In pre-colonialHawaiʻi,moe aikāne (pronounced[ˈmoeəjˈkaː.ne]) was an intimate relationship between partners of the same gender, known asaikāne. These relationships were particularly cherished byaliʻi nui (chiefs) and the male and femalekaukaualiʻi performing ahana lawelawe or expected service with no stigma attached.[1] There were several Hawaiian terms to describeaikāne includinghoʻokamaka andnoho ai (a poetic form that translates to ‘one to lie with’).[2]
Moe aikāne were celebrated in manymoʻolelo (legends andhistory), including thePele andHiʻiakaepics. Most of the major chiefs, includingKamehameha I, hadmoe aikāne. LieutenantJames King stated that "all the chiefs had them" and recounts a tale thatCaptain Cook (the first European explorer to Hawaii) was asked by one chief to leave King behind, considering such an offer a great honor.
David Samwell, the surgeon aboard Cook’s ship, wrote in his journals in January of 1779: “Of this class [ofaikane] are Palea and Kanekoa, and their business is to commit the Sin of Onan [oral sex] upon the old King [Kamehameha I]. This, however strange it may appear, is fact, as we learnt from the frequent Enquiries about this curious Custom, and it is an office that is esteemed honourable amoung them.”[3]
A number of Cook's crew related tales of the tradition withgreat disdain. American adventurer and sailorJohn Ledyard commented in detail about the tradition as he perceived it. The relationships were official and in no way hidden. The sexual relationship was considered natural by the Hawaiians of that time.[4]
The word and social category ofaikāne refers to:ai or intimate sexual relationship; andkāne or male/husband. In traditionalmoʻolelo or chants, women and goddesses (as well asaliʻi chiefs) referred to their female lovers asaikāne, as when the goddessHiʻiaka refers to her female loverHōpoe as heraikāne. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the wordaikāne was "purified" of its sexual meaning by colonialism, and in print meant simplyfriend, although in Hawaiian language publications its metaphorical meaning could mean eitherfriend orlover without stigmatization.[5]
Among men, the sexual relationships usually begin when the partners are teens and continue throughout their lives, even though they also maintain heterosexual partners.[6] These relationships are accepted as part of the history ofancient Hawaiian culture.[7] Whilemoe aikāne might be thought of as an example of a nominally heterosexual community accepting homosexual and bisexual relationships,[8] author Kanalu G. Terry Young states in his bookRethinking the Native Hawaiian Past that these relationships were not bisexual in a social sense. These were relationships from theʻōiwi wale times that held no stigmatism to the person'sʻano (one's nature or character).
Moe aikāne is distinct frommāhū, a traditional Hawaiian term referring to individuals who have dual male and female spirit.
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