Many of us subconsciously hold the Eurocentric idea of native Pacific islanders: these peoples were groups of natives with no desire to connect with the outside world until they were found by European colonizers. However, the native Pacific islanders were a diverse network of tribes that sought out trade and social networks with Europeans, many of which included a community of strong women who held the desire to interact with foreigners. Historians David A. Chang and David Igler both speak about the importance of native Pacific women’s interactions with European colonizers in their respective works The World and All the Things Upon It and The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. For both of these scholars, the role of women was a central component of the interactions between Pacific islanders and Europeans: Chang highlights Ka Wahine, a Kanaka tribe woman with a strong desire to travel with European crews, and Igler highlights several anecdotes that demonstrate the objectification of these native women by Europeans. Similarly, Louis Andrevith Choris’ 1822 painting Danse des femmes dans les îles Sandwich also shows a critical role of women in these encounters, as the piece depicts a group of native Hawiian women performing a traditional welcome dance. By examining Choris’ painting in relation to Chang and Iglers writings, we can see how women were central to native Pacific interactions with European colonizers - both in their desire to connect with foreigners, and how they were objectified by European men. 
 

Danse des femmes dans les îles Sandwich, created by Louis Andrevitch Choris in 1822, depicts a quintessential role of the native Pacific islander woman in society- the welcome Hula dance - reflecting European settlers' records of interactions with strong, native Hawiian women. Choris, a German-Russian painter and explorer, most likely made this piece on Kotzebue’s world voyage of 1815-1818, where Choris was given the role of the draughtsman of the voyage at only 20 years old (1). Danse des femmes dans les îles Sandwich is actually part of a larger collection called Voyage pittoresque autour du monde, avec des portraits de sauvages d'Amérique, d'Asie, d'Afrique, et des îles du Grand Ocean; des paysages, des vues maritimes, et plusieurs objets d'histoire naturelle (2). In this specific hand-colored lithograph, we see native Hawaiian women performing a Hula for a large group of spectators, including a few European men in top hats and conservative, European clothing. The painting demonstrates the stark difference between the native and European clothing, as the women wear leis, traditional skirts, anklets, and flowers in their hair, yet are topless. The European men, on the other hand, are dressed up, wearing top hats, suit jackets, and pants, reflecting the difference between native and European cultures. Traditionally, Hawaiian native clothing was made from Kapa -bark that is thinly cut and folded to create a fan-like effect, as we can see on the back of these womens’ skirts (3). This female-dominant tradition also demonstrates the physical and emotional strength of Hawiian women, just as we see in Ka Wahine’s story in Chang’s The World and All the Things Upon It. 
 

By examining Ka Wahine’s interactions with European colonizers, namely her desire to remain on the Western ship, it is clear that ancient Pacific women wanted to interact and share their own culture with foreigners. Chang writes a detailed analysis of Ka Wahine’s story, a native Hawiian woman who had interactions with the European fleet on the Imperial Eagle. Chang shares with us Ka Wahine’s motive for her stay when he writes, “It seems unlikely that sexual exchange was the reason that Ka Wahine was present on the Imperial Eagle in 1787. She came to trade goods and, like the many other Kanaka who hurried out on canoes at the sight of Western ships, probably also to explore the Haole’s ship for herself” (4). Both Chang’s writings and Choris' painting demonstrate agency for the native Hawiian women - they had their own motivations to interact with Europeans, as Ka Wahine’s eagerness to interact with foreigners mirrors the women’s willingness to perform a traditional welcome dance to European colonizers in Danse des femmes dans les îles Sandwich. The evident desire to connect with European colonizers is also seen in the portrait by Choris, as the native Hawiian women make open gestures to the European men sitting on the side. In addition to the welcome dance, in the bottom right corner of the piece we can see one of the European men speaking with other natives, showing a specific interaction between native women and Europeans. By examining both Chang’s analysis of Ka Wahine’s interactions with Europeans to the Hawiian women welcoming foreigners in Choris’ lithograph, we can clearly see the native Pacific woman’s desire to connect with outsiders. 

The European response to native women wanting to connect was sadly one that we have seen throughout history even to this day: a complete objectification and oversexualization of these women for the Europeans’ own benefit. Like Chang, David Igler delves deep into the history of European and native Pacific islander interactions in his work The Great Ocean : Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. Similar to Chang’s use of Ka Wahine, Igler cites specific anecdotes from Reynolds and Bougainville, two European crewmates on the voyage of Vincennes to Hawaii in 1839, to illustrate the graphic sexual exploitation of native women. Igler writes, “Despite his claimed vigilance at keeping women off the ships, Bougainville described one ‘young girl’ who snuck aboard and ‘negligently let fall her robe for all to see.’ Chaos naturally ensued above and below decks as men scrambled to leer at this ‘Venus.’ `We managed to restrain these bedeviled men, however, but it was no less difficult to control oneself,’ Bougainville admitted” (5). Here, the Europeans take the native female nude body, and twist it into something for the sexually charged, male gaze, opposed to the Hawiian cultural norm of topless women, as we can see in Choris’ painting. In Danse des femmes dans les îles Sandwich, the native women are topless, as they almost always were in artistic depictions by Europeans. This piece, created by a European man, is no different, and therefore shows the same biases about the female nude body, with an over-exaggeration of the women's chests. By creating this piece, Choris may have had the intention to merely express native Hawiian culture, but when placed in the context of European men’s interactions with Hawaiian women, there may be a more exploitative and sinister reason, perhaps even to mock native cultural dances by employing oversexualization. Both Choris and Bougainville demonstrate the European sexualization of native women, even though the women were merely attempting to connect with the men in a friendly manner.

Igler’s work also highlights the extremely young ages of most of these native women, only furthering the way that European colonizers objectified native girls and sought to exploit them. This sexualized trope was also mentioned in the previous Igler excerpt - as it was a “young girl” who seemingly exposed herself to these men - and is evident in the remainder of the chapter. Igler cites an anecdote from Reynolds, a European crew member who writes about a young teenage girl, saying “‘My eye was soon attracted by the extraordinary grace & beauty of a young girl who was standing rather apart from the rest. She was about 15 & was the very emblem of innocent girlhood.’ ... ‘There was a sweet fascination about my Princess that was irresistible. If I had been 5 years younger,’ wrote the twenty-three-year-old Reynolds, ‘I should have been in love with her to distraction’” (6). In this anecdote, it is clear Reynolds knows that this native girl is fifteen and childlike, yet is sexualizing and entertaining the idea of them being together romantically. By using terms like “princess” and disregarding an eight year age difference, Reynolds describes a clear power imbalance where the Hawiian girl is completely submissive to him. This kind of sexualization and objectification is also seen in the contents of Choris’ piece, as the European man on the bottom right corner is gesturing to the women dancing, as if he is making comments about them to the natives and Europeans to whom he is talking. In addition, another man has his hands around his mouth, seemingly making a whistling gesture. Using Igler’s anecdotes, it would not be inconceivable to assume that these European men were making sexual comments and gestures to the topless native women who were just attempting to greet them, just as Reynolds and Bougainville had behaved.

Although strong, native Hawiian women possessed a desire to explore and interact with foreigners in a way that was consistent with their own Pacific islander culture, they were sadly met with exploitation and over-sexualization from Europeans who only sought to use them for their own benefit. Both Chang and Iglers' works explore the interactions between native Pacific women and European colonizers, both the positive and negative aspects. Chang highlights a specific Pacific woman's desire to engage with European crews, as the story of Ka Wahine gives us a specific example of how one woman attempted to share her own culture and explore new territories with foreigners. Igler, on the other hand, sheds light on the sexualization of native Pacific women by colonizers, using two European men’s anecdotes to show the dark realities of European-native women interactions. Choris’ piece, Danse des femmes dans les îles Sandwich, ties both forms of encounters, as the women openly welcome European foreigners with a traditional welcome dance, while the Europeans appear to make objectifying comments. Choris’ work creates a voice for itself and hotels a significant meaning within the European artistic community: not only is it one of the few records we have of native Pacific cultural dances, but it also speaks to the world lens on how native women were viewed. Sadly, these interactions between native Pacific women and Europeans can be compared to many encounters between colonizers and indigenous peoples, including the exploitation of Native American women by European colonizers, with both situations appearing eerily similar. The interactions between native women and colonizers can be for the positive, as seen with Ka Wahine, but more often than not end up with the anecdotes that Igler describes: manipulative and graphic. 

References:
(1)- “Choris, Louis (1795-1828). Voyage Pittoresque Autour Du Monde, Avec Des Portraits De Sauvages D'amérique, D'asie, D'Afrique, Et Des Iles Du Grand Ocean; Des Paysages, Des Vues Maritimes, Et Plusieurs Objets D'histoire Naturelle. Paris: Imprimerie De Firmin Didot, 1820-1822.” Christies, Christies.
(2)- “Choris, Louis (1795-1828). Voyage Pittoresque Autour Du Monde, Avec Des Portraits De Sauvages D'amérique, D'asie, D'Afrique, Et Des Iles Du Grand Ocean; Des Paysages, Des Vues Maritimes, Et Plusieurs Objets D'histoire Naturelle. Paris: Imprimerie De Firmin Didot, 1820-1822.” Christies, Christies.
(3)- Ka `Imi Na`auao O Hawaii Nei Institute. “The History of Hula.” Ka`Imi Na`Auao O Hawai`i Nei Institute.
(4)- Chang, David A. “Paddling Out To See Direct Exploration By Kanaka In The Late Eighteenth Century.” The World and All the Things upon It, page 35, University of Minnesota Press.
(5)- Igler, David. The Great Ocean : Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush, page 49, Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central
(6)- Igler, David. The Great Ocean : Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush, page 48, Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Works Cited:

Abrams, Laura. “Study Guide Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu .” Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley, 17 Mar. 2006.

Chang, David A. “Paddling Out To See Direct Exploration By Kanaka In The Late Eighteenth Century.” The World and All the Things upon It, University of Minnesota Press.

“Choris, Louis (1795-1828). Voyage Pittoresque Autour Du Monde, Avec Des Portraits De Sauvages D'amérique, D'asie, D'Afrique, Et Des Iles Du Grand Ocean; Des Paysages, Des Vues Maritimes, Et Plusieurs Objets D'histoire Naturelle. Paris: Imprimerie De Firmin Didot, 1820-1822.” Christies, Christies.

Choris, Louis Andrevitch, and active 1820s-1830s Langlume. “Choris, Louis, 1795-1828 :Danse Des Femmes Dans Les Iles Sandwich. Dess. Et Lith. Par Choris. Lith. De Langlume. [Paris, 1822]: National Library of New Zealand.” Choris, Louis, 1795-1828 :Danse Des f... | Items | National Library of New Zealand | National Library of New Zealand, 1 Jan. 1822.

Igler, David. The Great Ocean : Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush, Oxford University Press USA - OSO, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Ka `Imi Na`auao O Hawaii Nei Institute. “The History of Hula.” Ka`Imi Na`Auao O Hawai`i Nei Institute.