Lapakahi State Historical Park, where fishermen lived Hawaiians for centuries until the place was left without water. Big Island. The second group of settlers arrived on the year 1000 from Tahiti. In the times of the ancient Hawaiian social structure consisted of four social groups. The highest ranking were the district chiefs or ali'i. The communities were hierarchical and these administered each division of land called ahupua'a. Its mission was to ensure that natural resources were not wasted and religious laws were being met to split table. It was believed that they were direct descendants of the gods and as such had to be considered sacred.