Niihau Island - "Forbidden Island" of the Hawaiian archipelago (USA). Jewel Charm of Magical Niehau Island Niihau Island Robinson Family

Niihau formed about 4.9 million years ago and is geologically younger than the neighboring island of Kauai, which formed about 5 million years ago. The island consists of one extinct volcano. Lake Niihau is the only lake in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Niihau is characterized by a relatively dry climate, which is explained by the fact that the island lies in Kauai, and in addition, there are no high enough mountains on Niihau that could capture precipitation from. As a result, prolonged droughts are quite frequent on the island. A traveler who visited the Hawaiian Islands in 1792 writes that the entire population of Niihau was forced to abandon the island and move to Kauai to avoid starvation.

Story

Map of Sweet Potato Bay and Niihau, diary of Captain George Dickson, 1788.

By 1795, Kamehameha managed to unite all the islands except Kauai and Niihau. Two attempts to conquer these islands failed, and Kamehameha lost many warriors whose bodies covered the beaches on the eastern shores of Kauai. Finally, in 1810, Kamehameha equipped a large fleet, and Kaumualii, the last independent aliyah, surrendered to the mercy of the victor, so as not to risk further bloodshed. Independence became possible again after Kamehameha's death in 1819, but was crushed when Kaumualii's widow kidnapped Kaumualii and forced him to marry her. After that, Niihau remained part of the unified .

In 1864 (1800-1892) she bought the island of Niihau and part of the island from the king for 10,000 gold. Sinclair preferred Niihau over u. In 1876, Niihau had a population of 350 natives and 20,000 sheep. This era marked the decline of the Hawaiian art of mat weaving, celebrated by the Niihau people. Makaloa (Cyperus laevigatus), a native sedge, was grown on the edges of the three dry Niihau lakes. The stems were collected and used for weaving moena makaloa(mats), considered "the best sleeping mats in Polynesia." Mats were valued as Aliyah, and foreigners, but by the end of the 19th century, production makaloa ceased due to changes in population, culture, economy and environment.

Population

As of 2009, about 130 people permanently live on the island. Almost all of them are ethnic and live in the largest settlement of the island - the village. (English). Part of the island's population receives income by doing and, the other part depends on social benefits. Niihau has no telephone service, no cars, and no paved roads. Only horses and bicycles are used as transport. Solar batteries fully provide the population of the island with electricity. Also, there is no running water on Niihau; Water comes from rainwater harvesting. There are no hotels or shops on the island; goods and products are shipped by ship from Kauai.

The native language of the population of the island is the Niihauan dialect, which is slightly different from the modern literary. To date, Niihau is the only island in the archipelago whose main language of the population is Hawaiian.

Some residents of the island have radios and televisions, but the use of the latter is actually limited to watching video cassettes and DVDs due to poor coverage of the territory. Sometimes, during severe droughts, the population of Niihau is completely evacuated to Kauai before the first rains, which can fill the local water supply system. Niihau has a school providing a full 12-year education. Like other buildings on the island, the school is also fully powered by solar panels. The number of students varies from 25 to 50 as many families live part of the time on Kauai. In addition, some students from Niihau study permanently in 2 schools on the island of Kauai.

Island owners

Since 1864 the island has been privately owned by the family.

Notes

1. Table 5.08 - Land Area of ​​Islands: 2000 (indefinite) . 2004 State of Hawaii Data Book Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
2. Table 5.11 - Elevations of Major Summits (indefinite) (PDF). 2004 State of Hawaii Data Book. State of Hawaii (2004). Date of treatment July 23, 2007. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
3. Juvik, Sonia P. Atlas of Hawaii. - University of Hawaii Press, 1998. - P. 3-6. - .
4. , pp. 10-11
5. , p. 49
6. , p. 13.
7. Kam, Nadine. The real deal: Genuine Niihau shells have lasting quality , Features, (May 17, 2004). Retrieved July 21, 2007.
8. , pp. 13-14.
9. Coulter, John Wesley. Great Britain in Hawaii: The Captain Cook Monument (English) // The Geographical Journal. - 1964. - Vol. 130 . — P. 2 . — :10.2307/1794586 .
10. Gay Lawrence Kainoahou. [ in "" Tales of the forbidden island of Niʻihau]. - Topgallant Publishing, 1981. - P. 17. - .

On clear days, Kauai's west coast overlooks a small island. It is only 17 miles away, but for most people in the state, this is the only way to see Niihau Island. It is known as the Forbidden Island of Hawaii and the nickname fits it perfectly.

Despite being very close to the Kauai resort, Niihau remains surprisingly isolated from the outside world. There are no roads, cars, shops or internet on the island. Its sandy beaches have seen far more wildlife than human footprints. Sleepy Hawaiian monk seals dot the coast, and sharks swim alongside the empty shores. But the island is inhabited by people.

History of the island

When Niihau was bought by the Sinclair family in the 1860s, the inhabitants of the island, known as the Niihauan, were allowed to stay, but access to the island was limited to outsiders. Until now, only niihauans, Robinsons (descendants of a titled family) and invited guests are allowed to be there.

In 1864, King Kamehameha V sold Niihau Island to Sinclair's ancestors for $10,000 worth of gold and reportedly required the family to promise to preserve Niihau's indigenous and unique way of life.

These promises have granted the Niihauns the luxury that most modern day travelers seek in the world: a truly secluded and unspoiled island.

Modernity

The Niihauans are fiercely protective of their island. In 2013, a group of residents found trespassers fishing on their coastline. They recorded the attackers on a digital camera and went to court, asking for help in protecting their resources.

There are, however, several sanctioned ways to see Niihau. From here you can go to the coastal waters of Niihau and go snorkelling. Of course, without the opportunity to go ashore. You can also dive into Lehua Crater, a volcanic cone that lies north of Niihau Island.

Is it possible to get to the island?

If you want to go ashore, the Robinsons offer organized tours and hunting safaris, ferrying curious tourists from Kauai to the outlying areas of Niihau in their private helicopter. The tour consists of an air tour and then tourists are taken to a remote beach for lunch and snorkeling. Long hunting trips can cost upwards of $1,700 but offer a bit more freedom to move around the island.

The Robinson tours help support Niihau economically, but deliberately avoid contact with the locals. The village remains out of sight to protect the integrity of the Niihauan.

For Bruce Robinson, who is married to a native islander, maintaining Niihau's unique culture and lifestyle is a priority.

In 2013, he gave an interview in which he said that the islanders have "a sense of inner peace and renewal that we do not understand in the outside world. Western culture has lost it, and so have the rest of the islands. The only thing left of him is the island of Niihau in Hawaii."

Niihau… Forbidden Hawaiian Island… Or Silent… second name… The smallest of the inhabited islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. Niihau is one of the main eight Hawaiian islands belonging to the southeast.
This wonderful island is available for visiting only to native Hawaiians (relatives of those living on this island) or personal guests of the Robinson family.
On this island, you can only move by bicycle or on foot. Its area is almost 180 km2.
This forbidden island is home to Hawaii's only lake, Halulu.
Only 250 indigenous people who speak exclusively Hawaiian among themselves (moreover, their way of life has not changed significantly over the past century)
There are no shops, no restaurants, no paved roads, no electricity, no medical care on the island, the only thing is = a harbor, a small school and bamboo huts.
Niihau is the driest island in the Hawaiian Islands. This is the only island where the Lei flower does not grow (remember, in the films, Hawaiian beauties always meet tourists wearing necklaces of these flowers?)
And, if a guest arrives on the island (strictly at the invitation of the inhabitants of the island or members of the Robinson family), then he is met with a shell Ley (made from special shells that can only be found on the beaches of this island), and since these are very rare shells, then collectors willing to pay thousands of dollars for these shell flowers.
The only job available on the island is at the Robinson family's ranch (raising cattle).
The residents themselves are actively engaged in agriculture, fishing and hunting (moreover, they use only nets, spears, knives and ropes)

By the way, in principle, you can sail to the island by boat from the neighboring island of Kauai, but you won’t be able to moor, and even more so, go ashore.
You can only admire the bewitching views, you can also swim with a mask, but it is strictly forbidden to go ashore (((
Do you know how much a woman named Elizabeth Sinclair, who lives on the neighboring island of Kauai in 1863, bought this wonderful island at one time? For 10 000 dollars!!! It was for this amount that King Kamehameha IV sold him
Now, her heirs, the Robinson family, own this tiny island of paradise and are trying to preserve the primitive Hawaiian culture on it.
And, as I read in one of the magazines, an almost slave-owning system flourishes there:
Mr. Robinson was a peculiar kind. He bought all the land on the island in order to keep this tropical paradise for himself and his family. In addition to animal husbandry, he was not interested in anything. He wouldn't let Niihau have a telephone, and he didn't want to hear about the radio. In addition, he did not allow weapons to be brought to Niihau. As a result, he remained there the sole owner of a hunting rifle and two pistols.
There have never been strangers on Niihau. Tourists were not allowed on the island. Only once a week there was a boat from Kauai, the nearest large island in the Hawaiian archipelago. She delivered groceries and left mail and newspapers.
Today, three representatives of the Robinson family live on the island: the ruler and owner of all things Helen and her two sons - Bruce and Kate, obedient executors of the mother's will. In addition to them, 250 Hawaiians live here.
Of these, only two people enjoy relative freedom and independence. These are teachers from a tiny local school who teach children to read, write and count.
They cannot give great knowledge - there is no corresponding qualification. All other residents are in the position of the Robinsons ... no, not friendly helpers of Fridays, but disenfranchised servants - maybe even slaves. Someone takes care of the cattle; others take care of the fuel for the Robinson house; still others provide the family of rulers with fresh honey from wild bees all year round; the fourth collect the largest and most beautiful shells on the coast; the fifth make necklaces from them, which the owner's sons Bruce and Kate personally sell to tourists at the market in the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu; sixth, seventh...
In a word, Lady Robinson "took care" of all her subjects and found a useful - for her own family - occupation for everyone. Maybe the islanders are allowed to leave Niihau? No. This is "illegal". For every more or less important business, either the mistress herself or her children go to the neighboring islands. It only happens - but extremely rarely - that one of the subjects is sent to Honolulu on an errand. In this case, he is obliged to return and report on the execution. And God forbid, if in the capital he tells about the conditions of life and the order prevailing on Niihau: the violator of the ban will face severe punishment. Therefore, in Hawaii, Niihau is also known under a different name: "the island of the Silent."
By the way, when the governor of the Hawaiian Islands decided to visit the island, the Robinsons refused him a visa and he could not do it!!! Also, journalists repeatedly tried to penetrate the island. And, the maximum that they managed to do was to hold out there for one day, and then they were always opened and sent to Kauai ...
Yes! In addition to the Hawaiians, two Japanese lived on the island. One of them looked after the apiary of the Robinson family.
The Robinsons took care of the adoption of Christianity on the island
One day, a defective Japanese military plane landed on the island. And the inhabitants of the island took the pilot prisoner. (this was during the attack on Pearl Harbor) The pilot informed the inhabitants of the island that their land now belongs to the Japanese (((Of course, he was bluffing!
By the way, every evening we met the sunset, seeing off the sun. Moreover, one could always see people who turned their faces to the ocean and carefully watched the luminary entering the water. Usually, I got bored with this activity for the second week, and I tried to return to regular activities, to which they began to shush me and say that I should definitely try to see a green flush.
I still couldn’t understand what it is, what all the inhabitants are fascinated waiting for every evening. Only once I managed to contemplate this miracle. It lasted only a moment. As I later found out on the Internet, this phenomenon is called the "green beam". At some point, when the sun goes completely into the ocean, you can see a beam of green light, as if emerging from the waves. I will not go into details of the origin of this miracle, I will only say that this phenomenon occurs for the same reasons as the rainbow, due to the dispersion of light. At such times there should be no clouds in the sky. The flash itself occurs at lightning speed and can be seen only if you carefully observe the sun.
I did not succeed in photographing this miracle of nature, no matter how hard I tried (((
Well, how do you, dear Gossips?! Socialism, slavery or something else reigns on this paradise island?! Robins...Robinson...Robinsons are all about the same people. Various sources. Photos are not mine. My husband and I decided to definitely go to Hawaii in the summer and try to take pictures of this island, at least "outside". So, it is very possible that the end of this topic is not set ... Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Good luck to you all!!!

This is a selection of islands that are somehow unusual and famous. The list is in no particular order, as each island is unique in its own way. So this one really looks more like a grocery list than a “countdown from ten to one” list. The listed islands were also chosen because of their low profile, which explains why, for example, Easter Island is not on the list - everyone has already heard of it! So, the most unusual islands are waiting for you...

Niihau Island

The westernmost of the eight main Hawaiian islands, Niihau (pronounced "Nii-i-how") differs from the other seven in that it is privately owned. Purchased by Elizabeth Sinclair of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1864, this is one of the most unusual islands in the world. Visitors are rarely allowed to visit Niihau, which is why it is also called the “Forbidden Island”. Although, in recent years, the island has begun to receive a very limited flow of tourists participating in safari. Niihau's population hovers around 130 people who speak their native Hawaiian language.

Population

As of 2009, about 130 people permanently live on the island. Almost all of them are ethnic Hawaiians and live in the largest settlement of the island - the village of Puuvai. (English)Russian. Part of the island's population receives income from fishing and agriculture, the other part depends on social benefits. Niihau has no telephone service, no cars, and no paved roads. Only horses and bicycles are used as transport. Solar batteries fully provide the population of the island with electricity. Also, there is no running water on Niihau; Water comes from rainwater harvesting. There are no hotels or shops on the island; goods and products are shipped by ship from Kauai.

The native language of the island's population is a dialect of Hawaiian that differs slightly from modern Standard Hawaiian. To date, Niihau is the only island in the archipelago whose main language of the population is Hawaiian.

Some residents of the island have radios and televisions, but the use of the latter is actually limited to watching video cassettes and DVDs due to poor coverage of the territory. Sometimes, during severe droughts, the population of Niihau is completely evacuated to Kauai before the first rains, which can fill the local water supply system. Niihau has a school providing a full 12-year education. Like other buildings on the island, the school is also fully powered by solar panels. The number of students varies from 25 to 50 as many families live part of the time on Kauai. In addition, some students from Niihau study permanently in 2 schools on the island of Kauai.

Island owners

Since 1864, the island has been the private property of the Robinson family. Robinson Family).

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Notes

Links

• Niʻihau, the last Hawaiian island. - Press Pacifica, 1987. - ISBN 0-916630-59-5.

An excerpt characterizing Niihau

At that time in St. Petersburg, in the highest circles, with more fervor than ever before, there was a complex struggle between the parties of Rumyantsev, the French, Maria Feodorovna, the Tsarevich and others, drowned out, as always, by the trumpeting of court drones. But calm, luxurious, preoccupied only with ghosts, reflections of life, Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, great efforts had to be made to realize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. It was only in the highest circles that efforts were made to recall the difficulty of the present situation. It was told in a whisper about how opposite one another acted, in such difficult circumstances, both empresses. Empress Maria Feodorovna, concerned about the well-being of the charitable and educational institutions subordinate to her, made an order to send all the institutions to Kazan, and the things of these institutions had already been packed. The Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, when asked what orders she wanted to make, with her usual Russian patriotism deigned to answer that she could not make orders about state institutions, since this concerned the sovereign; about the same thing that personally depends on her, she deigned to say that she would be the last to leave Petersburg.