men of knowledge. Below the kahunas were the common class;
these common people were equivalent to serfs in medieval Europe.
The lowest class was the slave class; these poor soles were often
captives from previous battles and could have the misfortune of
being sacrificed to the war god Ku.
In battle the ancient Hawaiians employed
sophisticated tactics. Battles, when not settled by champions or
negotiations, started with a massive missile attack. Slingers and
javelins rained down upon enemy units with devastating effect. Ancient
Hawaiian pike men formed into dense ranks and presented an enemy
with a sharp wall of extremely long spears, just like Alexander
the greats Macedonian phalanxes. Koa warriors, named after a tree
that their weapons were crafted from, attempted to take advantage
of any weakness in the pike formations. These highly trained warriors
were the most feared on the battlefield. They trained at night so
that others wouldn't learn their deadly marshal art, Lua. Lua emphasized
bone-breaking, punching, kicking, wrestling, pressure point attacks
and strangulation. Kao warriors generally carried a large selection
of weapons into battle that could be employed at a variety of ranges.
For personal defense Hawaiian warriors
lathered their body with oil, making them difficult to grip. Nobles
wore capes as protection, these consisted of woven fabric with feathers
layering the outside. They gripped the cape with their left hand,
using it to block missile weapons and enemy blows. They could also
whip their opponents with it tripping them before finishing them
off with a weapon in their right hand. These capes had brightly
colored designs on them, in fact a whole industry centered around
collecting feathers for them. Warriors protected their heads with
gourd helmets, these were also brightly colored and have become
quite famous.
Many consider the Pre-European
Hawaiian military to be the last ancient military. However, the
term ancient military is usually defined as being a level up from
tribal warfare. The difference being in scale, while still using
the same basic weapons (bow, axe, spear, ext...) ancient militaries
are deployed in armies. After the Hawaiians developed their unique
style ancient style of warfare the Hawaiians didn't stop their military
development. In fact, the arrival of the Europeans didn't end Hawaiian
warfare or even change its trajectory, the Hawaiian chiefs continued
their wars of unification. European weapons and technologies were
simply added to the armies of the Hawaiians. Cannons, muskets and
cold steel weapons were eagerly purchased (a long with the men who
new how to use them) by competing Chiefs. This quickened a historic
trend of unification through conquest that had been going on since
before the islands were "discovered" by Captain Cook in
1778. The islands were finally united under King Kamehameha in 1805,
after 28 years of campaigning.
For more information about ancient Hawaiian warfare see MythicHawaii.com:
Hawaiian
Tattoos | Ancient Hawaii
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