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Līloa's Kāʻei ''(Liloa's Sash)'' or Kāʻei Kapu o Liloa ''(the sacred sash of Līloa)'' is the sacred feathered sash of
Līloa's Kāʻei ''(Liloa's Sash)'' or Kāʻei Kapu o Liloa ''(the sacred sash of Līloa)'' is the sacred feathered sash of Līloa Līloa was a ruler of the island of Hawaii in the late 15th century. He kept his royal compound in Waipi'o Valley.
Līloa was the firstborn son of Kiha-nui-lulu-moku, one of the ''noho aliʻi'' (ruling elite). He descended from Hāna-laʻa-nui. L ...
, king of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. The Statue of Kamehameha the Great, commissioned by King Kalākaua
Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kin ...
, displayed the kāʻei.
It is in the collection of the Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the lar ...
in Honolulu.
This kāʻei is believed to have been made for Liloa, the high chief of the island of Hawaiʻi. He reigned from about 1455 to 1485. His successor was his eldest son Hākau, but the kāʻei passed to his second son, ʻUmi-a-Līloa, born to a lower ranking mother. The sash could have been the same one that Liloa had given to ʻUmi's mother for the future time when they would reunite, this story is similar to that of Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
. Hākau was a despotic ruler and in 1490 was overthrown by ʻUmi. Then, for three generations, there is no mention of the kāʻei.
In the mid to late 17th century, Liloa's great-great-great-granddaughter Keakealaniwahine, daughter of Keakamāhana, the highest ranking chiefess of Hawaiʻi, was in possession of the kāʻei. She ceremonially dressed her grandsons, Kalaninuiamamao
Kalaninuiamamao (sometimes called Ka-I-i-Mamao or Kaeamamao) was a prince of the Big Island of Hawaii, or 1st Alii Nui of Kaū, an ancestor of the Queen Liliuokalani.Keʻeaumoku, in it – signifying that they were of the highest chiefly
kapu Kapu may refer to:
* Kapu (Hawaiian culture), a Hawaiian code of conduct
* Kapu (caste), a social group of India
* Kapu, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India
** Kapu Assembly constituency
* Kapu, Arunachal Pradesh, a settlement in Tirap district, A ...
(sacredness). Again, the kāʻei falls into obscurity, but records indicate that the kāʻei was handed down from Kamehameha the Great
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. T ...
, to Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...
, to Queen Kalama
Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili (1817 – September 20, 1870) was a Queen consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii alongside her husband, Kauikeaouli, who reigned as King Kamehameha III. Her second name Hakaleleponi is Hazzelelponi in Hawaiian.
Ear ...
, to King Lunalilo. After Lunalilo's death, it was in the possession Lunalilo's father, Charles Kanaina
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
. After Kanaina's death, it was claimed by King Kalākaua
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
. He bequeathed it to his sister Liliʻuokalani
Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Haw ...
, who later gave it to the Bernice P. Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the larg ...
making this one of the oldest family heirlooms in Hawaiian history in existence. The validity of its age was proven in 2007 when researchers from the University of Kent
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...
were able to date feathers that had previously fallen out of this kāʻei but were being kept for conservation. The study carbon-dated the feathers from the kāʻei to a date range of 1406 to 1450 A.D.
This amazing piece of ʻiʻiwi
The iiwi (''Drepanis coccinea'', pronounced , ''ee-EE-vee'') or scarlet honeycreeper is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. The iiwi is a highly recognizable symbol of Hawaii. The iiwi is the third most common native land bird in the Hawaiian Is ...
and ʻōʻō
__NOTOC__
''Moho'' is a genus of extinct birds in the Hawaiian bird family, Mohoidae, that were endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Members of the genus are known as ''ōō'' in the Hawaiian language. Their plumage was generally striking glossy ...
feathers (with some mamo
Mamo or woowoo is a common name for two species of extinct birds. Together with the extant ʻIʻiwi they make up the genus ''Drepanis''. These nectarivorous finches were endemic to Hawaii but are now extinct.
The Hawaiian name may be relate ...
) is extremely delicate. Based on examination of photographs reproduced in books, the kāʻei appears to be a base of olonā) covered with a broad red center stripe running its entire length, occasionally crossed by bands of yellow featherwork. The edges appear to be primarily mamo, with some sections in ʻeʻe (the yellow feathers of the ʻōʻō). A row of human teeth hangs from the lower edge of a horizontal band of ʻeʻe. At the bottom edge a section is decorated with alternating rows of human teeth and rosettes or clusters of small fish teeth. This section appears to be bordered with mamo feathers. Probably the sections were added at later and separate dates, the human teeth being those of people whose mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...
was wanted to increase that of the kāʻei. One reason for the obscurity of the kāʻei could be that they were so sacred. The few kāʻei mentioned in legend were closely guarded to prevent them being viewed by the wrong people. For the unentitled to see, let alone touch, a kāʻei was death. Possibly one reason for the rarity and exceptional sacredness of the kāʻei is this unusually great mana. Even today, often items of personal use are considered to be kapu to their owner. In many hālau hula A hālau hula () is a school or hall in which the Hawaiian dance form called hula is taught. The term comes from ''hālau,'' literally, "long house, as for canoes or hula instruction"; "meeting house"', and ''hula,'' a Polynesian dance form of the H ...
, it is forbidden to borrow someone else's instruments or costumes. So, to wear such a personal garment is to claim a direct link to the mana and fertility of the owner. In other words, to claim descent, either genealogical or spiritual. As mana could be dissipated and lost through careless use and dispersal, such a powerful garment would require great solicitude in its use and display.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liloa's Ka'ei Hawaiian regalia History of Oceanian clothing Featherwork 15th-century works