Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
Expanded festival
lauds Prince Kuhio"As the hands of the clock pointed to midnight and the bustling noise of the busy streets was hushed, the only sound to be heard was the gentle breaking of the surf on the still sands of Waikiki. Even the palm trees seemed to stand at attention as the body was borne from Pualeilani, his Waikiki residence where he crossed over the threshold into eternal life, to historic Kawaiahao church. Here the body of Hawaii's prince would lie in state for one week, as had Hawaiian royalty since the days of Kamehameha III. ... The church was decorated with elegant simplicity for the solemn occasion and the floral tributes of love and admiration were freshly increased throughout the reverential week. Beautiful Hawaiian voices blended harmoniously in the singing of low plaintive melodies and during the nocturnal hours, the air was filled with wailing and an oli kanikau (lament chant without dancing) by venerable subjects. ... The pews were tightly filled and no more standing room could be found. The capacity of the great stone church was stretched to nearly 2,000 people and toward the end of the week, some were unable to even gain admittance. The church grounds and sidewalk took the overflow of mourners."
So begins "The Empty Throne" by Lori Kamae, a biography of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, one of Hawaii's most beloved alii. When death claimed him at the age of 50, the grief-stricken Hawaiian people knew they had lost one of their most valiant champions.
Descended from the kings of Kauai (his grandfather was the great Kaumualii), Kuhio was a cousin of King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani and a nephew of Queen Kapiolani, consort of Kalakaua. He was in the line of succession for the throne, and had the Hawaiian monarchy not been overthrown in 1893, he might well have been king. Instead, he tirelessly served the Hawaiian people as a delegate to Congress for two decades, from 1902 until his death on Jan. 7, 1922.
Prince Kuhio Festival
Place: Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa, Poipu, KauaiTime: 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Admission: Free
Call: 808-240-6369
E-mail: sburgess@kauaipo.hyatt.com
Royal Paina: This event will be held at Mano Kalanipo Park, three miles from the resort, from 5 to 9 p.m. There will be a display of Hawaiian crafts, a silent auction benefiting the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, and entertainment by the Makaha Sons and Aunty Genoa Keawe. Tickets for the luau and show are $30 per person, $15 for ages 12 and under. Show-only admission is $20 per person in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets are available at Pono Market in Kapaa, Progressive Expressions in Koloa and Steve's Mini Mart in Kalaheo. Call the number above for more information.
Kuhio's most notable achievement was the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, enacted on July 9, 1921. Its intent was to preserve the Hawaiian race through a homesteading program. Land would be leased for a sum of $1 per year to Hawaiians interested in farming or ranching, the thought being that they could establish successful businesses and raise families.
Among other requirements, applicants had to be at least 50 percent Hawaiian. The original 99-year lease could be passed on to a beneficiary, but that person also had to prove a minimum 50 percent Hawaiian blood quantum. Since its inception, the program has benefited thousands of Hawaiians.
HYATT REGENCY KAUA'I
Saturday's daylong Prince Kuhio Festival at the Hyatt Regency Kaua'i Resort and Spa will feature such cultural activities as hula, poi pounding, tapa and lei making and coconut frond weaving.
EACH YEAR, Hawaii remembers Prince Kuhio through an official state holiday, Kuhio Day, March 26, the day of his birth. A monument in Prince Kuhio Park in Koloa, Kauai, marks Kuhio's birthplace. From the time the monument was erected in 1928, the Royal Order of Kamehameha, the Hawaiian civic organization that is the park's curator, has conducted annual services there to commemorate the prince's birth.
That ceremony complements the day-long Prince Kuhio Festival hosted by the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa on the Saturday closest to March 26. In addition to honoring Kuhio, the event presents the very best of Hawaiian culture. Among the activities planned this year are demonstrations of tapa and lei making, woodcarving, poi pounding, feather work, fishnet mending and throwing, and lau hala and coconut frond weaving.
Lena Mendonca will be on hand to show and share personal stories about her gorgeous collection of Niihau shell jewelry; Anthony Natividad will play bamboo nose flutes and talk about their place in Hawaiian life long ago; and Mahilani Poepoe will describe how plants were used in ancient times to alleviate all kinds of ailments, from arthritis, high blood pressure and indigestion to swelling, constipation and toothaches.
Artisans will be selling a variety of unique, handcrafted wares, including shell and seed accessories; ceramic petroglyphs; and bags, photo albums and picture frames made of tapa. Reginald Gage, of the Kauai Historical Society, will lead a morning walk to the nearby Makawehi Sand Dunes, which record a fascinating 9,000-year paleo-ecologic history. Board members of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association will introduce festival attendees to their nonprofit organization, which advocates that visitor industry enterprises incorporate the principles of hookipa (Hawaiian hospitality) and aloha. Hawaiian music, song and dance will fill the hotel's Seaview Terrace, including a hula performance by keiki from the Hawaiian Immersion School of Niihau.
A Royal Paina (dinner) spearheaded by the Koloa Outrigger Canoe Club is being added this year. "It will provide the perfect conclusion to a day of learning, sharing and aloha," said Stella Burgess, the Hyatt Regency Kauai's manager of Hawaiian culture and the organizer of the Prince Kuhio Festival.
HYATT REGENCY KAUA'I
Cindy Baptiste demonstrates the art of the Hawaiian quilt, another of the Prince Kuhio festival activities.
FOR MANY YEARS the Royal Order of Kamehameha staged a festival at Prince Kuhio Park after its annual memorial service for Kuhio. The last festival it organized was in 1991, and although the group continued to hold the commemorative ceremony, there was no accompanying celebration for more than a decade.
In 2002, Burgess approached the Royal Order and the Hyatt Regency Kauai's general manager, Jerry Gibson, with a proposal to revive the event. With their blessing and the support of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the County of Kauai, the Prince Kuhio Festival was reborn at the resort in 2003.
"The hands-on experiences and personal interactions between visitors and kamaaina (local residents) contributed to the festival's success last year," Burgess says. "We honored Prince Kuhio with dignity and respect, and, even better, everyone who attended had a good time doing so. We are committed to showcasing Hawaiian culture and history at this event every year, and our hope is to eventually return it to its original location at Prince Kuhio Park."
This year, NaHHA joins HTA and the County of Kauai as one of the major sponsors of the Prince Kuhio Festival. Albert Kanahele, one of NaHHA's founders and board members, describes it as "the perfect complement to our goals, one of which is to encourage the preservation and perpetuation of Hawaiian values, customs, language and artifacts at home and abroad.
"On his travels to the mainland U.S., Europe and Japan, and through his service in Congress, Prince Kuhio always presented himself as a champion of the Hawaiian people. We are very proud to be associated with this wonderful event, which honors a great man whose legacy betters the lives of Hawaiians to this day."
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.
