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"Captain Vancouver was very anxious to convert these
people [the Hawaiians] to Christianity, but that cannot
possibly take place until they are more civilized.
The King, Amma-amma-hah (Kamehameha), told Captain Vancouver that he should accompany him to the highest mountain Mona Roah (Mauna Loa [Mauga Roa]) and that they then would throw themselves out into the air together, and that each one should turn to his special god for protection, and that if Captain Vancouver's god saved him, but he himself was not saved by his god, then his people would assume the beliefs of Captain Vancouver... This experiment did not appeal to Captain Vancouver..." (A Swedish edition - the text above translated by me - of a book by Sahlins.) |