ʻAhu ʻula

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Haalelea's Feather Cape

The ʻAhu ʻula (feather cloak in the Hawaiian language, literally "red/sacred garment for the upper torso"[1]),[2] and the mahiole (feather helmet) were symbols of the highest rank of the chiefly aliʻi[3] class of ancient Hawaii.

There are over 160 examples of this traditional clothing in museums around the world.[2] At least six of these cloaks were collected during the voyages of Captain Cook.[4] These cloaks are made from a woven netting decorated with bird feathers and are examples of fine featherwork techniques. One of these cloaks was included in a painting of Cook's death by Johann Zoffany.

Privileges

The use of ʻahu ʻula cloaks/capes were restricted to aliʻi royals and high chiefs, generally speaking, though they could be conferred to warriors of special distinction.[5] The feather helmet (mahiole[5]) was a royal item as well.[6][a]

The size of the ʻahu ʻula was an indicator of rank.[8] Some commentators distinguish the full-length ʻahu ʻula as "cloaks", extending from the neck to nearly the feet, and these were allowable only the highest-ranking elite, where as regular chiefs wore "capes" of lesser sizes.[9][10] Holt also makes such distinction, glossing ʻahuliʻī as "feather cape" (liʻī meaning "small" ) and ʻahuʻula as "feather cloak".[11]

The feathered cloaks and capes provided physical protection, and were believed to provide spiritual protection for their wearers.[12][13]

Construction

Feather Cloak of Princess Kekauluohi Kaʻahumanu

The Hawaiian feather cloaks were decorated using yellow, red, sometimes black and green plumage taken from specific types of native birds.[14][15] (cf. § Bird feathers below).

The plant used to make the netting is olonā or Touchardia latifolia, a member of the nettle family[16] (cf. § Early and later types).

Hundreds of thousands of feathers were required for each cloak. A small bundle of feathers (ʻuo or ʻuwo[17]) was gathered and tied into the netting. Bundles were tied in close proximity to form a uniform covering of the surface of the cloak.[18][13]

Bird feathers

The ʻIʻiwi

Patches of yellow axillary feathers from certain mostly black birds (now all extinct) were extracted, namely, the ʻōʻō[2] (Moho nobilis or generically the fours species of the genus) and mamo (Drepanis pacifica) using a catch and release philosophy due to their scarcity, to ensure future availability.[19] The mamo feathers were described as yellow by some, or yellow tinged with orange by others[7] and its use was restricted to not just royals, but a king of an entire island.[7][5] Kamehameha I's vestment of pure mamo was dubbed "Golden Cloak" by some writers,[20] but Brigham explains that the feathers from the mamo are actually orange, compared with ʻōʻō feathers which are "pale yellow",[b] but fading cause the two types to appear both yellow and hard to distinguish.[22] It has been suggested the combined use of yellow and red feathers was meant to simulate the royal orange of mamo plumage.[7][23]

The scarlet and curve-beaked honeycreeper ʻiʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) was the main source of the distinctive red feathers,[2] though the straight-beaked red honeycreeper ʻapapane (Himatione sanguinea) was also included.[24][14][25] Because of their comparative abundance (and since all of their feather could be used), these were traditionally killed and skinned.[24]

The black feathers of the ʻōʻō were also used.[26] The endangered (or already extinct) ʻōʻū with its green plumage were used on some examples,[14] though rarely.[15] David Malo (19th cent.) includes the amakihi bird[5] referring to yellow-green birds of several species of honeycreepers. These were some of the birds whose "feathers were taken to fashion the gods, the helmets, cloaks and lei".[14]

Conservation

While it was permissible to slaughter the red birds since the plumage of its whole body were useful, the black with yellow birds were protect Kamehameha I who commanded that these be captured alive then released after harvesting the yellow feathers. By the 19th century however, this kapu was suspected of not being strictly observed by all the native bird-catchers, and in fact, recorded as being eaten for food.[19][5][27]

The Hawaii mamo became extinct around the end of the 19th century,[27] and the black mamo last collected in 1907.[28] Henshaw suspected the rapid decline was due to increased use of shotgun over traditional methods of bird-catching using snares and birdlime[27] (cf. Hawaii mamo). All species of ʻōʻō had become extinct by 1987,[28] with the probable cause being disease.

Both the red species can still be found in Hawaii, but in much reduced numbers, due to various causes, and exploitation of feather is thought by some to be minimal effect on population decline.[29]

Early and later types

Early feathered capes used coarse netting as foundation, first covered by larger but drab-colored feathers (white, black, brown, form chicken or jungle fowl and other birds), atop which decorative feathers were mounted. Later, closer-plaited (hand-knotted) meshes were developed to be used as base, to which the prized feathers could be attached directly.[30][10][6] The fine mesh were known as nae, and woven from olonā fiber.[31][32][21] Also the shape evolved from rectangular to circular, but all the known rectangular specimens are held outside of Hawaii. The circular type may have developed in Hawaii due to foreign (non-Polynesian) influence.[c][33]

Also, early types of Hawaiian feather cloaks were rectangular, though none of the surviving examples remained in Hawaii and have been kept elsewhere, so that only the later circular forms became generally family to the Hawaiian populace.[d][33]

Given to Captain James Cook, 1778

The feather cape given to Captain Cook on display at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
The Death of Captain James Cook
—Oil painting, Johann Zoffany (c. 1795), 137.2cm x 182.9cm, National Maritime Museum

When British explorer James Cook visited in Hawai‘i on 26 January 1778 he was received by a high chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu. At the end of the meeting Kalaniʻōpuʻu placed the feathered mahiole and cloak he had been wearing on Cook.[13] Kalaniʻōpuʻu also laid several other cloaks at Cook's feet as well as four large pigs and other offerings of food. Much of the material from Cook's voyages including the helmet and cloak ended up in the collection of Sir Ashton Lever. He exhibited them in his museum, the Holophusikon.[4] It was while at this museum that Cook's mahiole and cloak were borrowed by artist Johann Zoffany in the 1790s and included in his painting The Death of Captain James Cook.[4]

Lever went bankrupt and his collection was disposed of by public lottery. The collection was obtained by James Parkinson who continued to exhibit it, at the Blackfriars Rotunda in London. He eventually sold the collection in 1806 in 7,000 separate sales.[4] The mahiole and cloak were purchased by the collector William Bullock who exhibited them in his own museum until 1819 when the collection was again sold.[citation needed] The mahiole and cloak were then purchased by Charles Winn along with a number of other items and these remained in his family[citation needed] until 1912, when Charles Winn's grandson, Rowland Winn, 2nd Baron St Oswald, gave them to the Dominion of New Zealand, precursor to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[34][35][e] but the cloak and helmet were repatriated to Hawaii as of March 2016, on a long-term loan basis, into the custody of the Bishop Museum.[34][35]

ʻAhu ʻula in museums

The Bishop Museum in Honolulu is in possession of perhaps a dozen or more ʻahu ʻula,[37][f] including the magnificent full-length cloak of King Kamehameha, made entirely of mamo feathers (450,000 feathers from 80,000 birds.), though some i'iwi red feathers were added to the trimming later when Kamehameha IV wore it ceremonially.[38][9][1]

The feather cloak of Kīwalaʻō is another item at the Bishop of special provenance. It belonged to Kīwalaʻō, son of the Kalaniʻōpuʻu (aforementioned as the gift-giver to Captain Cook)[39] and Beaglehole claims it was what Kīwalaʻō wore when Captain Cook was killed.[8] Kīwalaʻō was later killed by Kamehameha I who then obtained the cloak.[39][10]

The Bishop also houses a 200-year-old mahiole and matching cloak. This bright red and yellow cloak was given to the king of Kauaʻi, Kaumualiʻi, when he became a vassal to Kamehameha I in 1810, uniting all the islands into the Hawaiian Kingdom.[40]

The de Young Museum in San Francisco displayed several of these cloaks in a special exhibition in 2015.

The British Museum has three of these cloaks.[41][42][43]

The National Museums of Scotland show a feather cloak that was given in 1824 from King Kamehameha II of Hawaii to Frederich Gerald Byng thanking for his service in London.[44]

The Te Papa in New Zealand has three ʻahu ʻula in its collection. All were gifts of Rowland Winn, 2nd Baron St Oswald, in 1912.[45][46][47] The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa believes that one of these cloaks was placed on Captain James Cook by the Hawaiian chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu.[48][g]

Auckland War Memorial Museum acquired a cloak for its collection in 1948.[49]

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève displays an early 19th-century cloak on its permanent exhibition. It was considered the museums most precious item by the institution's founder, Eugène Pittard.[50]

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ The use of mamo feathers was more restrictive, and at a minimum the kingship of an entire island had to be attained in order to use them.[7][5]
  2. ^ Or "bright yellow".[21]
  3. ^ Cf. Māori feather cloaks whose known examples are rectangular.
  4. ^ Māori rectangular robes remain in New Zealand, as Hiroa notes.
  5. ^ Cook's mahiole and cloak are featured in episode 52 of the mini-documentary television series Tales from Te Papa.[36]
  6. ^ The aforementioned Kalaniʻōpuʻu cloak which arrived in Bishop Museum from New Zealand in 2016 being a loan, not an acquisition.[35]
  7. ^ The twice aforementioned Kalaniʻōpuʻu cloak now on long-term loan to Hawaii's Bishop Muesum, as of 2016.[35]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ʻAhu ʻula.
Citations
  1. ^ a b Kamehiro, Stacy L. (2009). The Arts of Kingship: Hawaiian Art and National Culture of the Kalakaua Era. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 45–47. ISBN 9780824832636.
  2. ^ a b c d Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of ʻahu ʻula". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press.
  3. ^ Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of aliʻi". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Kaeppler, Adrienne (28 July 2006). "Transcript of Paper: To attempt some new discoveries in that vast unknown tract". Cook’s Pacific Encounters symposium. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Malo, David (1903). Hawaiian Antiquities: (Moolelo Hawaii). Translated by Emerson, Nathaniel Bright. Honolulu: Hawaiian Gazette. pp. 63, 106–107.
  6. ^ a b c Pratt, H. Douglas (2005). The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. OUP Oxford. pp. 279–280. ISBN 9780198546535.
  7. ^ a b c d Hall (1923), pp. 41, 42.
  8. ^ a b Beaglehole, J.C., ed. (2017). The Journals of Captain James Cook on his Voyages of Discovery: Volume III Part 1: The Voyage of the Resolution and Discovery, 1776-1780. Routledge. n1, Supplement to p. 594. ISBN 9781351543217.
  9. ^ a b Kirch, Patrick Vinton (2019). How Chiefs Became Kings: Divine Kingship and the Rise of Archaic States in Ancient Hawai'i. Univ of California Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 9780520303393.
  10. ^ a b c Harger, Barbara (1983). "Dress and Adornment of Pre-European Hawaiians" (PDF). National Meeting Proceedings. Association of College Professors of Textiles and Clothing: 9–10.
  11. ^ Holt (1985), p. 169
  12. ^ "Royal Hawaiian Featherwork: Nā Hulu Ali'i". de Young. 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  13. ^ a b c Chrisman-Campbell, Kimberly (2019). Worn on This Day: the Clothes That Made History. Philadelphia: Running Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7624-9357-9. OCLC 1089571878.
  14. ^ a b c d Capt. Charles Clerke's description of birds whose feathers were used (from Capt. Cooke's voyage) apud Holt (1985), p. 21: "ʻiʻiwi.. main source of red feathers", etc., as described by
  15. ^ a b Hiroa (1944), p. 1.
  16. ^ Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of olonā". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press.
  17. ^ Mary Kawena Pukui; Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). "lookup of ʻuo". in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press.
  18. ^ Arcayna, Nancy (12 September 2008). "Cloaked in native culture: Kaha'i Topolinski preserves the art of Hawaiian feather work". Honolulu Star Bulletin. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  19. ^ a b Hiroa (1944), p. 10.
  20. ^ Withington, Antoinette (1986) [1953]. The Golden Cloak: Tales of the Pacific. Mutual Publishing LLC. p. x. ISBN 9780935180268.
  21. ^ a b Bishop, Marcia Brown (1940). Hawaiian Life of the Pre-European Period. Southworth-Anthoensen Press. pp. 36–37.
  22. ^ Brigham (1899), pp. 10–11.
  23. ^ Brigham (1899), p. 10.
  24. ^ a b Hiroa (1944), pp. 9–10.
  25. ^ The feather items collected by Captain Cooke's voyagers were "almost invariably those of the ʻiʻiwi", but one exception employed patches of feathered skin, some belonging to ʻapapane.[6]
  26. ^ But not the dull black feathers of the mamo (Hiroa (1944), pp. 1, 10).
  27. ^ a b c Henshaw, H. W. (1902). Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Being a Complete List of the Birds of the Hawaiian Possessions, with Notes on Their Habits. Honolulu: Thomas G. Thrum. pp. 51–53.
  28. ^ a b Peterson, Roger Tory (2020). Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (2 ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 456. ISBN 9781328771445.
  29. ^ "Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō" (PDF). Hawaii’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. State of Hawaiʻi. 1 October 2005. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  30. ^ Hiroa (1944), p. 8.
  31. ^ Brigham (1899), pp. 50–51 with photographs and illustrations.
  32. ^ Hiroa (1944), p. 2 and weaving illustrated in Fig. 1.
  33. ^ a b Hiroa (1944), pp. 1, 3–4.
  34. ^ a b "Cloak and Helmet Gifted to Captain Cook is Permanently Returned to Hawaiʻi". Ka Wai Ola. Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 29 July 2020.
  35. ^ a b c d Schorch, Philipp (2020). Refocusing Ethnographic Museums through Oceanic Lenses. Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu, Sean Mallon, Cristián Moreno Pakarati, Mara Mulrooney, Nina Tonga, Ty P. Kāwika Tengan. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 6–7. ISBN 9780824881177.
  36. ^ "A Captain's Chiefly Gift – Tales from Te Papa episode 52". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  37. ^ Brigham (1899), p. 56 lists 100 ʻahu ʻula worldwide, of which 1–13 are at the Bishop Museum, but includes 1 pau. 7 are "capes" the rest is "cloak", including Kamehameha's mamo. Hiroa (1944), p. 3 says there are 10 cloaks.
  38. ^ Brigham (1899) #1, p. 58
  39. ^ a b Brigham (1899) #2., pp. 58–59
  40. ^ "Bishop Museum Loans Rare Artifacts to Kauai'i". Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  41. ^ "Cloak". Collections Database Search. British Museum. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  42. ^ "Cloak". Collections Database Search. British Museum. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  43. ^ "Cloak". Collections Database Search. British Museum. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  44. ^ J. Susan Corley: „National Museums Scotland Displays One of Kamehameha II’s Featherwork ‘Ahu‘ula Cloaks“ auf evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu
  45. ^ "ʻahu ʻula (Feathered cloak)". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  46. ^ "ʻahu ʻula (Feathered cloak)". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  47. ^ "ʻahu ʻula (Feathered cloak)". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  48. ^ "Hawaiian feather cloak (ʻahu ʻula) and helmet (mahiole)". Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  49. ^ "My favourite object: Ahu'ula". Auckland Museum. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  50. ^ "The 'ahu'ula feather cloak". Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
Bibliography
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