HONOLULU — In Hawaii rapid changes followed Western contact and when King Kamehameha the Great died, Hawaii became a Christian nation and many Hawaiian practices, like kite flying, tattooing, and hula, were outlawed.

Before this time, Hawaiians created a social structure that maximized harmonious living by embracing all ohana (family) and sanctioning many types of relationships, including aikāne (same-sex love), māhū (transgender people), hānai (adoption), and punalua (multiple lovers).

The sign above, displayed on the side of the Hawaii State Capitol allotted to marriage equality opponents in front of tents with signs reading "Let the people decide" and Hawaii's state flag, uses the literal translation of the Hawaiian word kapu, meaning off limits, taboo, or something that is sacred, to imply that the sanctity of marriage is between one man and one woman.

Although the sign uses a Hawaiian word, it evades the original notion of the kapu system which was a social, religious, and political set of laws in place up until 1819, when King Kamehameha the Great died.

"It's misinterpretation, misappropriation, misunderstanding, misuse of the Hawaiian language," University of Hawaii Professor of Hawaiian Literature Ku'ualoha Ho'omanawanui said to BuzzFeed. "They are using the word kapu in a Christian sense, but they are working off the Hawaiian translation."

In traditional Hawaiian culture there was no concept of marriage—relationship statuses were noted by moe aku, moe mai or "sleeping here and there."

"One of the ways Hawaiians created a very successful model was to recognize and culturally and socially legitimize… natural human behavior," University of Hawaii Professor of Hawaiian Literature Ku'ualoha Ho'omanawanui said to BuzzFeed.