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June 27, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hale Ali‘i

When the seat of government was being established in Lāhainā in the 1830s, Hale Piula (iron roofed house,) a large two-story stone building, was built for Kamehameha III to serve as his royal palace.

But, by 1843, the decision was made to permanently place a palace in Honolulu; Hale Piula was then used as a courthouse, until it was destroyed by wind in 1858 – its stones were used to rebuild a courthouse on Wharf Street.

In Honolulu, Kekūanāo‘a (father of two kings, Kamehameha IV and V) was building a house for his daughter (Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.)

The original one story coral block and wooden building called Hanailoia was built in July 1844 on the grounds of the present ‘Iolani Palace.

But, in 1845 Kamehameha III took possession of it as his Palace; from then on, Honolulu remained the official seat of government in Hawai‘i.

At the time when Kekūanāo‘a erected the old Palace, the grounds were not so spacious as they are at present.  On the western corner was Kekūanaō‘a’s house, which he had named Hali‘imaile.

Kekauluohi, a premier, erected her house in the vicinity.  When John Young was premier, he built and lived in Kīna‘u Hale.  Also, on the premises was Pohukaina.

The site of the Palace was once a section of the important heiau (temple,) Ka‘ahaimauli; other heiau were also in the vicinity of the Palace, including Kanela‘au and Mana.

The Palace was used mainly of official events and the structure had mainly offices and reception areas, since smaller buildings on the grounds served as residences for the rulers and their court; it was only one-third the floor area of the present Palace.

Kamehameha III built a home next door (on the western side of the present grounds, near the Kīna‘u gate, opening onto Richards Street;) he called the house “Hoihoikea,” (two authors spell it this way – it may have been spelled Hoihoiea) in honor of his restoration after the Paulet Affair of 1843. (Taylor and Judd)

(In 1843, Paulet had raised the British flag and issued a proclamation annexing Hawai‘i to the British Crown.  This event became known as the Paulet Affair.  Queen Victoria sent Rear Admiral Richard Thomas to restore the Hawaiian Kingdom.  That day is now referred to as Ka La Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day.)

“Hoihoikea” was a large, old-fashioned, livable cottage erected on the grounds a little to the west and mauka side of the old Palace.  This served as home to Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V: the Palace being used principally for state purposes. (Taylor)

The palace building was named Hale Ali‘i meaning (House of the Chiefs.)

During the reign of Kamehameha V, cabinet councils were frequently held there.  This was where the council called the Constitutional Convention, the result of which was the abolition of the constitution of 1852 and the creation of a new one.

Hale Ali‘i was renamed ‘Iolani in 1863, at the request of King Kamehameha V (Lot Kapuāiwa.)  The name “‘Iolani” was chosen by King Kamehameha V to honor his deceased brother, the former king, Kamehameha IV (Alexander Liholiho ‘Iolani.)

“‘Io” is the Hawaiian hawk, a bird that flies higher than all the rest, and “lani” denotes heavenly, royal or exalted.

The Palace served as the official state structure for five Kings: Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V, Lunalilo and the first part of Kalākaua’s reign.

Theodore Heuck, who had earlier designed the new Mausoleum, designed a building called ‘Iolani Barracks, completed in 1871, to house the royal guards. Over time the various other houses on the grounds were removed and replaced with grass lawns.

Although the old palace was demolished in 1874, the name ʻIolani Palace was retained for the building that stands today.

The construction of the present ‘Iolani Palace began in 1879 and in 1882 ‘Iolani Palace was completed and furnished.

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Pohukaina-in_front_of_Hale_Alii-original_Iolani_Palace-1850s
White building in the front is old royal Mausoleum-Pohukaina. Wooden building behind it is original ʻIolani Palace
Former_Iolani_Palace-before-1879
Hale_Alii_illustration
Hale_Aliʻi_in_1857
Hale_Aliʻi_with_Royal_Guards_(before 1879
Old_Iolani_Palace_and_adjacent_premises,_ca._1850s
Palace_of_King_Kamehameha_III,_from_the_harbor_(c._1853)
The old palace, which was built in 1845 and was replaced by Iolani Palace in 1882
Hale_Alii-front_and_Floor_Plan-(Judd-Palaces_and_Forts)
No._2._View_of_Honolulu-Emmert-c._1854)-(portion-Hale_Alii_is to the right - flag in front-Kawaiahao Church behind)
'Io, the Endemic Hawaiian Hawk

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings Tagged With: Kamehameha V, Kamehameha IV, Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, Hale Alii, Kekuanaoa, Hawaii, Kalakaua, Iolani Palace, Lunalilo

May 22, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

It Was a Real Estate Deal

Although the park was initially touted to create “a tract of land in the vicinity of Honolulu as a place of public resort,” where “agricultural and stock exhibitions, and healthful exercise, recreations and amusements” could occur, its literal purpose was far from it.

On the dedication day in 1876, King Kalākaua and James Makee (Kapiʻolani Park Association’s first president) stressed the public space, which they said was needed for a modern city to be civilized, to allow “families, children, and quiet people” to find “refreshment and recreation” in the “kindly influences of nature,” and to be a “place of innocent refreshment.”

However, when Kapiʻolani Park was first conceived, the motivation wasn’t about creating a public place. Kapiʻolani Park began as a development project, run by the Kapiʻolani Park Association.

The association was founded with a two-fold purpose: (1) building residences for its stockholders along the ocean at Waikiki and on the slopes of Diamond Head and (2) laying out a first-class horse-racing track as a focal point of this new suburb.

Scotsman Archibald Cleghorn, Governor of Oʻahu and father of Princess Kaʻiulani, was the park’s designer. Vice-president and later president of the Kapiʻolani Park Association, Cleghorn planned the park’s landscaping, including the ironwood trees along Kalākaua Avenue.

200 shares were sold at $50 each. (King Kalākaua was a shareholder.) Every owner received the right to lease a beachfront house lot in the park, and as a result a number of residences were built along the park’s shores and around the race track during the 1880s.

The McInerny home and estate (founder of the McInerny retail stores) is where the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel now stands.

Samuel Northrup Castle family’s three-story beachfront home “Kainalu” became a prominent landmark in Waikīkī, as well as the landmark for the takeoff at Castles surf-spot. The mansion was razed in 1958 to build the Elks Club.

William Irwin’ home is where the 1927 World War I Memorial Natatorium now stands.

At the time, the park contained both arid spaces and wetlands, and the association focused on making the site usable and attractive. They soon distributed lots and established a prime racetrack complete with grandstands and stables.

All of this cost a considerable amount and the association was in debt in less than ten years. The legislature granted appropriations throughout the 1880s, and while there were some calls for transparency on the spending of public funds, the association generally slid by without much scrutiny.

The public funds did not increase public access, either, and the ocean remained blocked to the public. Later, moves were afoot to bring the public into the focus of the picture.

In 1896, an understanding was reached and later consummated between (1) the Kapiʻolani Park Association, which held a little over nine acres of land in fee, and a larger area on lease from the Republic, as a park, (2) William G. Irwin, who owned 19 waterfront lots and (3) the Republic of Hawaii. Irwin ended up with 18-mauka lots, known as “Irwin Tract.”

Beginning with the deeds of July 1, 1896, Kapiʻolani Park was a public charitable trust, and the park commissioners were its trustees.

The Legislature of the Republic of Hawaiʻi passed Act 53, which placed Kapiʻolani Park and its management to the Honolulu Park Commission, which was created specifically to manage this park.

Act 53 provided that the park was to be “permanently set apart as a free public park and recreation ground forever.” The commission had no authority to lease or sell land in the park, a prohibition that still governs the park trust and would be key to the preservation of the park and later battles about it.

The understanding was that lands used for park use would become a free public park and that a commission formed to oversee the park had an express provision that “[t]he said Commission shall not have authority to lease or sell the land comprising the said park or any part thereof[.]”

Facing the same kinds of constraints we see today, the commission worked with budgetary constraints and labored with little public clout, but they continued to construct the park and then in 1904, first facility for the public was erected, a small aquarium.

The Territorial Legislature passed Act 103 in 1905 “to declare certain lands as public parks.” This led to the final acquisition of the oceanfront land along Kapiʻolani Park as the leases on the land to homeowners were allowed to expire, and in 1907, Kapiʻolani Park became a beach park for the first time.

In 1913, the Territory of Hawaiʻi transferred administrative authority to the City and County of Honolulu, which still manages the park.

Later park improvements include, the Honolulu Zoo (1915;) the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium (1927;) the Eastman Kodak Company was given permission to stage a Polynesian review at Sans Souci Beach (1937;) the Waikiki Shell was completed and opened (1954;) in 1969, the Kodak Company moved to the area adjacent to the Waikiki Shell.

Kapiʻolani Park’s racetrack closed in 1926, but approximately half the infield area of the racetrack remained in open space.

Lots of good stuff in this post came from the Kapiʻolani Park Preservation Society website. This group continues to monitor and protect the public activities at Kapiʻolani Park.

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Kapiolani_Park_Association-Stock_Certificate-(kapiolani_park-a_history)
Kapiolani_Park_Association-Stock_Certificate-(kapiolani_park-a_history)
Kapiolani_Park_Horse_Race_Ad
Kapiolani_Park_Horse_Race_Ad
Kapiolani_Park_Horse_Race_Ad-April 30, 1881
Kapiolani_Park_Horse_Race_Ad-April 30, 1881
DH-track
DH-track
Horse races were a popular activity at Kapi‘olani Park-(waikikivisitor-com)
Horse races were a popular activity at Kapi‘olani Park-(waikikivisitor-com)
Kapiolani_Park-1900
Kapiolani_Park-1900
Kapiolani-Park-Racetrack
Kapiolani-Park-Racetrack
Man riding a bike on the Kapi‘olani race track-(waikikivisitor-com)
Observation balloon being readied for flight at Kapiolani Park, c1921-1923
Observation balloon being readied for flight at Kapiolani Park, c1921-1923
People in the stands at a horse race-(waikikivisitor-com)
People in the stands at a horse race-(waikikivisitor-com)
Overlooking lilly pads from one of Kapi‘olani Park’s bridges-(waikikivisitor-com)
Overlooking lilly pads from one of Kapi‘olani Park’s bridges-(waikikivisitor-com)
AlfredMitchellHouse(right-foreground)-IrwinHouse(center-background)
AlfredMitchellHouse(right-foreground)-IrwinHouse(center-background)
Waikiki-Kaneloa-Kapiolani_Park-Monsarrat-Reg1079 (1883)
Waikiki-Kaneloa-Kapiolani_Park-Monsarrat-Reg1079 (1883)

Filed Under: Economy, Place Names Tagged With: Kainalu, Kapiolani Park, Natatorium, Hawaii, Kalakaua

April 30, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Hawaiian Dynasties

The Kamehameha Dynasty ruled for nearly a century from the late-1700s to the late-1800s, while the Kalākaua Dynasty ruled from 1874 to 1893.

Kamehameha Dynasty

Kamehameha I, Paiʻea, Kamehameha the Great (1758-1819)
Born in North Kohala on the Big Island, Kamehameha united all the major islands under one rule in 1810.

The king traded with foreign ships arriving in the islands and enlisted some of the foreigners into his service. During his reign, the export of sandalwood to the Orient brought about the ability for island chiefs to purchase merchandise from abroad.

Kamehameha II, Liholiho – (1796-1824)
The son of Kamehameha and his sacred wife Keōpūolani, Liholiho overthrew the ancient kapu system by allowing men and women of the court to eat at the same table. At the same time, he announced that the heiau (temples) should be destroyed with all the old idols.

Believing like his father that the islands were under the protection of Great Britain, Liholiho and his favorite wife Kamamalu traveled to England in May of 1824, where they were received by the government of King George IV. However, measles afflicted the royal party and Kamāmalu died on July 8 followed by Liholiho on July 14, 1824.

Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli (1813-1854)
The younger brother of Liholiho had the longest reign in Hawaiian history. He was 10 years old when he was proclaimed king in 1825 under a regency with Ka‘ahumanu, his father’s favorite queen, as joint ruler.

Realizing the need for written laws to control growing problems brought about by increasing numbers of foreigners settling in the kingdom, the declaration of rights, called the Hawaiian Magna Charta, was issued on June 7, 1839. The rights of residents were repeated in the Constitution of 1840.

The Great Mahele (division), the first legal basis for land ownership in the kingdom, was enacted and divided the land between the king, his chiefs and others.

Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho (1834-1863)
The nephew of Kauikeaouli, Alexander Liholiho was the son of Kekūanāoʻa and his wife Kīna‘u, the grandson of Kamehameha I, younger brother of Lot Kapuāiwa and elder brother of Victoria Kamāmalu.

He ascended to the throne after the death of his uncle in December of 1854. On June 19, 1856, he married Emma Rooke.

Concerned about the toll that foreign diseases were taking on his subjects, the king signed a law on April 20, 1859 that established a hospital in Honolulu for sick and destitute Hawaiians. He and Emma personally solicited funds to erect Queen’s Hospital, named in honor of Emma.

Kamehameha V, Lot Kapuāiwa (1830-1872)
Four years older than his brother Kamehameha IV, Lot would also rule for just nine years. In 1864, when it appeared that a new constitution could not be agreed upon, he declared that the Constitution of 1852 be replaced by one he had written himself.

Known as “the bachelor king,” Lot Kamehameha did not name a successor, which led to the invoking of the constitutional provision for electing kings of Hawai`i.

William Charles Lunalilo (1835-1874)
The grandson of a half-brother of Kamehameha I, Lunalilo was the son of Charles Kanaina and Kekauluohi, a sister of Kīnaʻu.

He defeated David Kalākaua in 1873 to become the first king to be elected (therefore, technically, not a part of the Kamehameha Dynasty, although he was related.) He offered many amendments to the Constitution of 1864, such as abolishing the property qualifications for voting.

Lunalilo died of tuberculosis on February 3, 1874, a little more than a year after his election. He became the first Hawaiian to leave his property to a work of charity, creating the Lunalilo Home, which accommodates elderly Hawaiians who are poor, destitute and infirm.

Kalākaua Dynasty

David Kalākaua (1836-1891)
After the death of Lunalilo, Kalākaua (married to Kapiʻolani) ran against and defeated the queen dowager, Emma. Kalākaua was the first king in history to visit the United States.

“The Merry Monarch” was fond of old Hawaiian customs, and he attempted to restore the people’s lost heritage – such actions gave rise to anti-monarchy movements, such as the Reform Party.

In 1887, Kalākaua signed the “Bayonet Constitution,” (signed under threat of an armed uprising) that stripped the king of most of his power and gave foreigners the right to vote. Kalākaua died while on a trip to San Francisco on January 20, 1891, leaving his younger sister Liliuokalani to ascend the throne.

Queen Lili‘uokalani, Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī (1839-1917)
Liliʻuokalani (married to John Owen Dominis and living at his mother’s home, Washington Place) inherited the throne from her brother, King Kalākaua, on January 29, 1891.

Two years later, a group composed of Hawaiian Nationals, Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen and seek annexation to the United States; the Queen was deposed on January 17, 1893.

Queen Lili‘uokalani flew the US flag over her personal residence, Washington Place, in 1917 to mourn and honor Hawaiians killed in World War I.

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Kamehameha-Kalakaua_Dynasties
Collage of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA
Collage of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA
Collage of images of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA
Collage of images of Kamehameha and Kalakaua dynasties-HSA

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: Lunalilo, Kamehameha, Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V, Queen Emma, Kaahumanu, Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, Keopuolani, Hawaii, Kamamalu, Queen Liliuokalani, Kalama, Kalakaua, Liholiho, Kapiolani, Kamehameha II

October 30, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Looking Into The Past

It looks like Kalākaua’s vision is becoming a reality …

Kalākaua’s interest in modern astronomy is evidenced by his support for an astronomical expedition to Hawaiʻi in 1874 that came from England to observe a transit of Venus (a passage of Venus in front of the Sun – used to measure an ‘astronomical unit,’ the distance between the Earth and Sun.)

The King allowed the British Royal Society’s expedition a suitable piece of open land for their viewing area; it was not far from Honolulu’s waterfront in a district called Apua (mauka of today’s Waterfront Plaza.)

Kalākaua addressed those astronomers in 1874 stating, “It will afford me unfeigned satisfaction if my kingdom can add its quota toward the successful accomplishment of the most important astronomical observation of the present century and assist …”

“… however humbly, the enlightened nations of the earth in these costly enterprises to establish the basis of astronomical distance.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 19, 1874)

Kalākaua reinforced his positive feelings toward modern astronomy – and noted the importance of scientific learning versus the financial aspect of it. On November 22, 1880, King Kalākaua wrote to Captain RS Floyd noting his interest in telescopes and astronomy:

“I must thank you sincerely for the pamphlet you sent me of the ‘Lick Observatory Trust.’ Something of this kind is needed here very much but we have so few people who take interest in scientific matters. Everybody is bent upon making money on sugar and the all might dollar.” (King Kalākaua)

In Kalākaua’s time they were measuring an astronomical unit, using now-considered rudimentary equipment; today’s cutting-edge telescopes are making discoveries about new planets, interacting galaxies and seeing stars at the edge of the observable Universe.

Astronomy looks into the distant past.

“Proxima Centauri, which is the closest star to us (other than the Sun), is about 4 light-years away. This means that the light we see from it now left the star about 4 years ago.”

“(T)he light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach us here on Earth, so when you look up at the Sun, you see it as it was 8 minutes ago (but don’t look at the Sun) … The speed of light is about a foot per nanosecond (billionth of a second)”. (Masters)

It wasn’t until nearly a century after Hawaiʻi’s participation in the first Transit of Venus that a high elevation observatory was constructed in Hawaiʻi – in 1964, a NASA-funded 12.5-inch telescope was installed on Puʻu Poliahu to see if Mauna Kea provide the right observation conditions.

Dr. Gerard Kuiper’s team began “seeing” studies. Kuiper concluded that “The mountaintop is probably the best site in the world – I repeat – in the world – from which to study the moon, the planets, and stars.” (Ironwood Observatory Research)

At the close of the decade Mauna Kea saw the construction of a 0.6-meter (24-inch) (1968) and 2.2-meter (88-inch) (1970) telescopes, provided to University of Hawaiʻi by the US Air Force and NASA.

Now, Hawai‘i has another opportunity … the Thirty Meter Telescope.

The Hawai‘i Supreme Court has upheld the Board of Land and Natural Resources decision to issue the Conservation District Use Permit for the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

TMT will be three times as wide, with nine times more area, than the largest existing visible-light telescope in the world. This larger telescope will deliver sharper and deeper images than existing telescopes both on the ground and in space.

These gains can only be realized if we correct the blurring effects of the Earth’s atmosphere with special adaptive optics. Maunakea is one of the best sites in the world for using adaptive optics to sharpen images, as the atmosphere over Hawaii is calm, steady, and most often free of clouds and weather.

As a result, TMT will likely revolutionize our understanding of the universe and will help to ensure that Hawaii remains the global leader in astronomy. (TMT)

TMT will be able to study the earliest galaxies that formed, when the universe was only a small percentage of its present age; galaxies containing stars comprised of raw materials from the Big Bang.

TMT will also extend the studies of the shapes, dynamics, and chemistry of early galaxies – from 5 to 6 billion years ago and further back in time to almost 13 billion years ago, when the very first structures in the universe were forming.

TMT will also study individual stars in our local group of galaxies at a volume nearly 100 times larger than currently possible.

By resolving and studying these individual stars, we can determine how our Milky Way Galaxy and its nearest neighbors have grown, interacted, and possibly even merged (i.e. captured dwarf galaxies) over the history of the universe. (TMT)

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Filed Under: General, Economy Tagged With: Kalakaua, Astronomy, Thirty Meter Telescope, TMT

April 7, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hui Lei Mamo

Hawaiʻi’s last King, Kalākaua, has been referred to as a Renaissance man. Concerned about the loss of native Hawaiian culture and traditions, Kalākaua encouraged the transcription of Hawaiian oral traditions, and supported the revival of and public performances of the hula.

He advocated a renewed sense of pride in such things as Hawaiian mythology, medicine, chant and hula. Ancient Hawaiians had no written language, but chant and hula served to record such things as genealogy, mythology, history and religion.

While seeking to revive many elements of Hawaiian culture that were slipping away, the King also promoted the advancement of modern sciences, art and literature.

He is remembered as the “Merrie Monarch” because he was a patron of culture and arts, and enjoyed socializing and entertaining.

All of Kalakaua’s dancers were kept on retainer and were given a place to live on the palace grounds. These dancers, musicians, and chanters were all compensated for performing. Dancing the hula for entertainment was their source of income. (Tong)

Kalākaua believed his nation and people would prosper with cultural rebirth and brought hula teachers from the countryside and neighboring islands to his court. At his 1883 coronation and 1886 50th birthday jubilee, Kalākaua’s dancers performed publicly on palace grounds for about two weeks on each occasion. (Imada)

“Kalākaua always had dancers in his court dancing for his pleasure…. There were parties for his guests from the mainland on their way to Australia with dancers as well. They weren’t only for his friends, but for everyone in Honolulu.” (Kupahu; Tong)

Through chanted poetry and bodily movements, these hula performers celebrated the births and achievements of ali‘i, recorded the genealogies of high chiefs, and relayed Hawaiian epics. Hula was also embedded in a culture of sexual arousal.

In 1886, the same year of his jubilee, Kalākaua assembled Hui Lei Mamo, a group of eight Hawaiian women and girls under the age of 20. Hui Lei Mamo was a ‘glee club’; it performed acculturated hula performance as well as choral music. (Imada)

As a member of the royal family and the reigning monarch of Hawai‘i, King Kalākaua had the rightful authority to dictate when the hula would be performed. (Tong)

While Kalākaua’s older court dancers performed pre-contact forms of hula with indigenous instrumentation and chanting, the young women of Hui Lei Mamo performed only the hula ku‘i, ‘the modern hula’.

An acculturated dance that developed in the king’s cosmopolitan court, hula ku‘i merged Western music and instruments with traditional hula steps. It is suggested that Kalākaua himself was the inventor of this hybrid genre …

“[The king] took some steps out of the old-fashioned [hula] and put them into the modern [hula] with guitar. He was the first one to start this.” (Kapahu; Imada)

Performed in Hawaiian language and accompanied by guitar and ’ukulele, this hula utilized polka or waltz tempos, couplet verses and a vamp that separated the verses.

Every Thursday afternoon from 2 to 5 pm, Kalākaua invited friends and out-of-town guests to Healani, his boathouse in Honolulu Harbor, where his younger court dancers performed hula ku‘i. (Imada)

When Kalākaua died in 1891, the dancers no longer had a place in court. Nevertheless, they continued to benefit directly from Kalākaua’s cultural renaissance through training in hula ‘schools’.

Called hālau hula or pā hula, these schools became gendered institutions through which a critical subset of Hawaiian women received rigorous training in performance, history, religion and protocol.

Namake‘elua (who is sometimes recorded as Nama-elua), a hula teacher Kalākaua summoned for his jubilee, had decided to remain in Honolulu instead of returning to his home on the island of Kaua‘i.

The handful of students undertook training in hula genres associated with Indigenous pre-European contact traditions, very different from the hula ku‘i of the court. (Imada)

Four women entered the hālau hula. Three of them were Hui Lei Mamo dancers. Their intensive training commenced in 1892, with the young women taking residence in the teacher’s home.

For about six weeks, the dancers were kapu (sacred or consecrated). They dedicated themselves to the goddess Laka, the patron of hula, and erected a hula kuahu (altar), imploring Laka to give them knowledge.

They danced for about six hours a day, taking swims in the ocean and meals in between practices. The repertoire was ‘very religious’. Hula practice was a part of a sacred realm and governed by strict rules, because hula performances manifested the gods’ and ali‘i’s mana (sacred power) and rank.

On the day of the ‘ūniki (ritual graduation), graduates of other hula schools came to watch the four women dance. Only after undergoing ‘ūniki were they released from sacredness and became noa (free). The following day, they celebrated their release with a feast and public performance for friends and family.

In 1893, some of these dancers went to the Chicago World’s Fair as part of the Midway Plaisance, a street of themed villages from around the world. The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair was the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World.

The Midway Plaisance was inspired by the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition, where the French government and prominent anthropologists turned representations of the French colonies into ethnological villages featuring people from Africa and Asia. (Tong)

The performers who went abroad directly benefited from King David Kalākaua’s national revival of hula and traditional cultural arts during his reign from 1872 to 1891. (The image is believed to be the members of Hui Kei Mamo.)

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Lei_Mamo_Singing_Girls_(PP-32-8-014)
Lei_Mamo_Singing_Girls_(PP-32-8-014)

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions, Economy Tagged With: Hui Lei Mamo, Hawaii, Kalakaua, Hula, King Kalakaua, Merrie Monarch

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

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