Synopsis: The flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom has always been white, red, and blue, having been created by Kamehameha I.

Ma ka Honolulu Advertiser ma ka lā 12 o Pepeluali, MH 2001, ua pa'i 'ia kekahi kolamu e pili ana i ka hae kumu o ke Aupuni Mō'ī Hawai'i. Ua hō'ike 'ia no Gene Simeona me kāna hō'ike ua loa'a iā ia ke ana o ia hae ma ka ho'okolokolo 'ana i loko o ka Hale Ho'āhu Palapala o ke Aupuni Moku'āina. 'O ia ka hae i 'ike nui 'ia i kēia mau lā he 'ōma'oma'o, 'ula'ula a lenalena kona mau waiho'olu'u.

'O ka hae a ka Mō'ī Wahine 'o Lili'uokalani i kāko'o ai, 'o ia ka hae ke'oke'o, 'ula'ula a uliuli i kama'āina mua iā kākou Hawai'i. No laila, he aha ka 'oia'i'o?

Hō'ike 'o Simeona, 'o kāna hae ka hae a ke Kāpena Paulet i kā'ili ai mai luna mai o ka hale aupuni ma Lāhaina i kona manawa i lawe pio ai i ke aupuni o ka Mō'ī Kauikeaouli i ka 1843 me ka noho koa pū no 'elima mahina. Ua ho'iho'i 'ia nō ke aupuni o ka Mō'ī, akā, hō'ike maila 'o Simeona ua loli ka hae o ke Aupuni ma ia hope mai, a 'o ka hae a Lili'u ka mea hou.

He aha ka mo'olelo o ka hae a Lili'u? Na Ka Na'i Aupuni Kamehameha i kauoha e hana 'ia he hae no kona aupuni i ka 1816 ma mua o ka wā i kālewa 'ia ai ka lā'au 'iliahi i Kina. 'O ka hae ke'oke'o, 'ula'ula a uliuli ka hae i hana 'ia. Ua 'ano like loa nō kona ki'i me ka hae o ka British East India Company. Ua hō'ike 'ia no kēia hae a Kamehameha ma loko o nā palapala o nā moku kuna like 'ole e like me ka palapala a ka Lūkanela Kotzebue i ka 1816, 'o ia ka makahiki i hana 'ia ai ua hae nei.

Ma kekahi ki'i i kaha 'ia o nā moku kuna 'elua o Kamehameha i holo i Kina no ke kālewa lā'au 'iliahi i ka 1817, hō'ike 'ia ka hae ke'oke'o, 'ula'ula a uliuli wale nō. Aia kēia ki'i ma loko o ka Hale Ho'āhu Palapala o ke Aupuni Moku'āina. I loko o Mei o ka 1845 ma ka nūpepa 'o ka Polynesian Newspaper, ua hō'ike 'ia ua ho'ololi iki 'ia ka hae Hawai'i i ia makahiki nō. 'O ka nui wale nō o nā kaha papa moe ka mea i loli. I ka 1862, ua pa'i 'ia he ki'i o ua hae nei ma ke Kū'oko'a me nā waiho'olu'u.

I ka nīele 'ana a kēia mea kākau i nā limahana o ka Hale Ho'āhu Palapala a me ka Hale Hō'ike'ike 'o Pīhopa inā ho'āhu 'ia ka hae a Simeona i loko o ia mau ke'ena, 'o ka pane i loa'a mai, 'o ia ho'i, 'a'ohe wahi mea me kēlā i loa'a. No laila, e ko Hawai'i po'e na'auao, e ho'omaopopo i kēia. 'O ka hae a Lili'u me Kalākaua a me nā mō'ī 'ē a'e a hiki iā Ka Na'i Aupuni i aloha ai, 'o ia ka hae ke'oke'o, 'ula'ula a uliuli i ma'a iā kākou a 'o ia ka hae a kēia mea kākau e aloha mau nei.

He mea nō paha ka hae hou a Simeona e kōkua ai i ka lāhui i ka ho'omau i ka ho'omana'o he kū'oko'a kākou Hawai'i, akā, 'o ka hae kū'i'o o ke Aupuni Mō'ī Hawai'i e welo mau ai ma luna o nei pae'āina, 'o ia 'o ka hae ke'oke'o, 'ula'ula a uliuli.

E ho'ouna 'ia mai nā leka iā māua, 'o ia ho'i 'o Laiana Wong a me Kekeha Solis ma ka pahu leka uila ma lalo nei:

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a i ‘ole ia, ma ke kelepona:
» 956-2627 (Laiana)

» 956-2624 (Kekeha)

This column is coordinated by the Hawaiian Language Department at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, supported by the Initiative for Achieving Native Hawaiian Academic Excellence.