Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry

Among the very early examples of early Hawaiian jewelry are Queen Emmaʻs silver bracelet engraved “Aloha ia ka heiheimalie.”  (Ka-heihei-malie was a wife of Kamehameha I.)

Likewise, reportedly, a gift from Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to Queen Liliʻuokalani was a bracelet using Victorian scroll, yet traditionally Hawaiian with the word “Aloha” and wrapped with a band of human hair.

Some have suggested (reportedly, incorrectly) that the Hawaiian heirloom jewelry (primarily the gold bracelets with black/raised lettering) started as gifts to Queen Kapiʻolani and Princess Liliʻuokalani when they attended Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887.

Gold jewelry adorned with black enamel was already traditional in England when Queen Victoria turned it into “mourning jewelry” after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861.

It turns out Princess Liliʻuokalani had the English-style mourning jewelry at least 20-years before she traveled to England in 1887 to attend the Jubilee.

In Hawaiʻi, Crown Princess Liliʻuokalani, perhaps empathizing with the widow Victoria, took a liking to the jewelry style and had bracelets made for herself.

In the early-1860s, Liliʻuokalani wore a bracelet that was a precursor of the Hawaiian heirloom jewelry worn by women in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere today.

Its textured surface is embellished with the Hawaiian phrase, “Hoomanao Mau” (Lasting Remembrance,) which is rendered in black enamel.

But the Queen did not save these treasured bracelets for herself.  In 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani presented a gold enameled bracelet to Zoe Atkinson, headmistress at Pohukaina Girls School.

The inscription on the bracelet read “Aloha Oe” (“Farewell to Thee”) and “Liliʻuokalani Jan. 5, 1893.”

The inscription proved to be prophetic: Just days later, the Queen was forced to abdicate her thrown and the Hawaiian Monarchy had come to a sudden end.

Atkinson, who was an active socialite and the event coordinator for the Queen, became the envy of many young ladies, who then asked their mothers for engraved bracelets of their own.

However, the young girls requested from their mother that their name be placed on the bracelets instead of the phrase “Aloha Oe.”

The tradition has since continued throughout the generations. Hawaiian heirloom jewelry has been given as gifts for special occasions such as birthdays, graduations and weddings.

Over the years, the styles (and prices) changed.  By the 1980s they were manufactured using motorized cutters and raised lettering was started.

In the 1990s the engravers latched on to the idea that the designs could be extended to the edge of the bracelets and then scalloped around.

Although machinery made production more diverse and faster, many of the engraving and enameling was done by hand, as it had been done since the 1860s.

In 2008, with the advent of laser cutting machines, new lettering could be achieved, with lettering being a different color than the background.

Today, there is Hawaiian heirloom jewelry from traditional to contemporary – not just folks in Hawaiʻi, but thousands of people from all over the world embrace the Island jewelry.

So, what happened to the Queen’s bracelets?

It was the Queen’s wish that when she died, that her jewelry was to be sold and the proceeds used to fund an orphanage.  The “Hoomanao Mau” bracelet and another marked “R. Naiu” were inventoried after her death and auctioned for $105 in 1924.

In 2009, Abigail Kawananakoa purchased and donated the “Hoomanao Mau” bracelet to the Friends of ʻIolani Palace; it is part of the display in the Palace Gallery.

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Nā Lani ʻEhā

Nā Lani ʻEhā (The Royal Four; the Heavenly Four) are four siblings who, among other accomplishments, demonstrated extraordinary talent as musicians and composers.  They were born to High Chief Caesar Kapaʻakea and High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole.

They were King Kalākaua (1836-1891,) Queen Liliʻuokalani (1838-1917,) Princess Likelike (1851-1887) and Prince Leleiōhoku (1854-1877.)

In 1995, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame recognized Nā Lani ʻEhā as “The Patrons of the Hawaiian Culture,” noting they “were not only giants in the field of Hawaiian music but form the very cornerstones of subsequent Hawaiian culture and arts, and as such, ‘preside’ over the greats of Hawaiian music honored” in the Hall of Fame.

David Kalākaua (1836-1891)

David Kalākaua was hānai (adopted) by the chiefess Haʻaheo Kaniu, who took him to Maui. When Kalākaua was four, he returned to Oʻahu to begin his education at the Royal School.

On February 12, 1874, nine days after the passing of King Lunalilo, an election was held between the repeat candidate David Kalākaua and Queen Emma – widow of King Kamehameha IV.  Kalākaua won.

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi:

Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha Paki (1838-1917)

Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha was hānai to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia, and grew up with their daughter, Princess Bernice Pauahi.  In her youth she was called ‘Lydia’ or ‘Liliʻu.’

By age 15, Liliʻu was already an accomplished musician and composer who could write music.  Her best-known song ‘Aloha ʻOe’ was the first Hawaiian “hit” song outside of the Islands.

On April 10, 1877, King Kalākaua named her heir apparent to the throne of Hawaiʻi and changed her name to Liliʻuokalani.  King Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891; Liliʻuokalani succeeded him to the Hawaiian throne.

Click HERE for a link to Aloha ʻOe:

Miriam Likelike (1851-1887)

Unlike her brothers and sister, Princess Miriam Likelike was raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. It was after her return to Honolulu as a teenager that her musical endeavors began in earnest.  With her sister, she led one of the three royal music clubs that held regular friendly competitions to outdo each other in song and poetry.

‘ʻĀinahau,’ the most famous of Likelike’s compositions, was written about their residence in Waikīkī. She wrote most of her compositions there.

On October 16, 1875, a child was born to Princess Likelike and Archibald Cleghorn.  The child, the only direct descendant of the Kalākaua dynasty, was named Princess Kaʻiulani.

Click HERE for a link to Ainahau:

William Pitt Leleiōhoku (1854-1877)

The youngest of “The Royal Four”, Prince Leleiōhoku was said by his sister, Lili`uokalani to have a talent for composition “really in advance” of the two princesses. He founded the Kawaihau Singing Club and soon he and his colleagues were winning most of the royal song club competitions.

When his older brother became king, Kalākaua’s first act as King was to appoint Leleiōhoku, as successor to the throne, thereby restoring to the crown the function of selecting kings.

Leleiōhoku married Ruth Keʻelikōlani, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V.  They had two children, only one of whom – William Pitt Kīnaʻu – survived childhood (but he died at the age of 17.)  While serving as governor of Hawai‘i Island, Leleiōhoku died, only twenty-two years old.

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiian War Chant:

Click HERE for a link to Hole Waimea

A prior program at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives focused on compositions written by Nā Lani ʻEha, four royal siblings, King Kalākaua, Queen Liliʻuokalani, Princess Likelike and Prince Leleiōhoku.

Aaron Mahi, Kuʻuipo Kumukahi and Kaʻala Carmack first participated in a panel discussion about the four famous siblings.

Click HERE for a link to the 1-hour panel discussion:

In recognizing Nā Lani ʻEhā, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame also called to attention their early music teacher, Juliette Montague Cooke of the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

Founded in 1839, O‘ahu’s first school was called the Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School.)  The cornerstone of the original school was laid on June 28, 1839 in the area of the old barracks of ʻIolani Palace (at about the site of the present State Capitol of Hawaiʻi.)

The school was created by King Kamehameha III, with the main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chief’s Children’s School.

For fourteen years, the Cookes lived with and taught the future kings and queens.  Many of the children became boarders at very early ages; four of the students were under the age of four.  (Liliʻuokalani was only three when she went to live with the Cookes.)    (Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame)

Cooke was an excellent musician, and introduced them to the joy of singing.  Since chanting had been the tradition in Hawaiian culture, a latent natural talent was released when the Hawaiians were introduced to the phenomena of melody and harmony. They embraced their music lessons with verve and enthusiasm; singing came to them naturally, and they loved their music lessons.

Cooke and her husband are buried in the Mission Cemetery behind the Kawaiahaʻo Church, and her tombstone has simply the word, “Mother”, because that was what the children at the school called her.  (Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame)

The image shows Nā Lani ʻEhā (Kalākaua, Liliʻuokalani, Likelike and Leleiōhoku.)  

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Kaulana Nā Pua

The “King’s Band” (later known as the Royal Hawaiian Band) had its beginning in 1836; it continues today.  Founded by King Kamehameha III, it became a part of daily life by performing for the public, state occasions, funerals and marching in parades.

The band accompanied reigning monarchs of the time on frequent trips to the neighbor islands and brought their music to remote destinations of the kingdom, such as the Hansen’s Disease settlement at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai.

“The King’s Band” members in 1848 signed contracts to serve in the band, noting they “agree to serve under the orders of William Merseburgh, the captain appointed by His Majesty … (and) to meet from time to time for the purpose of practicing and improvement in instrumental music.”

“We agree to play for the king and for the other officers of the government whenever called on by our captain for such reasonable compensation as he shall award, not less than one dollar nor more than three dollars per man for any time not to exceed one day.”  (Hawaiian Star, September 22, 1906)

In the 1880s, the Royal Hawaiian Band played concerts twice a week in Queen Emma Square.

“One of our pleasant diversions was to go to and hear Captain Berger’s band play at Emma Square every Saturday afternoon.  … we all went and sat in the carriage just outside the park.  There was usually a crowd there, as it was very popular.”  (Sutherland Journal)

After the 1893 overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani, the Provisional Government under Sanford B Dole demanded a loyalty oath of all employees, including the musicians of the Royal Hawaiian Band.

Under a revised name, ‘Government Band,’ the musicians refused to do so; the striking bandsmen persuaded Ellen Kekoaohiwaikalani Wright Prendergast, a friend of Liliʻuokalani, to capture their feelings of anguish and pain in a song.  (Nordyke, HJH)

She composed Kaulana Na Pua o Hawaii, also known as Kaulana Na Pua (“Famous are the Flowers (Children.)”)

Click HERE for a rendition of Kaulana Nā Pua by Makaha Sons.

The band was told they would end up eating rocks if they didn’t swear allegiance, a threat that inspired one of the song’s verses: “Ua lawa makou i ka pōhaku, I ka ai kamahao o ka ʻāina,” which translates, “We are satisfied with the rocks, The wondrous food of the land” (also giving the song the name Mele Ai Pōhaku: The Stone Eating Song.)

The song is rich in kaona, hidden meanings, and its sweet melody belies the passions embedded in it. The band members then organized into the “Pana Lāhui Hawaiʻi”, “The Hawaiian National Band”, which under the leadership of José Liborno went to the United States to drum up support for the Queen and for Hawaiʻi’s continuing independence. (RoyalHawaiianBand)

The “Mele Aloha ʻĀina” song first appeared in Hawaiʻi Holomua on March 25, 1893, under the title “He Inoa No Na Keiki O Ka Bana Lahui” (A Namesong for the Children of the National Band).  (Stillman, HJH)

The credit line in the May 12, 1893 printing of the lyrics for “Kaulana Na Pua” also contains a date: February 10, 1893, barely one month after the overthrow of the monarchy.  (Stillman, HJH)

The song was sung on February 1, 1894, the royalist anniversary of the resignation of Royal Hawaiian Band members who had relinquished their jobs rather than sign an oath of loyalty to the Republic of Hawaiʻi. (Nordyke, HJH)

The lyrics mention four sacred chiefs that represent the major islands of the Hawaiian chain: Keawe of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, Piʻilani of Maui, Mano of Kauaʻi and Kākuhihewa of Oʻahu. The words are treated with a spiritual tone of reverence and respect.  (Nordyke, HJH)

“Kaulana Na Pua” serves as a voice for the native Hawaiians in their protest against loss of self-determination and sovereignty. The powerful and reverent song symbolizes a pride of culture and a plea for understanding.  (Nordyke, HJH)

Today, the Royal Hawaiian Band is an agency of the City and County of Honolulu and is the only full-time municipal band in the United States.

The band performs and marches in concerts and parades each year including: city, state, and military functions; schools, community centers, shopping malls, retirement communities, graduations, and private events.

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Queen’s Surf

“Hamohamo is justly considered to be the most life-giving and healthy district in the whole extent of the island of Oʻahu; there is something unexplainable and peculiar in the atmosphere of that place, which seldom fails to bring back the glow of health to the patient, no matter from what disease suffering.” (Queen Liliʻuokalani)

The Queen “derived much amusement, as well as pleasure: for as the sun shines on the evil and the good, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust, I have not felt called upon to limit the enjoyment of my beach and shade-trees to any party in politics … While in exile it has ever been a pleasant thought to me that my people, in spite of differences of opinions, are enjoying together the free use of my seashore home.”

Because of her nearby homes, they called the coastal area in this part of Waikīkī Queen’s Surf Beach.

In 1914, Mr & Mrs WK Seering of the International Harvester Co in Illinois built a home there.  A couple decades later, Fleischman’s Yeast heir, Mr CR Holmes, bought the home (he also had other Hawaiʻi property, including Coconut Island in Kāneʻohe Bay.) (ilind)

During WWII, the house was used for military retreats and other military uses.  Admiral Nimitz, General Douglas McArthur and staffs spent time there.

After World War II (and following Holmes’ death,) the City & County of Honolulu bought the property and leased it to the Spencecliff Corporation restaurant chain; it became their flagship property and operated it as the hugely popular Queen’s Surf Restaurant and Nightclub.

Sterling Edwin Kilohana Mossman (February 3, 1920 to February 21, 1986) headlined at its upstairs Barefoot Bar.  A man as versatile as he was talented, literally led a double life. A detective with the Honolulu Police Department during the day, after dark he was one of Hawaiʻi’s most popular entertainers. His diversified careers earned him the nickname “Hula Cop”. (TerritorialAirwaves)

The Barefoot Bar was ground zero for this new brand of local comedy. Mossman was the ringleader, along with the likes of Lucky Luck, a zany radio personality, and Kent Bowman, known as KK Kaumanua.  They told stories, sang songs and, when a celebrity from the Mainland happened to come by (and they did a lot), they became part of the show.  (HonoluluMagazine)

Mossman sang and did comedy and included a lot of others in the evening’s entertainment.  The footprints of many of these Island and internationally known entertainers lined the stairway up to the second floor bar.

For a while, downstairs, at the Surf Lanai, Kuiokalani (Kui) Lee sang for the crowds – inside and out of the restaurant.  During the day, the beach was crowded with sun bathers; at night it was full of Island residents listening in on Kui Lee’s long list of local favorites (he’d turn to the ocean and sing a final song to the folks on the beach.)

Born in Shanghai, China, the third child and only son of Hawaiian entertainers Billy and Ethel Lee, Kui Lee was a prolific songwriter.  Folks like Don Ho, Elvis, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams recorded and performed his songs: “I’ll Remember You,” “One Paddle, Two Paddle”, “She’s Gone Again”, “No Other Song”, “If I Had To Do It All Over Again”, “Yes, It’s You”, “Rain, Rain Go Away”, “Get On Home”, “The Days Of My Youth” and “Lahainaluna.”

“Kui was very brash, very positive about his songs,” said Kimo McVay, owner of Duke Kahanamoku’s nightclub from 1961 to ’71 and manager/promoter of Don Ho from 1963 to ’66. “He gave them to Don, and Don, of course, made them hits. When Don became a star because of that material, a national star, that’s what launched Kui. And Kui became the star of Queen’s Surf.” (star-bulletin)

Here is Kui Lee singing Days of My Youth (a reminder for me of growing up in the Islands, and the one time I was able to sit on the beach and listen to Kui Lee perform – unfortunately, Kui Lee died of cancer at the age of 34 in 1966.)  Click HERE for a YouTube for one of Kui Lee’s songs.

Queen’s surf also offered a regular lūʻau on the property.

The stories vary on the cause, but later there was a lease dispute with the City and the Queen’s Surf and the neighboring Kodak Hula Show were evicted, the Queen’s Surf was torn down (1971) and the Waikīkī beachfront area was turned into a public park.

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Bayonet Constitution

“A conspiracy against the peace of the Hawaiian Kingdom had been taking shape since early spring.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

In 1887, the struggle for control of Hawaiʻi was at its height with David Kalākaua on the throne. But some of the businessmen were distrustful of him.

“So the mercantile element, as embodied in the Chamber of Commerce, the sugar planters, and the proprietors of the “missionary” stores, formed a distinct political party, called the “down-town” party, whose purpose was to minimize or entirely subvert other interests, and especially the prerogatives of the crown, which, based upon ancient custom and the authority of the island chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our nationality.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

“Kalākaua valued the commercial and industrial prosperity of his kingdom highly. … He freely gave his personal efforts to the securing of a reciprocity treaty with the United States, and sought the co-operation of that great and powerful nation, because he was persuaded it would enrich, or benefit, not one class, but, in a greater or less degree, all his subjects.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

The Hawaiian League (aka Committee of Thirteen, Committee of Public Safety and Annexation Club) were unhappy with the rule of Kalākaua and used threats to force the king to adopt a new constitution.

With firearms in hand, in 1887 members of the Hawaiian League presented King Kalākaua with a new constitution. Kalākaua signed the constitution under threat of use of force. (hawaiibar-org)

The opposition used the threat of violence to force the Kalākaua to accept a new constitution that stripped the monarchy of executive powers and replaced the cabinet with members of the businessmen’s party.  (archives-gov)

The Hawaiian League came into control of the Honolulu Rifles (made of about 200 armed men.)  In June 1887, the Hawaiian League used the Rifles to force King Kalākaua to enact a new Constitution.  (Kukendall)

As a result, the new constitution earned the nickname, The Bayonet Constitution.

On July 1, Kalākaua asked his entire cabinet to resign.

The Constitution of 1887 was a revision of the constitution of 1864, just as the latter was a revision of the constitution of 1852. In the revision, the main objects sought were to take from the king the greater part of the power exercised by him under the constitution of 1864 and to make him in effect a ceremonial figure somewhat like the sovereign of Great Britain.  (ksbe-edu)

The Bayonet Constitution greatly curtailed the monarch’s power, making him a mere figurehead; it placed executive power in the hands of a cabinet whose members could no longer be dismissed by the monarch but only by the legislature; it provided for election of the House of Nobles, formerly appointed by  the monarch.  (hawaiibar-org)

As to voting rights, it extended the vote to non-citizen, foreign residents of European and American background (Asians were excluded), thereby ending Native Hawaiian majority rule in the legislature. And it required that voters and candidates for the legislature meet high property ownership or income requirements.  (hawaiibar-org)

This requirement excluded two-thirds of the formerly eligible Native Hawaiians from voting. For those who could still vote, they first had to swear allegiance to the Bayonet Constitution.  (hawaiibar-org)

“… the King asked the Diplomatic Representatives present to name a Cabinet for him which they declined to do, provided   Mr Green was allowed to do so for himself.”

“The following is the Cabinet selected by Mr Green, which has been approved by the King and they have entered upon their official duties: WL Green, Minister of Finance and Premier; Godfrey Brown, Minister of Foreign Affairs; LA Thurston, Minister of the Interior; and CV Ashford, Attorney General” (the Hawaiian Gazette, July 5, 1887)

Kalākaua signed the document July 6, 1887, despite arguments over the scope of the changes. It created a constitutional monarchy like that of the United Kingdom.

In addition, it placed the executive power, as a practical matter, in the hands of a cabinet appointed by the king but responsible to the legislature; changed the character of the legislature by making the nobles as well as the representatives elective, by redefining the qualifications of nobles, representatives and electors; and made it less easy for the king to exercise a personal influence over members of the legislature.  (ksbe-edu)

The king’s authority as commander-in-chief of the military forces was modified by a new clause providing that “no military or naval force shall be organized except by the authority of the Legislature.”

LA Thurston touched briefly on this subject in his account of the Revolution of 1887: “An allegation has been made that the 1887 constitution was not legally enacted … Unquestionably the constitution was not in accordance with law; neither was the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Both were revolutionary documents, which had to be forcibly effected and forcibly maintained.”  (kuykendall)

On July 30, 1889, Robert William Wilcox led a rebellion to restore the rights of the monarchy, two years after the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 had left King Kalākaua a mere figurehead.

By the evening, Wilcox became a prisoner and charged with high treason by the government.  He was tried for treason, but acquitted by the jury.

Two years later, Kalākaua retired to Waikīkī.  His health began to fail by 1890 and under the advice of his physician he traveled to San Francisco, where he was given a warm welcome. “A title was a title, and (the Americans) enjoyed him as a personality.” (Tabrah))

Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891, at the age 54, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  Kalākaua, Hawaiʻi’s last King, is said to have uttered his last words: “Tell my people I tried.”

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