The Legacy of a Princess Explored in Spring Exhibition
The founding of Bishop Museum was the result of an unconventional love story between a haole man and a Hawaiian Princess. Pauahi: A Legacy for Hawai‘i opens February 3, 2007 on the second floor of Castle Memorial Building . The exhibition features personal legacies and bequests from the collection of Princess Bernice Pauahi Pākï Bishop and includes treasures from others that may not have survived without the founding of Bishop Museum .
Charles Reed Bishop fell in love with Bernice Pauahi Pākï when she was only 16. In 1847, he met her for the first time and began calling on her nearly every night thereafter. They fell deeply in love. But, Pauahi’s parents heatedly opposed the match. They had already betrothed to her as a child to Lot , who later became Kamehameha V. She was in line to be Queen and yet, she rejected it all for love. Despite the objections by family and friends, they were married in a small private ceremony in 1850.
Their relationship stood the test of time and eventually won the respect and admiration of Pauahi’s parents and that of the greater Hawaiian community. They were married for nearly 35 years until Pauahi’s untimely death separated them. Bishop was at her side when she died October 16, 1884 . He was devastated, mourning Pauahi’s loss deeply and profoundly. The founding of Bishop Museum in 1889 was an act of love by Charles Reed Bishop in honor of his beloved deceased wife. From 1898 to 1903, he built the Hawaiian Hall Complex to house Pauahi’s personal collections. It was Charles Reed Bishop’s intention that Bishop Museum study, preserve, and tell the stories of Hawai‘i and the Pacific, a mission that is still being carried into the next century.
Today its collections encompass more than 24 million catalogued objects and specimens from across the Pacific, placing Bishop Museum among the top five natural history museums in the United States and among the top ten in the world. For more than 100 years, Bishop Museum has served as the keeper of extraordinary Hawaiian cultural treasures, including those of Princess Pauahi, Princess Ruth Ke‘elikölani, and Queen Emma. Hawaiian Hall, currently under a massive $20 million renovation, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Opening in February, Pauahi: A Legacy for Hawai‘i will be an ongoing exhibition of objects with several rotations planned while the Hawaiian Hall Complex undergoes renovation and reopens in Fall of 2008. Among the first treasures will be Princess Bernice Pauahi’s feather cape, a feather cloak of Kamehameha the Great, Princess Ruta’s (Ruth’s) buggy, an early holua sled associated with Lonoikamakakahiki, journals and letters by the ali‘i,makaloa mats, ‘umeke (bowls), ipu (gourds), and the personal journals and objects of adornment from Princess Pauahi such as jewelry and hats. Weapons, poi pounders, kapa beaters and stamps will also be featured.
Among the most treasured items in the first rotation will be an 19 th century makaloa mat woven with a tax protest made by an elderly woman names Kala‘i and intended for King Lunalilo the mats. With the introduction of written language to the Island , Hawaiian incorporated letters of the alphabet in tattooing and mat decorating. Affectionate greetings were sometimes worked into mats, but lengthy messages as that which is found in the ‘Protest Mat” were rare. Only one other mat with such a long text is thought to have existed, one proclaiming the Lord’s Prayer. Because of his unexpected death, the mat never made it into the hands of Lunalilo, but the subsequent king, Kalākaua, received and displayed it. At least two newspapers printed Kala‘i’s message in its entirety. This makaloa mat can be seen as an exquisite poetic expression of protest, one not easy to ignore.
Other highlights include ali‘i ornaments such as kāhili (feathered standard bearers) and lei niho palaoa (necklaces of braided human hair holding precious ivory pendants.)
The most famous fishhook in the Pacific, the Manaiakalani (Hook from the Heavens) will also be on display. The Manaiakalani was acquired from the Hawaiian National Museum in 1891.
This legendary hook is said to be the one demi-god Māui used to lure the great ulua, Pïmoe, from the depths of the sea. For two days and nights the giant fish pulled on the line while Māui’s brothers struggled to keep the canoe afloat and paddled for shore. They were careful not to look at Pïmoe, lest he turn himself into an island to avoid capture. But closing into shore, they turned and gazed at Pïmoe. As they did so, the line broke and the magical ulua became a solid island that would no longer move. Māui freed Manaiakalani and threw it into the sky, where it formed a constellation now known as Scorpio.
The exhibition is appropriate for adults and children of all ages. Regular Museum admission applies. For more information about Pauahi: A Legacy for Hawai‘i, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org. Updated information about the featured rotations will be forthcoming. This exhibition is curated and developed by members of the Bishop Museum staff.
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