Kānāwai Māmalahoe

Common card · No. 278521

Kānāwai Māmalahoe, or Law of the Splintered Paddle (also translated Law of the Splintered Oar), also known as Kānāwai hoʻōla kanaka, translated as sanctity of life law, is a precept in Hawaiian law, originating with King Kamehameha I in 1797. The law, "Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety," is enshrined in the state constitution, Article 9, Section 10, and has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants during times of war. The law was created as a result of an incident when Kamehameha was on a military expedition in Puna. His party encountered a group of commoners on a beach. While chasing two fishermen who had stayed behind to cover the retreat of a man carrying a child, Kamehameha's leg was caught in the reef. One of the fisherman, Kaleleiki, hit him mightily on the head with a paddle in defense, which broke into pieces. Kamehameha could have been killed at that point, but the fisherman...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Cliff, CC BY 2.0