► Abraham Piianaia. Son of Hidden Alii

Honolulu Star Bulletin. June 16, 1953 - Tales About Hawaii, Clarice B. Taylor 

Abraham Piianaia.
Son of Hidden Alii

Hidden Alii, No. 1

     If all goes according to plan, Abraham Piianaia will receive a master's degree in Pacific Area Studie from the University of Hawaii in June of 1954 and will be the first Hawaiian to do so.

     Mr. Piianaia was graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University in January 1953. If he gets his master's degree, he hopes to continut until he gets a doctorate.

     All Hawaiians may take pride in Mr. Piianaia's accomplishments, for he is a symbol of the coming of age of the Hawaiian. They may be proud of the fact that Mr. Piianaia, a descendant of the old priests who were Hawaii's intellectuals, is demonstrating a desire for scholarship shown by his alii ancestors, one of whom was a true "hidden" alii.

     Mr. Piianaia was graduated from the Kamehameha Schools in 1933 when jobs were at a premium. Since he could not afford to attend the University, he took a job as a stevadore. Eventually this led to signing on a ship which carried him around the world.

MASTER'S LICENSE

     He joined the Honolulu Police Force in 1937, expectin the settle down and spend full time supporting his wife and two growing boys. The World War II came along and he took leave of absence in1942 to go to the Mainland to attend a maritime school.

     In the same manner that his Hawaiian ancestors had obtained knowledge to guide them on 2,000 mile voyages, Piianaia obtained a Master's Unlimited License and joined the Army Transport Service.

     He saw more of the world from the decks of an Army Transport and rejoined the police force at the end of the war. He left the Police Department in 1952 to work for the Public Utilities Commission.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT

     Mr. Piianaia's hunger for knowledge had been fed by his travels. Now he decided on ambitious project. He kept his full time job (to support his family) and enrolled at the University of Hawaii.

     His interest in anthropology, languages and the cultures of the many people he had visited in the Pacific led to his determination to study the University's new graduate course of the Pacific Areas.

     In order to learn other Polynesian languages, Piianaia decided he must first perfect his knowledge of Hawaiian. He spoke Hawaiian fluently but he did not know its technicalities, so he enrolled in the class at the University taught by Samuel Elbert, master of many Polynesian languages.

     As he learned his own language, Piianaia taught it in turn to a class of teachers at Kamehameha Schools. Now he is furthering his knowledge of Hawaiian by acting as guide to exhibits on Saturday and Sunday at the Bishop Museum.

Next: Hidden Alii, No. 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: https://familysearch.org/patron/v2/TH-300-43958-0-84/dist.pdf?ctx=ArtCtxPublic