The Kaʻahumanu Society (official name: ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu) is a civic club in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

formed by Princess

Victoria Kamāmalu Victoria Kamāmalu Kaʻahumanu IV (November 1, 1838 – May 29, 1866) was ''Kuhina Nui'' of Hawaii and its crown princess. Named Wikolia Kamehamalu Keawenui Kaʻahumanu-a-Kekūanaōʻa and also named Kalehelani Kiheahealani, she was mainly refe ...

in 1864 for the relief of the elderly and the ill. The club celebrates the life of Queen

Kaʻahumanu Kaʻahumanu (March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832) (''"the feathered mantle"'') was queen consort and acted as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as Kuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I and also the most politically powe ...

and the preservation of Hawaiian culture.

History

The Kaʻahumanu Society is the oldest Hawaiian civic society, predating the Royal Order of Kamehameha I by a year. It was founded, at Kawaiahaʻo Church, on August 8, 1864 by Princess

, the sister and heir-apparent of King

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...

while other founding officers included

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Bernice Pauahi Pākī Bishop KGCOK RoK (December 19, 1831 – October 16, 1884) was an '' alii'' (noble) of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a well known philanthropist. Ancestry, birth and early life Pauahi was born in Hon ...

, the founder of

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

, and the future Queen Liliuokalani. Named after Queen

, the favorite wife of King

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

and the

Kuhina Nui Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent. Origin of the offi ...

(co-ruler, or regent) of his successors, the organization celebrated traditional Hawaiian female leadership. The organization's original mission was to nurse victims of the smallpox epidemic and provide proper burial for the dead. It was disbanded after Princess Victoria's death in 1866. On June 14, 1905, after an abeyance of thirty-nine years, the group was rechartered under the leadership of Lucy Kaopaulu Peabody, a lady-in-waiting of the former Hawaiian royal court, and a group of eleven women, in a ceremony at Kawaiahaʻo Church. The organization chose not to invite the deposed Queen Liliuokalani to join even though she had been an original member of the 1864 club. Today, women of the society wear black

muʻumuʻu The muumuu or muumuu () is a loose dress of Hawaiian origin. It is related to the Mother Hubbard dress, introduced by Christian Missionaries, Christian missionaries in Polynesia to "civilize" those whom they considered half-naked savages. Withi ...

dresses with yellow ''lei hulu'', black gloves and hat, all symbolic of Queen Kaʻahumanu. Memberships are restricted to women of Native Hawaiian descent who are invited to join. There are nine chapters across Hawaii. The modern group continued the original mission of nursing the sick and the elderly and aiding in burial expenses for the deceased while also fundraising for charitable causes, promoting Hawaiian culture and representing the Hawaiian monarchy at special events such as the annual

Kamehameha Day King Kamehameha I Day on June 11 is a public holiday in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It honors Kamehameha the Great, the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaii—comprising the Hawaiian Islands of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, ...

parades.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{Authority control Civic organizations of Hawaii 1864 establishments in Hawaii Organizations established in 1864