Flora Cantábrica

Arrival of Father Damien in Molokai:ENGLISH.23.12,23

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Arrival of Father Damien in Molokai:

Upon the arrival of new lepers, the old ones were quick to instill in them the false maxim: «Aole kanawai ma keia wahi», «in this place there is no more law

I have heard this message proclaimed both in public and in private conversations. For a long time, I was forced to fight it

As a result of this impious theory, most of the singles, or of the married persons separated from their relatives by leprosy, lived in promiscuity without distinction of sex. Many women were forced into prostitution, to have friends who wanted to help them in their illness. Children, while they had strength, were employed as servants. When the leprosy had already developed too much in them, these women and these children were thrown out of the house, going to seek refuge elsewhere.

I allow myself a digression here in order to point out another source of immorality: I refer to drunkenness. First I want to explain how the intoxicating drink is procured. Along the mountain a plant that the natives call “ki” (Dracoena terminalis) grows in abundance. The root of this vegetable, when it has been cooked and fermented and its product is distilled, provides a highly intoxicating liquid.

When I arrived here, the distillation of this horrible liquor was done on a large scale. The natives who fell under its influence, forgot the most elementary principles of decency. Running here and there naked, they behaved in every way like crazy people.