Akamu and the Revenge of the Matu

Chapter 1 Questions

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1. The word for shark is mano, the word leiomano is the name for a weapon ringed with shark teeth.  Why do you think the ancient Hawaiians used shark’s teeth to make their weapons?

2. The ancient Polynesians traveled across the ocean to find a new home. Do you think they made the trip mostly because their present home was unsettling or that the new home was incredibly attractive?

3. The word kapu means forbidden.  Forbidden according to whom or what?  Why would so many things be forbidden?

4. Kau'wa were slaves. Can you name three civilizations that at some point had slaves? What possessed those civilizations to ultimately free the slaves?

5. Do you think most slaves are freed because they resisted their captors or because the captors came to realize how horrible the practice of holding a slave was?

6. The royals had great power over the people.  How did they get that power and how did they keep it?

7. The Matu traveled in a wa'a kaulua. Wa'a means outrigger while kaulua means two fold.  Wa'a kaulua means an outrigger with a double hull.  How many people could a wa'a kaulua carry?

8. Who were the first settlers of the Hawaiian Islands? Where were they from?

9. How did they migrate to Hawaii?

10.  What are the 8 largest Hawaiian Islands?