There was no circulating medium which served the purpose of money, and all trade was conducted by barter.
CIVIL POLITY.
The civil polity of the ancient Hawaiians was far more despotic than that of any other Polynesian tribe. The community was divided into three classes, namely:
1. The nobility or Alii (N. Z. Ariki), comprising the kings and chiefs of various grades of rank.
2. The priests, Kahuna (N. Z. Tahunga), including priests, sorcerers and doctors.
3. The common people, Makaainana, or laboring class.
There was a wide and impassable gulch between the chiefs and common people. In fact, the distinction between them was primarily of a sacred and religious character. The chief was believed to be descended from the gods, and to be allied to the invisible powers.
The contrast in stature and appearance as well as in bearing between the chiefs and common people was very striking. Only
a chief had the right to wear the feather cloak and helmet, or the ivory clasp, Niho Palaoa; his canoe and his sails were painted red, and on state occasions he was attended by men carrying kahilis or plumed staffs of various colors. When the highest chiefs appeared abroad, all the common people prostrated themselves with their faces upon the ground. It was death for a common man to remain standing at the mention of the king's name in song, or when the king's food, water or clothing was carried past; to put on any article of dress belonging to him, to enter his enclosure without permission, or to cross his shadow or that of his house. If a common man entered the dread presence of the sovereign, he must crawl prone on the ground, kolokolo, and leave in the same manner.
The head chief of an island was styled the Moi, and his dignity was generally hereditary. There were usually at least four independent kinglets in the group, and sometimes the single Island of Hawaii was divided between several independent chiefs.