Abstract
The order of King Liholiho in 1819 to destroy the heiaus (places of worship) and to burn the idols symbolized the union which bound the pantheistic religion and the autocratic govern ment of ancient Hawaii. This royal order followed closely on the heels of the violation by the king and certain chiefs of the kapu (restriction) which prohibited men and women from eating together. Even though the revolution which resulted was not complete, it marked the end of the old religion as an organized system.1 The close connection between the government of Hawaii and the religion practiced by the people before the over throw of the kapu system was also shown by the war which developed between Liholiho and Kekuaokalani, the chief who advocated the ancient way of worship. The latter considered the abolition of the kapu as both a religious and a political inno vation.2 With religion joined to the governmental structure of the tabu period, the people were oppressed by the venerable system of restraints.
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