The ‘ahu ‘ula and mahiole of Kalani‘ōpu‘u: a journey of chiefly adornments

Tuhinga 28: 4-23

ABSTRACT: Among the most significant Pacific cultural treasures in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) are the ‘ahu ‘ula (feathered cloak) and mahiole (feathered helmet) that once belonged to Kalani‘ōpu‘u, a high chief on the island of Hawai‘i in the late 1770s. He gifted these objects to English explorer James Cook in 1779, and they eventually found their way to New Zealand in 1912. More than a century later, in 2014, representatives from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum (Bishop Museum) approached Te Papa about reconnecting the ‘ahu ‘ula and mahiole with the Hawaiian people. A long-term loan emerged as the best process to enable this historic reconnection to take place. This article presents the history of display for the ‘ahu ‘ula and mahiole in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. It outlines how their preparation for loan in 2016 created circumstances for community engagement, cultural interaction and the enacting of indigenous museological practice.

KUMUMANA‘O: ‘O kekahi o nā mea ‘oi loa o ka makamae i mālama ‘ia ma ka Hale Hō‘ike‘ike ‘o Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), ‘o ia ka ‘ahu ‘ula a me ka mahiole a Kalani‘ōpu‘u, he ali‘i nui i noho i ka mokupuni ‘o Hawai‘i i nā 1770. Nāna nō i makana aku i ia mau mea makamae i ke kāpena Pelekānia ‘o James Cook i ka makahiki 1779. I ka hala ‘ana o ka manawa, ua hō‘ea ka ‘ahu ‘ula a me ka mahiole i New Zealand i ka makahiki 1912. Ma hope o ho‘okahi kenekulia a ‘oi,i ka makahiki 2014, ua hui nā ‘elele o ke Ke‘ena Kuleana Hawai‘i a me ka Hale Hō‘ike‘ike ‘o Bīhopa me nā ‘elele o Te Papa no ke kūkākūkā ‘ana e pili ana i ka hiki ke ho‘iho‘i ‘ia ka ‘ahu‘ula a me ka mahiole i ka lāhui Hawai‘i. Ua hāpai ‘ia ka mana‘o no ka hā‘awi ‘ia ‘ana o ia mau mea makamae ‘elua no ka manawa lō‘ihi, a ua ho‘oholo ‘ia ‘o ia ka mana‘o maika‘i no ka ho‘opili hou ‘ia ‘ana o ia mau mea makamae i nā kānaka Hawai‘i. Ma kēia ‘atikala nei, e hō‘ike ‘ia ana ka mō‘aukala o ka ‘ahu ‘ula a me ka mahiole i ka Hale Hō‘ike‘ike o New Zealand ‘o Te Papa Tongarewa. E hō‘ike ‘ia ana nā mea waiwai i kupu a‘e i ka ho‘omākaukau ‘ana i ia mau mea makamae no ka ho‘iho‘i ‘ia ‘ana i Hawai‘i i ka makahiki 2016. Ua kupu a mohala nō nā ha‘awina no ke kaiaulu, no ka mo‘omeheu, a no ka hana ‘ana me nā mea ‘ōiwi ma ka hale hō‘ike‘ike.

KEYWORDS: Hawai‘i, Kalani‘ōpu‘u, James Cook, feather cloak, Te Papa, Pacific, museums, ‘ahu ‘ula, mahiole, Bishop Museum, community engagement, feathers, decolonising museums, indigenous museology.