Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Kaiulani Hotel to mark
birthday of the princess with
a slate of cultural activities
Beautiful, intelligent, spirited and gracious, Victoria Kawekiu Kaiulani Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa was everything one imagines a princess would be.
The daughter of Oahu's governor, Archibald Cleghorn, and his wife, Princess Miriam Likelike, Kaiulani was an accomplished musician, artist, horsewoman and swimmer who had a penchant for peacocks and the fragile, fragrant pikake (jasmine) blossoms.
Birthday events
What: Hana Hoohiwahiwa O KaiulaniPlace: Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 120 Kaiulani Ave., Waikiki
Date: Today through Oct. 18
Admission: Free
Phone: 922-5811
E-mail: Thelma.Kam@sheraton.com
Web site: www.starwood.com/hawaii
Schedule of events
Events take place from 3 to 5 p.m. on the Dolphin Lanai, except where notedToday: Hula lessons with instructors from Na Opio O Koolau.
Tomorrow: Flower lei making with Aunty Kuulei.
Tuesday: Hotel employees present a tribute to the princess.
Wednesday: Flower hairpin making with Nikki Ty-Tompkins.
Thursday: Fifth-graders from Kaiulani Elementary School perform in celebration of Princess Kaiulani's birthday, poolside stage, 4:30 p.m. with royal procession beginning in the Ainahau Lobby at 5:30 p.m.
Friday: Cooking demonstration of traditional Hawaiian dishes conducted by executive sous chef John Hightower.
Saturday: Arts and crafts fair, Ainahau Lobby, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 8th annual Princess Kaiulani Keiki Hula Festival, Ainahau Showroom, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; ukulele lesson with Eric Hamaguchi from Island Ukulele, Dolphin Lanai, 3 to 5 p.m.
Princess Likelike died in 1887, when Kaiulani was just 11, putting the young princess second in line, after her aunt, Liliuokalani, to ascend to the throne. Neither King Kalakaua nor Liliuokalani had any children, and it seemed likely Kaiulani would one day be Hawaii's queen. To prepare her for that important role, her father sent her to London to be schooled.
The princess was there when a telegram arrived on Jan. 30, 1893, informing her that Queen Liliuokalani had been dethroned. Saddened, Kaiulani left London for Washington, D.C., the next month, accompanied by her guardian, Theophilus H. Davies. "I am going to Washington to plead for my throne, my nation and my flag," she told the British press.
Over the next five years, hopes that the monarchy would be restored grew ever dimmer, and on Aug. 12, 1898, Hawaii officially became a territory of the United States. Back home in the islands, Kaiulani was inconsolable; one of her few joys was relaxing among her peacocks and pikake at Ainahau, the Victorian-style estate built on 10 acres in Waikiki that had been given to her at birth by her aunt, Princess Ruth Keelikolani.
Fall came, then winter, bringing chilling rains to Waimea on the Big Island, where Kaiulani was visiting her good friend, Eva Parker. After going horseback riding in a bad storm, the princess suffered from a lingering cold and fever. She returned to Ainahau, where she remained bedridden for two months as her health deteriorated.
At 2 a.m. on March 6, 1899, the peacocks wailed as Princess Kaiulani died at the age of 23. Some say her death was due to pneumonia; others insist she died of a broken heart.
THE SHERATON Princess Kaiulani Hotel stands at the former entrance to Kaiulani's beloved Ainahau. Each year, the hotel remembers its namesake with a full slate of cultural activities scheduled during the week of her birthday, Oct. 16. "Hana Hoohiwahiwa O Kaiulani" (to celebrate and honor Kaiulani) features hula and ukulele lessons, lei and hairpin making, a Hawaiian cooking demonstration and an arts and crafts fair.
COURTESY OF SHERATON PRINCESS KAIULANI
The Sheraton Princess Kaiulani pays tribute to its namesake with an annual festival featuring keiki and adult hula, Hawaiian games and crafts and food.
On the princess' birthday, fifth-graders from Kaiulani Elementary School arrive at the hotel to present songs, skits and dances in Kaiulani's honor.
Following their 45-minute tribute, a royal procession draws spectators' attention. Regal men and women representing King Kalakaua, Queen Liliuokalani, Princess Kaiulani, kahili (feather standard) bearers, conch shell blowers and a chanter make their way to the poolside lava rock stage, where a dancer portraying Kaiulani performs a hauntingly beautiful hula.
The celebration's signature event is the Princess Kaiulani Keiki Hula Festival, which spotlights halau from all over Oahu. Last year, more than 200 children ages 5 through 12 participated," according to Cynthia Rankin, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel's director of public relations.
"The event is non-competitive so it's really fun for the kids, some of whom have never performed on stage before," she said.
Around 1987, Joy Woolaway, who was then the hotel's assistant manager, and her friend, kumu hula Camille Dubel, began coordinating the annual appearance of the Kaiulani Elementary schoolchildren. Over the years, they gradually added arts and crafts demonstrations and other activities, then nine years ago, they decided to launch a keiki hula festival.
COURTESY OF SHERATON PRINCESS KAIULANI
Hula lessons are among the cultural activities that celebrate the memory of Princess Kaiulani at the hotel built on the site of her estate Ainahau.
Says Rankin, "The Keiki Hula Festival, in particular, attracts people from all walks of life, from all across the globe -- Hawaii, the mainland, Japan, Europe. Visitors have many opportunities to see polished performances of hula while they're in Hawaii, but there's something special about seeing children dance. They're so innocent, they have such energy, their eyes and smiles are so bright -- they're like bursts of sunshine on stage."
Last year, a mother and daughter from Seattle attended every workshop and event, Rankin said. "The mother had left the Islands many years ago, and she wanted to expose her teenage daughter to the Hawaiian culture.
"She planned their trip in mid-October, specifically so they could be here for Hana Hoohiwahiwa O Kaiulani. It was such a great experience, they're going to be back for this year's event."
More than a century after her death, Kaiulani continues to touch people's lives.
"It really does give me 'chicken skin' to know that she once lived where the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani is located," says Rankin. "When you read about her life, you realize what a remarkable person she was, and how wonderful it would have been to know her.
"I know other people feel the same way. There's a life-size statue of the princess in a small park across the street from the hotel. Every morning, someone places a fresh flower in her hand. No one knows who's been doing this, but I've seen it for years. Every day, there's a fresh flower there."
COURTESY OF SHERATON PRINCESS KAIULANI
Flower lei-making is one of the activities taking place tomorrow.
COURTESY OF SHERATON PRINCESS KAIULANI
Students of Kaiulani Elementary School will be performing poolside on Thursday.
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Tour provides glimpse
Three times a week, the Princess Kaiulani Historical Tour whisks visitors back more than a century in time to the days when Victoria Kawekiu Kaiulani Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa reigned at Ainahau.
into Princess' royal lifeAs participants view feather leis, hula implements, photographs taken of the princess at home with her pet peacocks and on trips to Europe, a pearl necklace and earrings -- replicas of the princess' jewelry -- and other items, a guide shares stories about the beloved princess.
A stone bench near the waterfall at the entrance to the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel is the actual bench where Kaiulani spent many hours chatting with her good friend, famed author Robert Louis Stevenson.
A room in the Ainahau Lobby showcasing more artifacts is set to open by the end of the year.
The free 45-minute Princess Kaiulani Historical Tour takes place at 4 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Participants meet at the hotel's bell desk. Reservations are not required. Call 922-5811 for more information.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
