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September 3, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kia Manu

“Feathers from certain birds were made into the highly-prized feather work artifacts of the alii – capes, cloaks, helmets, kahili, etc.” (Holmes)

“The plumage-birds, like everything else in Hawaii, were the property of the alii of the land, and as such were protected by tabu; at least that was the case in the reign of Kamehameha I, and for some time before.”

“The choicest of the feathers found their way into the possession of the kings and chiefs, being largely used in payment of the annual tribute, or land tax, that was levied on each ahupuaa.”

“As prerequisites of royalty, they were made up into full length cloaks to be worn only by the kings and highest chiefs. Besides these there were capes, kipuka, to adorn the shoulders of the lesser chiefs and the king’s chosen warriors, called hulumanu, not to mention helmets, mahiole, a most showy head-covering.”

“The supply needed to meet this demand was great, without reckoning the number consumed in the fabrication of lei and the numerous imposing kahili that surrounded Hawaiian royalty on every occasion of state.”

“It is, therefore, no surprise when we learn that in the economic system of ancient Hawaii a higher valuation was set upon bird feathers (those of the mamo and o-o) than upon any other species of property, the next rank being occupied by whale-tooth, a jetsam-ivory called palaoa pae, monopolized as a prerequisite of the king.” (Emerson)

“Bird-catching and feather gathering were frequently done by commoners in their ahupua‘a. These were people who were also farmers and fishermen, and not full-time specialist bird-catchers.” (Cordy)

“[M]en and women … are joined together in great numbers in climbing into the forests to snare birds [kapili manu; kawili manu]. And the number of birds caught by a person in a day is from six to thirty. The bird being caught is the Oo of the forests.” (Kuokoa, Mar 17, 1866)  The bird-catchers were known as lawai‘a manu (those people who ‘fished for birds’) or kia manu.

“Initial bird-catching or feather-gathering was probably conducted by commoners (maka‘āinana) of each community land (ahupua‘a) as part of their tribute to chiefs, rather than exclusively by a special class of chiefly retainers (bird-catchers).”

“Wives of bird-catchers sometimes accompanied their husbands and plucked, sorted and fastened together feathers. Women probably wove the helmet and cloak fibre frameworks and nets (of ‘ie‘ie and ‘olonā fibers).”

“Women may have attached the feathers to cloaks and helmets – manufactured the cloaks and helmets.  These cloaks and helmets were probably made in chiefly households by skilled female retainers.”

“Capes (cloaks) and helmets were probably not sacred and kapu until the finished products became identified with certain wearers.”  (Cordy)

“The methods used by one hunter in the capture of the birds differed from those used by another. They also varied somewhat, no doubt, in different district, on the different islands, at different seasons of the year and seen in the different islands, at different hours of the day.”

“There could be nothing stereotyped in the way the hunter of birds practiced his art. While the method might remain essentially the same, it was necessarily subject to a wide range of modification, to suit the skill and ingenuity of each hunter in his efforts to meet the habits and outwit the cunning of the birds themselves.” (Emerson)

“A bird-hunting campaign was not an affair to be lightly entered upon. Like every other serious enterprise of ancient Hawaii, a service of prayer and an offering to the gods and aumakuas, must first be performed….”

“Having selected a camp, he erects the necessary huts for himself and his family. His wife, who will keep him company in the wilderness, will not lack for occupation. It will be hers to engage in the manufacture of kapa from the delicate fibers of the mamake bark, perhaps to aid in plucking and sorting the feathers.”

While some suggest, “‘When you take a bird do not strangle it, but having plucked the few feathers for which it was sought, set it free that others may grow in their place.’ They inquired, ‘Who will possess the bird set free? You are an old man.’ He added, ‘My sons will possess the birds hereafter.’” (Brigham)

Perez, however, notes. “Some authors prefer to disingenuously believe that birdcatchers plucked only a few feathers from each bird, then ‘set it free to raise its family and grow a new crop of feathers.’” (Perez)

This is substantiated in the first writing of Hawai‘i; Captain Cook’s Journal notes, “Amongst the articles which they brought to barter this day, we could not help taking notice of a particular sort of cloak and cap, which, even in countries where dress is more particularly attended to, might be reckoned elegant.”

“The first are nearly of the size and shape of the short cloaks worn by the women of England, and by the men in Spain, reaching to the middle of the back, and tied loosely before.”

“The ground of them is a network upon which the most beautiful red and yellow feathers are so closely fixed that the surface might be compared to the thickest and richest velvet, which they resemble, both as to the feel and the flossy appearance. …”

At the time of ‘Contact’, it was clear that when collection feathers birds were killed, as Cook’s Journal goes on to note, “We were at a loss to guess from whence they could get such a quantity of these beautiful feathers; but were soon informed as to one sort …”

“… for they afterward brought great numbers of skins of small red birds for sale, which were often tied up in bunches of twenty or more, or had a small wooden skewer run through their nostrils.”

“At the first, those that were bought consisted only of the skin from behind the wings forward; but we afterward got many with the hind part, including the tail and feet. The first, however, struck us at once with the origin of the sable formerly adopted, of the birds of paradise wanting legs, and sufficiently explained that circumstance. … (Cook’s Journal, Jan 1778)

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Chiefs, Ahuula, Mahiole, Feathers, Kia Manu, Bird Catcher, Lawaia Manu

June 2, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Feathers

“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)

In the first writing of Hawai‘i, Captain Cook’s Journal notes, “Amongst the articles which they brought to barter this day [Jan 21, 1778], we could not help taking notice of a particular sort of cloak and cap, which, even in countries where dress is more particularly attended to, might be reckoned elegant.”

“The first are nearly of the size and shape of the short cloaks worn by the women of England, and by the men in Spain, reaching to the middle of the back, and tied loosely before.”

“The ground of them is a network upon which the most beautiful red and yellow feathers are so closely fixed that the surface might be compared to the thickest and richest velvet, which they resemble, both as to the feel and the flossy appearance.”

“The manner of varying the mixture is very different, some having triangular spaces of red and yellow alternately; others a kind of crescent, and some that were entirely red, had a yellow border which made them appear, at some distance, exactly like a scarlet cloak edged with gold lace.”

“The brilliant colours of the feathers, in those that happened to be new, added not a little to their fine appearance, and we found that they were in high estimation with their owners, for they would not, at first part with one of them for anything we offered, asking no less a price than a musket.”

“[M]en and women … are joined together in great numbers in climbing into the forests to snare birds [kapili manu; kawili manu]. And the number of birds caught by a person in a day is from six to thirty. The bird being caught is the Oo of the forests.” (Kuokoa, Mar 17, 1866)

“Initial bird-catching or feather-gathering was probably conducted by commoners (maka‘āinana) of each community land (ahupua‘a) as part of their tribute to chiefs, rather than exclusively by a special class of chiefly retainers (bird-catchers).

“Wives of bird-catchers sometimes accompanied their husbands and plucked, sorted and fastened together feathers. Women probably wove the helmet and cloak fibre frameworks and nets (of ‘ie‘ie and ‘olonā fibers).

“Women may have attached the feathers to cloaks and helmets – manufactured the cloaks and helmets.  These cloaks and helmets were probably made in chiefly households by skilled female retainers.”

“Capes (cloaks) and helmets were probably not sacred and kapu until the finished products became identified with certain wearers.”  (Cordy)

Vancouver notes in his journal, “Tamaahmaah (Kamehameha) conceiving this might be his last visit, presented me with a handsome cloak formed of red and yellow feathers, with a small collection of other native curiosities; and at the same time delivered into my charge the superb cloak that he had worn on his formal visit at our arrival.”

“This cloak was very neatly made of yellow feathers; after he had displayed its beauty, and had shewn me the two holes made in different parts of it by the enemy’s spears the first day he wore it, in his last battle for the sovereignty of this island, he very carefully folded it up, and desired, that on my arrival in England, I would present it in his name to His Majesty, King George …”

“… and as it had never been worn by any person but himself, he firmly enjoined me not to permit any person whatever to throw it over their shoulders, saying, that it was the most valuable thing in the island of Owhyhee (Hawai‘i), and for that reason he had sent it to so great a monarch, and so good a friend, as he considered the King of England.”

“This donation I am well persuaded was dictated by his own grateful heart, without having received the least hint or advice from any person whatever, and was the effect of principles, highly honorable to more civilized minds. The cloak I received, and gave him the most positive assurance of acting agreeably with his directions.”  (Vancouver, March 1793)

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Forest Birds, Ahuula, Mahiole, Feathers, Birds

May 22, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

500,000 Feathers

In the dawn hours of January 18, 1778, on his third expedition, British explorer Captain James Cook on the HMS Resolution and Captain Charles Clerke of the HMS Discovery first sighted what Cook named the Sandwich Islands (that were later named the Hawaiian Islands.)

Cook continued to sail along the coast searching for a suitable anchorage. His two ships remained offshore, but a few Hawaiians were allowed to come on board on the morning of January 20, before Cook continued on in search of a safe harbor.

On the afternoon of January 20, 1778, Cook anchored his ships near the mouth of the Waimea River on Kauai’s southwestern shore. After a couple of weeks, there, they headed to the west coast of North America.

After the West Coast, Alaska and Bering Strait exploration, on October 24, 1778 the two ships headed back to the islands; they sighted Maui on November 26, circled the Island of Hawaiʻi and eventually anchored at Kealakekua Bay on January 17, 1779.

At the time, the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu was on the island of Maui. Kalaniʻōpuʻu returned to Hawaiʻi and met with Cook on January 26, 1779, exchanging gifts, including an ʻahuʻula (feathered cloak) and mahiole (ceremonial feather helmet.) Cook also received pieces of kapa, feathers, hogs and vegetables.

In return, Cook gave Kalaniʻōpuʻu a linen shirt and a sword; later on, Cook gave other presents to Kalaniʻōpuʻu, among which one of the journals mentions “a complete Tool Chest.”

“For Native Hawaiians, the ʻahuʻula, mahiole, and all other featherwork were reserved exclusively for the use of their ali‘i (royalty), symbolizing their chiefly divinity, rank and power.”

“It embodied the life essence of a thriving abundant environment which are the telltale signs of leadership, as it takes a healthy forest ecosystem to produce enough bird feathers and cordage to make these regal pieces.” (OHA)

The construction of featherwork in ancient Hawai‘i required an incredible amount of labor and craftsmanship. The ‘ahu‘ula of Kalaniʻōpuʻu has 500,000 feathers (lashed one-by-one) from about 20,000 birds.

“Skilled trappers caught the birds by employing various techniques such as snaring their prey midair with nets, or using decoy birds to lure them onto branches coated with a sticky substance.”

“They often harvested only a few feathers from each bird before releasing them back into the wild so they could produce more feathers. Skilled workers belonging to the aliʻi class crafted the olonā cordage backing, a netting used as the foundation for the cloak, onto which the bundles of feathers were attached, creating bold designs.”

“After the ‘ahu‘ula and mahiole left on Cook’s ship, both were taken to England and passed through the hands of various museum owners and collectors.”

“They eventually came under the care of the Lord St Oswald, who unexpectedly presented his entire collection in 1912 to the Dominion Museum in New Zealand, the predecessor of Te Papa Tongarewa. The cloak and helmet have been in the national collection ever since.”

“In 2013, discussions began among the Bishop Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, and OHA to bring these treasures back to Hawai‘i, culminating in this significant homecoming.” (OHA)

In a partnership between the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), The National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the ‘ahu‘ula and mahiole of Kalani‘ōpu‘u came back in March 2016 and are displayed at Bishop Museum on long-term loan.

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions, Prominent People, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: Hawaii, Captain Cook, Kalaniopuu, Ahuula, Mahiole

January 21, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lawaiʻa Manu

When Cook anchored off Waimea, Kauai, in 1778, he and his officers at once noticed the feather robes and helmets. The account is as follows:

“Amongst the articles which they brought to barter this day (January 21, 1778) we could not help taking notice of a particular sort of cloak and cap, which, even in countries where dress is more particularly attended to, might be reckoned elegant.”

“The first are nearly of the size and shape of the short cloaks worn by the women in England, and by the men of Spain, reaching to the middle of the back and tied loosely before.”

“The ground of them is a net-work, upon which the most beautiful red and yellow feathers are so closely fixed, that the surface might be compared to the thickest and richest velvet, which they resemble, both as to feel and glossy appearance.”

“The manner of varying the mixture is very different, some having triangular spaces of red and yellow alternately; others a kind of crescent, and some that were entirely red, had a yellow border which made them appear, at some distance, exactly like a scarlet cloak edged with gold lace.”

“The brilliant colours of the feathers, in those that happened to be new, added not a little to their fine appearance, and we found that they were in high estimation with their owners, for they would not, at first part with one of them for anything we offered, asking no less a price than a musket.”

“However some were afterward purchased for very large nails. Some of them as were of the best sort, were scarce, and it would seem that they are only used on the occasion of some particular ceremony or diversion, for the people who had them always made some gesticulations which we had seen used before by those who sung.”

“We were at a loss to guess from whence they could get such a quantity of these beautiful feathers; but were soon informed as to one sort for they afterward brought great numbers of skins of small red birds (i‘iwi) for sale, which were often tied up in bunches of twenty or more, or had a small wooden skewer run through their nostrils.” (Cook, 1778; Brigham)

“The birds which supplied the feathers, at least the choicer yellow, red and green, were inhabitants of the mountain regions into which as the abode of evil spirits the Hawaiian did not like to go.” (Brigham)

“‘When you take a bird do not strangle it, but having plucked the few feathers for which it was sought, set it free that others may grow in their place.’ They inquired, ‘Who will possess the bird set free? You are an old man.’ He added, ‘My sons will possess the birds hereafter.’” (Brigham)

A “company of twenty-five athletic men, trained to bird-catching on the beetling crags of these mountains …. Their toe and finger nails, never cut, grow like claws.”

“Their sole business is to catch the little black birds called the o‘o, each producing a few yellow feathers under the wings ….” (Judd; Handy)

Feathers for these amazing works were procured by bird catchers, who often lived deep in the wao kele (upland forest) habitat of the birds that they sought.

“The old Hawaiian was a close observer of nature. Having neither books nor the modern curse of newspapers, his memory was strengthened and his eye sharpened.”

“He had a name for every tree and plant and not less for every bird. It is true that he did not always conjoin the two sexes when they, as is not infrequently the case, differ greatly in coloration ; but ornithologists of education have failed in the same way.”

“The hunters knew well enough the haunts of the birds they sought and the seasons when the plumage was at its best. They knew the habits of the birds, their food and other matters that might facilitate their quest.”

“For example, they recognized the curiosity of the birds and planted strange trees in the open places in the forests, and in these new trees placed the sticks smeared with bird-lime which would entangle the prying birds.”

“Bows and arrows would have been of no avail, if they had possessed them, for the rarer birds were seldom killed but captured alive and when the few feathers desired were plucked, released to renew their plumage at the next moulting.” (Brigham)

When bird-lime made of the viscid juice of the ‘papala’ could be obtained it was preferred, although other kinds were known and snares and throwing nets were frequently used. (Brigham)

Another technique called kahekahe, involved pruning branches of the ‘ōhi‘a tree of most of its flowers and gumming the branch near the remaining flowers with the sticky sap of the ‘ulu (breadfruit).

When the bird, attracted by the nectar of the ‘ōhi‘a blossom, alighted on the branch it became stuck and easy to catch. Care was often taken in removing the feathers from the bird, and salve applied to help the bird heal. (Hawaii Alive)

Another approach was to take a stone with a hole though it to form a snare; “A loop of fine cord is passed through the central hole and covered with bait, while the snarer leads the cord to some cover near by. A pull at the right time may catch the leg of the bird in the loop and the weight of the stone prevents flight.” (Brigham)

The common sorts were often killed and eaten. Rare birds especially were seen as a sacred resource.

David Malo wrote in the Hawaiian–language newspaper Ka Hae Hawaii that Kamehameha himself had forbidden bird-catchers from taking the life of the birds so as to allow his children in the future to experience the beauty of these wonderful birds. (Hawaii Alive)

Rain capes, worn by the bird-catchers (lawai‘a manu (those people who ‘fished for birds’) or kia manu) in the rain forest, were made by tying dried ti leaves singly, and overlapping, onto a net made of olona, fiber.

These men also thatched their upland shelters with dried ti leaves (sometimes with tree bark), and such temporary shelters were called hale la‘i (ti-leaf house). (Handy)

“(W)here there were no trails paved with smooth waterworn stones as in most areas in olden times, sandals made of dried ti leaves were a great help in crossing rough lava beds, even some that were only partly cooled.”

“‘A person accustomed to going to and fro on foot knew just how many pairs he would need for his journey and he carried them along with him. As one pair wore out it was thrown away and another put on.’ These sandals were called kama‘a la‘I (literally ‘the-bound-ti-Ieaf,’ from ma‘a ‘to bind’).”

“A fairly strong rope could be made by braiding dried ti leaves together along with their very stout stems. ‘When my grandmother needed a rope for a temporary purpose, this was what she did – a relic of old-time wisdom.’” (Pukui; Handy)

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Mamo, Apapane, Hawaii, Forest Birds, Ahuula, Mahiole, Feathers, Iiwi, Oo

October 2, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The King’s Cape

“Centuries ago, when the rest of the world went to battle in iron clothing, the great seven-foot warriors of Hawaii donned gay war capes, fashioned of thousands of colorful feathers.”

“The principal colors used were red and yellow. The more yellow, the higher the rank of the wearer. … The first kings maintained a corps of trained ‘birdmen’ who lived in the forests and hunted these creatures.”

“They learned to imitate the call of the male and thus lure the birds close to their hiding place where they previously ‘doctored’ a flower particularly delectable to the bird they wished to catch.”

“Then they waited until the bird thrust his bill into the flower … Then the birdmen carefully removed the desired feathers and released the bird.” (Oakland Tribune, July 21, 1929)

Hawaiian featherwork consists of leis (or strings of feathers worn in the hair or around the neck,) kāhili (plumes of feathers used as royal insignia,) ahuʻula (cloaks or capes,) mahiole (helmets,) images of the god Kūkaʻilimoku (war god of Kamehameha,) or mat-like objects and other temple objects.) (Brigham)

The ‘ahuʻula (cloak or cape) was durable and comparatively small in bulk. Olonā (a fiber) was universally the basis of the Hawaiian feather capes. The Hawaiian had not looms, so a fiber net was formed as the foundation of the cape.

It was a common custom to net bands of a width from 8 to 12 inches and this was cut and joined. Regular and irregular pieces were put together to form the cape. (Brigham)

Hawaiian feather capes and cloaks were constructed by tying bundles of small feathers, usually 6-10 per bundle, to a foundation of netting. The ‘ahu‘ula of Kamehameha consists of approximately 450,000 feathers. (Bishop Museum)

To fasten feathers to this net much finer thread, often single fibers, was used and the feather was bound by 2 or 3 turns of the thread on the shaft of the feather. On the reverse, the feather did not show.

As in medieval Europe the vanquished knight was despoiled of his armor by the victor, so the chief who killed or captured his enemy took as spoils his feather cloak, helmet or lei. Generous Hawaiian chiefs often gave ‘ahuʻula as token of their friendship. (Brigham)

During the British warship Calypso’s three-and-a-half-month stay in Hawai‘i beginning on Oct. 2, 1858, its surgeon, WH Sloggett, was presented with a royal feather shoulder cape by King Kamehameha IV in gratitude for medical service he’d rendered the seriously ill King. (Soboleski)

“Sir Arthur Sloggett, surgeon-general of the British Expeditionary Forces during the World War, has presented, through a nephew who resides in the islands, the cape of Kamehameha IV, given to Sloggett’s great grandfather by the monarch.” (Oakland Tribune, July 21, 1929)

On occasion, the ship would carry King Kamehameha IV and his retinue to Hawai‘i Island. Taking advantage of the presence of the surgeon, the King requested an examination by Sloggett.

Sloggett declined to accept a fee. He felt he already was paid by the Navy so he didn’t need to be paid by the King for doing his job. (Faye)

However, as a gift Kamehameha IV delivered to the Calypso on its departure an ‘ahuʻula (red and yellow feather cape.) He hung it at his home in England. The King also gave him a small portrait of Queen Emma. (Faye, KauaiGold)

The Sloggett cape measures 15.5 inches in depth, 33 inches across at its widest width, and is made of the yellow and black feathers of the ‘o‘o (a now extinct black bird with one yellow feather indigenous to Hawai‘i), with yellow used as the background and black as ornamentation.

‘I‘iwi (a scarlet honeycreeper also indigenous to Hawai‘i) feathers also appear as ornamentation, while a network of olona fiber, intricately knotted, forms the foundation. The cape’s outside surface gleams like satin and its texture is as smooth as velvet.

Dr. Sloggett took the cape home to England, where he framed and hung it upon a wall in his house. Then in 1926, his son, Sir Arthur Sloggett, removed it from the drawing-room wall of his home in England and gave it to his nephew, Grove Farm Plantation director Henry Digby Sloggett, who returned it to Hawai‘i.

Henry Digby Sloggett passed the cape on to his son, Richard Henry Sloggett Sr, and for a time it was on loan to Honolulu’s Bishop Museum. The Sloggett cape can now be seen in the Kaua‘i Museum. (Soboleski) (Lots of information here is from Chris Faye and Kauai Museum. The image shows the Kamehameha IV ahuʻula given to Sloggett. (Faye – Kauai Museum))

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Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Ahuula, Sloggett, Hawaii, Kamehameha IV, Alii

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