Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Island Chronicles | January/February 2006

Island Chronicles
By: CAROL SILVA

Marching to the Beat of a Warrior

The death of the great warrior chief Kamehameha in May 1819 brought about the usual customs of mourning. Chiefs and commoners alike expressed deep grief over the loss of this loved and respected king in traditional fashion—they chanted dirges, wailed and committed despondent public acts; they tattooed tongue tips and inner eyelids, knocked out front teeth and cut their hair in irregular patterns as personal demonstrations of sadness. Once the chief’s body had been secretly laid to rest, these bereavement practices subsided and the normal pattern of life gradually resumed.

Though he had passed into the land of his ancestors, the memory of Kamehameha, however, was not to be easily forgotten. In the years following his death, joyful commemoration replaced sorrow and loss. Extravagant celebrations were staged to honor the late warrior king, as well as to mark the accession to power of Kamehameha’s son, Liholiho. Thus, spectacular annual events were instituted in the very early 1820s to honor both father and son of the ruling line.

In 1822, the celebration was scheduled on a bright Sunday morning in spring. After a short prayer service attended by chiefs and hundreds of commoners, Liholiho, also known as Kamehameha II, grandly entertained his invited guests at a feast.

At the next celebration in late April 1823, Liholiho was accompanied to and from prayer services in the grass church at KawaiaHao by his own uniformed guards, armed with muskets. Once the entourage arrived at the site of the feast, Liholiho was seated at the head of a table 100 feet in length, laden with festive foods and delicacies prepared for chiefs and honored guests. A second table had been similarly set for masters of ships in port, residents of note and members of the mission. The guards were positioned outside of the large, open lānai, where imposing kahili (feather standards) stood and feather cloaks were displayed. No less than 5,000 spectators pressed in from all sides to catch glimpses of activities taking place in the cool shade of the lānai. A reverent hush settled upon the meal when Liholiho’s younger brother and sister made an appearance dressed in finery, riding atop a four-wheeled carriage drawn by courtiers and flanked by large kahili.

Each year’s events surpassed the previous years’ celebrations in color, pomp and splendor. In May 1824, Liholiho and his suite rode in procession on horseback for the first time. The queen, high chiefesses and Liholiho’s younger siblings followed in a variety of conveyances. The queen was seated in a large, new whaleboat lashed to poles and carried aloft by 70 or 80 men. The high chiefesses rode in an enormous double-hulled canoe lashed likewise to poles to facilitate transport. The queen’s whaleboat was filled with quantities of native and foreign cloth and an elegant canopy was held in place by a chief to protect her from the heat of the sun. In addition, two high chiefs stationed themselves on the moving scaffold, each bearing a kahili to indicate royal status. The queen and high chiefesses were sights to behold as they were swaddled in 60 to 70 yards apiece of colorful silks and other exotic fabrics.

The excitement quickened as the young prince and princess came into view. They were comfortably situated on four high-poster beds joined end-to-end and secured onto carrying poles. Awnings, suspended glass lamps and kahili completed the unique and colorful conveyance. The crowd followed the entourage through the village to the harbor, where great feasting, exhibits and displays of hula followed at the fort (located at the foot of today’s Fort Street).

Today, we still honor the great Kamehameha with an annual parade of mounted pā‘ū (women’s) units, dignitaries and floats, public performances of hula and lū‘au (feasts) of all kinds. It is a proud tradition that reaches far back to the early 1820s and it has survived to be enjoyed by all.                                 

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