END OF THE GODS

Bill Fernandez’s novel of Hawaii deals with the struggle to find a humane belief system.

We open with a kind of origin story. Centuries ago, life on what would become Hawaii was truly Edenic. Everyone got along amicably, and simple goodness reigned under Io, their god of peace and equality. Then came Paoa, a high priest from Tahiti who declared that the Tahitian gods, most notably Ku, the war god, would be in charge. Now the ethos would be “kapu,” royal edicts where the slightest misstep could get one killed. And of course there would be chiefs and high priests—and human sacrifice. Fast-forward to the early 19th century. Kalani Tana is a chief, a title and status bestowed upon him for his valor fighting alongside the great Kamehameha, a renowned war chief who united all of the Hawaiian Islands. Spiritual seeking is in the air: There has to be something better than this insane cruelty. Perhaps it is Confucianism? Christianity? Kaahumanu, the late Kamehameha’s favorite wife; Hewahewa, the high priest; and others decide that the old gods must go. Even the feckless young king, Liholiho, is reluctantly on board. Keaoua, the priest of Ku, and cousin of Liholiho, leads an ill-fated rebellion. Meanwhile, Kalani simply wants to return to the village where he is chief and help them prosper again. He is also wracked with guilt over his teenage daughter, Lehua, because he was an absent father to her, and now she rejects him and leads a wild life. He wants to regain her love, but first he must find her. Ultimately, missionaries from New England arrive.

Author Fernandez tells a good story, and Kalani is an admirable hero, great in hand-to-hand combat but also complex and thoughtful. (We do have a rather cartoonish villain, Kalani’s nemesis, the arrogant Kamuela; other villains are usually riffraff from the outside.) The book opens with a bang—an exciting sea battle with Malay pirates in which, as always, Kalani distinguishes himself as a fighter and a leader. We are reminded that he is well traveled. He has even lived in Boston and speaks English well. Another important character is wise Kaahumanu, the widowed wife who becomes regent when Liholiho ascends the throne. She is probably the most forward looking of the Natives and had almost persuaded the dying Kamehameha to abolish kapu. Hawaii is hardly isolated, of course. Trading ships, whaling ships, and others are common visitors and definitely a mixed blessing. The islanders need the trade, but the ships bring all sorts of vices (and diseases), and, even allowing for the open sexual mores of the islanders, the women’s throwing themselves at the sailors in exchange for trinkets is cause for alarm, which is where the story of Lehua gets complicated: The concept of “aloha” always included free love, but where is the line between aloha and prostitution? (Needless to say, the sight of all these naked women paddling out to their ship gives the missionary wives the fantods!) These and other issues must be wrestled with. The author is a Hawaiian Native who came home after his retirement from being a judge in California. His latest book is illustrated with photographs and sketches by Judith Fernandez and maps.

An excellent, well-told primer on Hawaiian history.