Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kahanu

“The Alii Kahanu displayed her true aristocracy by being always unpretentious, even humble. She was a living example of the motto of Hawaiian Kings … The king is a king because of the chiefs, and chiefs are chiefs because of the people.” (Taylor, SB, Feb 20, 1932)

“Always her thoughts were of the people.  She was active in anything that could do good for them … She  was constantly engaged in private charities, although we never heard of them except indirectly.  All of her pension money was used for charity and once she referred to it as a monument to the prince.” (Taylor, SB, Feb 20, 1932) (In March, 1923, the Hawaiian Legislature granted a pension of $500 a month to the Princess. (NY Times).)

“The Alii Kahanu – that was her name and title by the old Hawaiian royalty nomenclature – always referred to her husband Prince Kuhio as ‘my alii’ to intimates, or as ‘the prince’ to strangers.” (Taylor, SB, Feb 20, 1932)

“The king and queen [Kalakaua and Kapiolani] were caring for four children.  There were three boys, Kuhio, Kawananakoa and Edward (who died) and then the little girl, Elizabeth. They were all cousins …. She was a timid little thing, but they all played together around the garden of Honuakaha.” (Curtis Iaukea, SB, Feb 20, 1932)

Elizabeth Kahanu Kaʻauwai was born on May 8, 1878 in Maui and was cousin to Queen Kapi’olani.  Her parents were George Kaleiwohi Kaauwai and Ulalia Muolo Keaweaheulu Laanui Kaauwai. She hailed from a prominent Maui aliʻi family.

On January 5, 1895, protests took the form of an armed attempt to derail the annexation but the armed revolt was no match for the forces of the Republic troops and police. Amongst the Hawaiian Kingdom loyalists was Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole who was twenty four years old at the time.

Kūhiō, other leaders of the revolt and those involved in the rebellion were captured and imprisoned – along with Queen Lili‘uokalani who was additionally charged for failing to put down the revolt. Kūhiō was sentenced to a year in prison while others were charged with treason and sentenced with execution.

Death sentences were commuted to imprisonment. Kūhiō served his full term. He was visited daily by his fiancée, Elizabeth Kahanu Ka‘auwai. They were married on October 9, 1896 at the Anglican Cathedral and she became Princess of Hawai‘i. (Iolani Palace and Native Kauai LLC)

Shortly after their wedding, Kūhiō and Kahanu left Hawai`i to travel throughout Europe and Africa.  Kūhiō later returned from his self-imposed exile to dedicate the rest of his life to politics. By September 1, 1902, Kūhiō decided to align himself with the powerful Republican Party.

Kūhiō joined the convention as a nominee for Delegate to Congress, announcing, “I am a Republican from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.” Republicans nominated him by acclamation and Kuhio and Kahanu went to Washington.

During his tenure as delegate, Kūhiō restored the Royal Order of Kamehameha I in 1903; introduced the first bill for Hawai‘i statehood (1919); introduced the Hawaiʻi National Park bill in 1916, covering land on Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakala; and worked to get funds for the construction of the Pearl Harbor naval base. His landmark achievement was working to introduce the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (1920). (LOC)

Kahanu was an attendant of Queen Emma and the protégé of Queen Kapiʻolani. (OHA)  She was known for her exceptional hosting skills in both Honolulu and Washington, DC, where her husband represented the Territory of Hawaiʻi in Congress from 1903 until his death.

Charmian London (Jack London’s wife) noted that Kahanu was “the gorgeous creature at [Kuhio’s] side …  The bigness of her was a trifle overwhelming to one new to the physical aristocracy of island peoples.”

“You would hesitate to call her fat – she is just big, sumptuous, bearing her splendid proportions with the remarkable poise I had already noticed in Hawaiian women, only more magnificently.”

“Her bare shoulders were beautiful, the pose of her head majestic, piled with heavy, fine, dark hair that showed bronze lights in its wavy mass. She was superbly gowned in silk that had a touch of purple or lilac about it, the perfect tone for her full, black, calm eyes and warm, tawny skin.”

“For Polynesians of chiefly blood are often many shades fairer than the commoners. Under our breath, Jack and I agreed that we could not expect ever to behold a more queenly woman.”

“My descriptive powers are exasperatingly inept to picture the manner in which this Princess stood, touching with hers the hands of all who passed, with a brief, graceful droop of her patrician head, and a fleeting, perfunctory, yet gracious flash of little teeth under her small fine mouth.”

“Glorious she was, the Princess Kalanianaole, a princess in the very tropical essence of her. Always shall I remember her as a resplendent exotic flower, swaying and bending its head with unaffected, innate grace.” (Charmian London)

“She presided with charm and distinction and sincerity at the Hawaiian meetings of [the Honolulu Citizens’ Organization for Good Government]. Urging adherence to American principles and institutions and orderly processes of the law.” (Adv, Feb 20, 1932)

An influential leader in the Hawaiʻi suffragist movement, Kahanu traveled around Hawaiʻi to teach local women about their rights to vote. After women were granted the right to vote, she created the Hawaiian Women’s Republican Auxiliary, whose mission was to educate women on political issues. 


She was appointed President of the Kapiʻolani Maternity Home, after the passing of Queen Kapiʻolani, and later filled her husband’s place as a member of the Hawaiian Home Commission, upon his death.

She was an active leader in many community organizations such as: Native Sons and Daughters of Hawaiʻi, the Kaʻahumanu Society, Hui Kalama, the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors, and ʻAhahui o nā Māmakakaua. (OHA)

Prince Kūhiō passed away on January 7, 1922 at his home in Waikīkī. He is buried at Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nu‘uanu, and was given the last State funeral held in Hawai‘i for an Ali‘i.  (DHHL)

After Kuhio’s death Kahanu married Frank Woods. (HSA) “Her second marriage to James Frank Woods was a happy one.  Mr Woods and the prince had been like brothers and the first Mrs Woods, formerly Miss Eva Parker, was a cousin of the princess. They were all chiefly families and had always formed a little group of intimates.”  (SB, Feb 20, 1932)

Elizabeth Kahanu Kalaniana‘ole Woods died at Queen’s Hospital on February 19, 1932, and is buried in the O’ahu Cemetery next to her second husband.

© 2025 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Liliʻuokalani, Her Early Years

She was born September 2, 1838 and named Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha.   (The following is a summary of some of her early years – as told by her.)

At that time, children often were named in commemoration of an event.  Kuhina Nui Kīnaʻu had developed an eye infection at the time of Liliʻu’s birth.  She gave the child the names Liliʻu (smarting,) Loloku (tearful,) Walania (a burning pain) and Kamakaʻeha (sore eyes.)

“My father’s name was (Caesar Kaluaiku) Kapaʻakea, and my mother was (Analeʻa) Keohokālole; the latter was one of the fifteen counsellors of the king, Kamehameha III, who in 1840 gave the first written constitution to the Hawaiian people.”

“My great-grandfather, Keaweaheulu, the founder of the dynasty of the Kamehamehas, and Keōua, father of Kamehameha I, were own cousins (he was also brother of Mrs Bishop’s ancestress, Hākau,) and my great-grandaunt was the celebrated Queen Kapiʻolani, one of the first converts to Christianity.”

“As was then customary with the Hawaiian chiefs, my father was surrounded by hundreds of his own people, all of whom looked to him, and never in vain, for sustenance. He lived in a large grass house surrounded by smaller ones, which were the homes of those the most closely connected with his service.”

“But I was destined to grow up away from the house of my parents. Immediately after my birth I was wrapped in the finest soft tapa cloth, and taken to the house of another chief, by whom I was adopted.”

In her youth she was called “Lydia” or “Liliʻu.” (She was also known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī, with the chosen royal name of Liliʻuokalani, and her married name was Lydia K Dominis.)  As was the custom, she was hānai (adopted) to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia (granddaughter of Kamehameha I.)

“…their only daughter, Bernice Pauahi (born December 19, 1831,) afterwards Mrs Charles R Bishop, was therefore my foster-sister. … I knew no other father or mother than my foster-parents, no other sister than Bernice.”    The two girls developed a close, loving relationship.

“(W)hen I met my own parents, it was with perhaps more of interest, yet always with the demeanor I would have shown to any strangers who noticed me.”

“My own father and mother had other children, ten in all, the most of them being adopted into other chiefs’ families; and although I knew that these were my own brothers and sisters, yet we met throughout my younger life as though we had not known our common parentage. This was, and indeed is, in accordance with Hawaiian customs.”

Liliʻu and Bernice lived on the property called Haleʻākala, in the house that Pākī built on King Street.  It was the ‘Pink House,’ made from coral (the house was named ʻAikupika (Egypt.))  (It is not clear where the ʻAikupika name came from.)

“At the age of four years I was sent to what was then known as the Royal School, because its pupils were exclusively persons whose claims to the throne were acknowledged. It was founded and conducted by Mr Amos S Cooke, who was assisted by his wife. It was a boarding-school, the pupils being allowed to return to their homes during vacation time, as well as for an occasional Sunday during the term.”

“Several of the pupils who were at school with me have subsequently become known in Hawaiian history.  There were four children of Kīnaʻu, daughter of Kamehameha I, the highest in rank of any of the women chiefs of her day; these were Moses, Lot (afterwards Kamehameha V,) Liholiho (afterwards Kamehameha IV) and Victoria”.

“Next came Lunalilo, who followed Kamehameha V as king. Then came Bernice Pauahi, who married Hon Charles R Bishop. Our family was represented by Kaliokalani, Kalākaua, and myself, two of the three destined to ascend the throne.”

“From the year 1848 the Royal School began to decline in influence; and within two or three years from that time it was discontinued, the Cooke family entering business with the Castles, forming a mercantile establishment still in existence.”

“From the school of Mr and Mrs Cooke I was sent to that of Rev Mr Beckwith, also one of the American missionaries. This was a day-school, and with it I was better satisfied than with a boarding-school.”

“I was a studious girl; and the acquisition of knowledge has been a passion with me during my whole life, one which has not lost its charm to the present day.  In this respect I was quite different from my sister Bernice.”

“She was one of the most beautiful girls I ever saw; the vision of her loveliness at that time can never be effaced from remembrance; like a striking picture once seen, it is stamped upon memory’s page forever.”

“She married in her eighteenth year. She was betrothed to Prince Lot, a grandchild of Kamehameha the Great; but when Mr Charles R Bishop pressed his suit, my sister smiled on him, and they were married.  It was a happy marriage.”

“At this time I was still living with Pākī and Kōnia, and the house now standing and known as the Arlington Hotel was being erected by the chief for his residence. It was completed in 1851, and occupied by Paki until 1855, when he died.”

“Then my sister and her husband moved to that residence, which still remained my home. It was there that the years of my girlhood were passed, after school-days were over, and the pleasant company we often had in that house will never cease to give interest to the spot.”

The comments in quotes are from Liliʻuokalani from her book “Hawaiʻi’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen, Liliʻuokalani.”

Fast forward … on the afternoon of January 16, 1893, 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore.  The home that Liliʻuokalani was raised in (later known as Arlington Hotel) served as the headquarters for the USS Boston’s landing force (Camp Boston) at the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, January 17, 1893.

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Territorial Governors

“(T)he executive power of the government of the Territory of Hawaii shall be vested in a governor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States, and shall hold office for four years and until his successor shall be appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President.”

“He shall be not less than thirty-five years of age; shall be a citizen of the Territory of Hawaii; shall be commander in chief of the militia thereof; may grant pardons or reprieves for offenses against the laws of the said Territory and reprieves for offenses against the laws of the United States until the decision of the President is made known thereon.” (The Government of Hawaii, April 30, 1900)

The Territory of Hawaiʻi was organized on June 14, 1900, remaining a territory for 59 years. Twelve people served as territorial governor, each appointed by the President of the US.

1. Sanford Ballard Dole (1900-1903)
Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was born in Honolulu to Protestant Christian missionaries from Maine. His father was Daniel Dole principal at Punahou School and mother was Emily Hoyt Ballard (his mother died from complications within a few days of his birth.)

The monarchy ended on January 17, 1893; Dole was named president of the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi. The Provisional Government held a constitutional convention and on July 4, 1894, established the Republic of Hawaii. Dole would serve as the first and only president from 1894 to 1898.

President William McKinley appointed Dole to become the first territorial governor after US annexation of Hawaiʻi, and the Hawaiian Organic Act organized its government. Dole assumed the office on June 14, 1900 but resigned November 23, 1903 to accept an appointment by Theodore Roosevelt as judge for the US District Court

2. George Robert Carter (1903-1907)
George Robert Carter (December 28, 1866 – February 11, 1933) was born in Honolulu. His mother was Sybil Augusta Judd, daughter of Gerrit P Judd, and his father was businessman Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter.

Carter was educated at Fort Street School in Honolulu (now McKinley High School,) Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and Yale University. He married Helen Strong, daughter of Eastman Kodak president Henry A Strong April 19, 1892; they had four children.

In 1895 Carter returned to Hawaiʻi to become the cashier of C. Brewer & Co., where his father had been a senior partner from 1862 to 1874. From 1898 to 1902, he helped organize and manage the Hawaiian Trust Company, and was managing director of the Hawaiian Fertilizer Company. In addition, he served as a director for Bank of Hawaii, C. Brewer and Alexander & Baldwin

President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of the Territory in 1902, and then Territorial Governor in 1903. In 1905, during Carter’s administration, the current system of county governments was created; Counties Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii and Kalawao took effect on January 1, 1906. Oahu County later became the City and County of Honolulu in 1909.

3. Walter Francis Frear (1907-1913)
Walter Francis Frear (October 29, 1863 – January 2, 1948) was born in Grass Valley, California. His father, Reverend Walter Frear, came to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as a missionary, and then lived in California. His mother was Frances Elmira Foster.

The family returned to Honolulu in 1870, where his father was pastor of the Fort Street Church until 1881. He graduated from Punahou School in 1881, Yale with a B.A. in 1885, and Yale law school in 1890. On August 1, 1893 he married Mary Emma Dillingham, the daughter of Benjamin Dillingham; they had two daughters.

Frear was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt on August 15, 1907. Frear Hall, a dormitory building built in the 1950s on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, was named after Governor Frear’s wife Mary Dillingham Frear, a member of the University’s Board of Regents from 1920–1943 (the structure was demolished in 2006 and replaced in 2008 by new dorm facility also called Frear Hall.

4. Lucius Eugene Pinkham (1913-1918)
Lucius Eugene Pinkham (September 19, 1850 – November 2, 1922) was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He attended public schools in Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. Although he intended to attend Yale, a horse-riding accident prevented him from walking for several years and he never attended college.

Pinkham arrived in Hawaii in 1892 to build a coal handling plant for Oahu Railway and Land Company, and then went to California in 1894. From 1898 to 1903 he was manager of Pacific Hardware, another family business of Benjamin Dillingham.

On April 13, 1904, Pinkham was appointed President of the territorial Board of Health. While President of the Board of Health, he developed the idea of dredging the marshlands of Waikīkī via a two-mile long drainage canal. Pinkham was appointed governor by President Woodrow Wilson on November 29, 1913. The construction of what would become the Ala Wai Canal and the drainage of the Waikiki are considered to be his most enduring legacies.

5. Charles James McCarthy (1918-1921)
Charles James McCarthy (August 4, 1861 – November 26, 1929) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Charles McCarthy and Joana (McCarthy) McCarthy. McCarthy moved with his parents to San Francisco, California in 1866.

He was a member of the House of Nobles in 1890, supporter of Liliuokalani and ironically a captain in the pro-annexation Honolulu Rifles. He also was a territorial senator 1907-12 and treasurer 1912-14.

He was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Governor. He was the first governor to advocate statehood for Hawaiʻi.

He was later given a job as Washington representative of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, and later general manager of Hawaiian Dredging Co during which he worked on the Waikiki Reclamation project which resulted in the construction of the Ala Wai Canal.

6. Wallace Rider Farrington (1921-1929)
Wallace Rider Farrington (May 3, 1871 – October 6, 1933) was born in Orono, Penobscot County, Maine. An avid traveler, he came to the Islands and was persuaded to stay to become the editor of the Honolulu Advertiser; he left the Advertiser and became editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Interested in local politics, he was elected Mayor of Honolulu.

President Warren Harding appointed Farrington as Governor. Wallace Rider Farrington High School in Kalihi is named for him; they adopted ‘The Governors’ as its nickname and mascot.

7. Lawrence McCully Judd (1929-1934)
Lawrence McCully Judd (March 20, 1887 – October 4, 1968) was born in Honolulu, grandson of Gerrit P Judd (an early American Missionary and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.)

Herbert Hoover appointed Judd. Judd was devoted to the Hansen’s Disease-afflicted residents of Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai and as Governor; he overhauled the system of governance there. He later became Kalaupapa’s resident superintendent.

A source of controversy during his tenure, Judd commuted the sentence of Grace Hubbard Fortescue, convicted in the territorial courts of manslaughter in the death of a local man, Joseph Kahahawai in the ‘Massie Affair.’

8. Joseph Boyd Poindexter (1934-1942)
Joseph Boyd Poindexter (April 14, 1869 – December 3, 1951) was born in Canyon City, Oregon to Thomas W and Margaret Pipkin Poindexter.

He was admitted to the Montana Bar in 1892, and served as County Attorney of Beaverhead County, Montana from 1897 to 1903. He later served as a district judge in Montana from 1909 to 1915, and as Attorney General of Montana from 1915 to 1917.

President Woodrow Wilson appointed Poindexter as Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii; President Franklin D Roosevelt appointed Poindexter governor of Hawaii.

In the immediate aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Poindexter placed the territory under martial law and allowed the US military to form a military government. The military government would continue until 1943.

9. Ingram Macklin Stainback (1942-1951)
Ingram Macklin Stainback (May 12, 1883 – April 12, 1961) was born in Somerville, Tennessee, he received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.

He came to Hawaii shortly after graduation and was appointed by Governor Pinkham as Territorial Attorney General. He resigned in 1917 to join the Army and rose to the rank of major. When WWI ended he returned to private practice in Hawaii.

He was appointed to the office by President Franklin D Roosevelt. Stainback was essentially powerless for the first two years of his term since martial law was in effect.

On September 26, 1951, he was appointed by President Harry S Truman as an associate judge to the Hawaii Supreme Court. Stainback argued for Commonwealth status similar to Puerto Rico instead of statehood, arguing that Hawaii would benefit from the federal tax exemption.

10. Oren Ethelbirt Long (1951-1953)
Oren Ethelbirt Long (March 4, 1889 – May 6, 1965) was born in Altoona, Kansas and attended Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University in New York City.

He first came to Hawaii in 1917 as a social worker in Hilo. He then held various educational positions in the public school system, eventually serving as a superintendent from 1933 to 1946.

He was appointed Governor of the Territory of Hawaii by President Harry Truman. Long later served in the Hawaii Territorial Senate from 1956-1959. On July 28, 1959 he was elected to one of the two Senate seats from the newly formed State of Hawaii, and took office on August 21, 1959. The other Senator elected was Hiram Fong.

11. Samuel Wilder King (1953-1957)
Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886 – March 24, 1959) was born in Honolulu to father James A King, a ship’s master for Samuel Gardner Wilder, and later politician in the Republic of Hawaii. His mother was Charlotte Holmes Davis.

A devout Roman Catholic, King attended Saint Louis School. Upon graduating, King went on to study at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He entered the US Navy as a commissioned officer where he served from 1910 to 1924.

King served in the United States House of Representatives as a delegate from the Territory of Hawaii. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed King to the governorship, the first of native Hawaiian descent to rise to the highest office in the territory.

12. William Francis Quinn (1957-1959)
William Francis Quinn (July 13, 1919 – August 28, 2006) was born in Rochester, New York. His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri during his youth, where he attended prep school at St. Louis University High School and college at St. Louis University, graduating in 1940.

Quinn entered Harvard Law School, but only finished after his stint in the military. He graduated cum laude in 1947. He served in Hawaii in naval intelligence during World War II. Upon his discharge from service, he settled permanently in Honolulu.

Originally appointed to the office by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1959, he defeated challenger John A Burns to win the new state’s first gubernatorial election.

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mahiole v Tibetan Monk Hat

On a visit to the Hawaiian Islands, the Dalai Lama XIV “was presented with a traditional ceremonial hat [mahiole] (which he wore on his head mentioning that it seemed similar to Tibetan monastic hats)”.  (Central Tibetan Administration)

The Tibetan monk’s hat was made of wool over a cotton interior; different sects had different colors (red or yellow).  Hawaiians did not have wool or cotton cloth; they had ‘ie‘ie and ‘olonā fibers and feathers, typically, red and yellow to make their mahiole.

In Hawai‘i, feathered garments denoted status and as such could be worn only by the elite. The ‘ahu ‘ula (cape) and mahiole (helmets) were worn by the most powerful chiefs, or ali’i, and were sometimes given as gifts.

Mahiole were constructed of the aerial roots of the ʻieʻie vine, woven into a basketry frame. They were perfectly fitted to an individual, and protected the most sacred part of the body, the head.

A net of olonā fibers was laid over the framework, and feathers attached in bundles in the same way as for the cloaks.  The featherwork starts from the bottom, so each new row conceals the quills of the feathers below.  (Museum of New Zealand)

“It was probably the cherished armor of a king as noble as any of the Hawaiian line. and yet it is not all yellow, as one or two authors claim that the helmet of a king should always be: it is of red, as are the most of those which retain any of their original feathers, and not a single one of all is exclusively yellow.”

“It may seem strange that articles so highly valued should have so little history connected with them … it would add greatly to the interest which must ever attach to these beautiful examples of patient and long-continued work by a primitive people if we knew …”

“… what chief first ordered the construction, how long the hunters collected, how many years the deft fingers of the high chiefesses plaited the precious feathers into the network, what rejoicings at the completion of the long task, in what battle it first was worn, and then the changing ownership when murder, fraud, or theft transferred the garment …”  (Brigham)

“Feathers were important symbols of power for Polynesians; in Hawai‘i, feathers were more highly prized than other types of property.”

“Feathers used for crafts were obtained from at least 24 bird species, however, the golden feathers of ‘ō‘ō and mamo birds made them primary targets for birdhunters; both birds became extinct by the late 1800s.”

“Feathers were utilized for many items, including ‘ahu‘ula [cloaks], mahiole [war helmets], and kāhili [standards]. Most garments utilized a considerable number of feathers; a cloak for Kamehameha consumed the golden feathers of 80,000 mamo birds.”  (Perez)

“The feathers of birds were the most valued possessions of the ancient Hawaiians. The feathers of the mamo were more choice than those of the oo because of their superior magnificence when wrought into cloaks (ahu). The plumage of the i‘iwi, apapane and amakihi were made into ahu-ula, cloaks and capes, and into maho-ole, helmets.”

“The ahu-ula was a possession most costly and precious (makamae), not obtainable by the common people, only by the alii. It was much worn by them as an insignia in time of war and when they went into battle. The ahu-ula was also conferred upon warriors, but only upon those who had distinguished themselves and had merit, and it was an object of plunder in every battle.”

“Unless one were a warrior in something more than name, he would not succeed in capturing his prisoner nor in getting possession of the ahu-ula and feathered helmet of a warrior.  These feathers had a notable use in the making of the royal battle-gods. They were also frequently used by the female chiefs in making or decorating a comb called huli-kua, which was used as an ornament in the hair.”

“The lands that produced feathers were heavily taxed at the Makahiki time, feathers being the most acceptable offering to the Makahiki-idol. If any land failed to furnish the full tale of feathers due for the tax, the landlord was turned off (hemo). So greedy were the alii after fathers that there was a standing order (palala) directing their collection.” (Malo)

There are many different kinds of mahiole that can be seen today found in museums around the world from the mahiole haka (short crested helmet,) mahiole pōheoheo (knobbed helmet,) mahiole haka kahakaha (striped short crest helmet,) spoked crescent helmet and others.

In Tibet, regarded as the manifestation of Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Jampelyan (Manjushri), Tsongkhapa’s followers built him the Ganden Monastery in Netang near Lhasa in 1409. After his death, Tsongkhapa’s students built a new school of Tibetan Buddhism based on his teachings and named it ‘Gelug’ which means virtuous tradition. (TibetPedia)

Among his known disciples were Gyaltsab (1364-1431), Jamchen Chojey (1355-1435), Khedrub (1385-1438), and Gendun Drupa (1391-1474). His disciples founded the great monasteries of the Gelug Sect such as Sera monastery of Lhasa, Drepung and Tashillhunpo monasteries, and introduced the tradition of wearing yellow hats to distinguish them from Sakya lamas, who wore red hats.

The Gelugpa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, despite being the youngest, is the largest and most important school of thought. Having emerged in the 15th Century through the reforming efforts of Tsongkhapa, adherance to the Gelugpa sect is considered to be purest form of Tibetan Buddhism.

The sect achieved its peak in the 17th Century with huge support from Mongols and Tibetans inspired by the enigmatic 5th Dalai Lama. The Gelugpa Sect remained in power in the Central Tibetan Plateau until Chinese invasions of Tibet in the 1950s. (TibetPedia)

Hmmm …

© 2025 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“The Kind-eyed Chief”

Thomas ap Catesby Jones was born April 24, 1790 to Major Catesby and Lettice Turbeville Jones at Hickory Hill in Westmoreland County, Virginia. (The ‘ap’ in his name is a Welch prefix noting he is ‘Thomas, the son of Catesby Jones.’)

His father died September 23, 1801, leaving six children and a widow; she died in mid-December 1804. Thomas went to live with an uncle – who later died from injuries suffered in a duel.

Then, Thomas received an appointment as a midshipman and joined the US Navy (at the time, 1805, it had only 29-vessels.) He moved up through the ranks. (Smith)

He later fought in the War of 1812; with five gunboats, one tender and a dispatch boat headed toward the passes out to Ship Island, to watch the movements of the British vessels. This little flotilla, barely enough for scout duty at sea, was the extent of the naval forces in the Gulf waters.

A British flotilla of barges started coming from the direction of the enemy’s ships, evidently to overtake and attack the gunboats with 1,200-men and 45-pieces of artillery. The American defensive forces were seven small gunboats, manned by 30-guns and 180-men.

The battle was fiercely fought for nearly two hours, when the American gunboats, overpowered by numbers, were forced to surrender, losing 6-men killed and 35-wounded, among the latter Jones (he was one struck in the shoulder, “where it has remained ever since.”) Several barges of the enemy were sunk, while their losses in killed and wounded were estimated at two to three hundred. (Smith)

These results show that the victory of the British was a costly one. Although wounded and captured, Jones received commendation for delaying the British advance that culminated in the Battle of New Orleans (January 8, 1815,) the final major battle of the War of 1812 when the Americans prevented the British from taking New Orleans.

Later, Jones went to the Islands.

Growing concerns over treatment, safety and attitudes toward American sailors (and therefore other US citizens in the Islands) led the US Navy to send Jones to the Islands, report back on what he learned, banish the bad-attitude sailors and maintain cordial relations with the Hawaiian government.

“The object of my visit to the Sandwich Islands was of high national importance, of multifarious character, and left entirely to my judgment as to the mode of executing it, with no other guide than a laconic order, which the Government designed one of the oldest and most experienced commanders in the navy should execute”. (Jones, Report of Minister of Foreign Affairs)

“Under so great a responsibility, it was necessary for me to proceed with the greatest caution, and to measure well every step before it was taken; consequently the first ten or fifteen days were devoted to the study and examination of the character and natural disposition of a people who are so little known to the civilized world, and with whom I had important business to transact.”

“The Sandwich Islanders as legislators are a cautious, grave, deliberate people, extremely jealous of their rights as a nation, and are slow to enter into any treaty or compact with foreigners, by which the latter can gain any foot-hold or claim to their soil.”

“Aware of these traits in the character of the Islanders with whom I had to negotiate, I determined to conduct my correspondence with them in such a manner as at once to remove all grounds of suspicion as to the object and views of the American Government, and to guard against misrepresentation and undue influence”.

“(I also wanted to) give the Chiefs and others in authority, the means of understanding perfectly the nature of my propositions, I took the precaution to have all official communications translated into the Oahuan language, which translation always accompanied the original in English”.

“(B)y giving them their own time to canvass and consult together, I found no difficulty in carrying every measure I proposed, and could I have been fully acqainted with the views of my government, or been authorized to make treaties, I do not doubt but my success would have been complete in any undertaking of that character.” (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

Jones’s resolved the sailor desertion issue, the chiefs agreed to pay in full the debts and then Jones negotiated ‘Articles of Arrangement’ noting the “peace and friendship subsisting between the United States and their Majesties, the Queen Regent and Kauikeaouli, King of the Sandwich Islands, and their subjects and people,” (later referred to as the Treaty of 1826, the first treaty signed by the Hawaiians and US.)

Jones elevated the image of America … protesting the agreement His Britannic Majesty’s Consul-General, Captain Richard Charlton declared the islanders to be mere tenants at will, subjects of Great Britain, without power to treat with any other State or Prince, and that if they entered into treaty stipulations with the United States, Great Britain would soon assert her right by taking possession of the Islands. (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

Jones asked Charlton what was the nature or character of the commission he bore from the King.  The response, “Consul-General to the Sandwich Islands.” Jones followed up with, ‘What are the duties or functions of a Consul-General?’ (The answer was in accordance with the acknowledged international understanding of the office.)

He then asked Charlton if it was customary for a Prince or Potentate to send Consuls, Consuls-General or Commercial Agents, to any part or place within his own dominions? Charlton had no answer.

When informed of all that had been said between Jones and Charlton, Kalanimōku, noted, “It is so…. Is America and England equal? We never understood so before. We knew that England was our friend and that Capt Charlton was here to protect us, but we did not know that Mr Jones, the Commercial Agent, was the representative of America – we thought he was for trade only.” (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

“Capt. Jones, as a public officer, carefully sought to promote the interests of commerce and secure the right of traders, pressed the rulers to a prompt discharge of their debts, and negotiated articles of agreement with the government for the protection of American interests”.

He “secured for himself among the people the designation of ‘the kind-eyed chief’ – a compliment falling on the ear of many of different classes”. (Hiram Bingham)

Jones later commanded the US Pacific Squadron, fought in the Mexican American War and later in his career, however, Jones was court-martialed for oppression of seamen and mishandling of Navy funds on the coast of California in the wild days of the Gold Rush. Jones denied all charges. (Gapp) (He was later reinstated and his pay was restored.) He died May 30, 1858.

© 2025 Hoʻokuleana LLC