Hawaiian Astronomy Resources

Whenever I tell stories of our Hawaiian stars and constellations, people always ask me what books they should buy. Here is my most recent list, which contains some new materials as well as classics.

And. . . if you are in Hilo stop by Basically Books, at 334 Kilauea Ave, Hilo, HI 96720. Phone them at 1-808-961-0144. Email to bbinfo@basicallybooks.com. The folks there know books, so ask them what they recommend for your specific interest area.

Purchasing through Basically Books helps a family-owned business in Hilo! They also can ship many items!

Purchasing through the Amazon affiliate links helps keep this website running, as it is my own labor of love. Both choices are appreciated!

NA INOA HOKU: HAWAIIAN AND PACIFIC STAR NAMES

Rubellite Kawena Johnson, John Kaipo Mahelona, and Clive Ruggles

The foundation book around which you should build your Hawaiian astronomy library is Nā Inoa Hōkū, the seminal compendium of Hawaiian astronomical lore. When originally published in 1975 it was the first, and remains the most comprehensive such work. Hawaiian scholars Rubellite Kawena Johnson and John Kaipo Mahelona created a work that is still widely regarded as a definitive source of reference for anyone interested in the use of astronomy in Polynesian voyaging or the nature and development of ritual and calendrical practices throughout the Pacific.

Working together with British archaeoastronomer Clive Ruggles, the authors have extensively revised and extended the catalogues and transformed the discussion of their wider context and significance, resulting in a much stronger focus upon the rich historical legacy of the Hawaiian Islands themselves. This new edition of Nā Inoa Hōkū is completely overhauled, vastly expanded, and includes new translation of many key primary Hawaiian sources from the mid-nineteenth century onwards.

Stars Over Hawaiʻi

Edwin H. Bryan, Richard Crowe, Timothy F. Slater

Click text link below to purchase

Another foundational book for your library is Stars Over Hawaiʻi. For many of us who grew up in the islands, this was our first book on astronomy which centered the Hawaiian night sky, rather than the sky over North America. This is an excellent introduction to the science of Astronomy. It includes some of the Greek and Roman mythology associated with the constellations, twelve monthly star charts, and two charts with Hawaiian star names.

Readers can learn about “Lahaina Noon,” when the sun casts no shadow, a phenomenon exclusive to latitudes near the equator, and will be introduced to Hawaiian Astronomy through legend, surviving oral history, and the ongoing observation of the skies and our planet.

It includes the Hawaiian Moon Calendar is discussed and the Nights of the Moon are depicted and labeled in Hawaiian and other Pacific languages. The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Star Compass is included.

First published over 60 years ago, this latest edition builds upon a solid foundation to bring star gazers up to date with current statistics and theories about our universe. Stars Over Hawai i marries the knowledge of the masterful navigators and astronomers of ancient Hawai i with today’s astronomy experts to bring you an integrated view of Hawai i’s skies, past and present.

North Star to Southern Cross

Will Kyselka, Ray Lanterman

Click text link below to purchase

Informed by a decade of teaching audiences in the Bishop Museum planetarium and star parties by the sea with thousands of young people, the book was designed to provide a framework for understanding the heavens. It is intended for a range of readers, from youngsters to adults, from country folk to city dwellers, from the arm chair enthusiast to the avid night hiker.

Filled with images and charts, and easy-to-read text, this book is an excellent starting point for the new star gazer, and a great refresher for the experienced.

Moʻolelo Kilo Hōkū

by Leilehua Yuen

Image of Moʻolelo Kilo Hoku / Moolelo Kilo Hoku Hawaiian star-gazing log. — Moʻolelo Kilo Hōkū, Hawaiian star gazing log with text in both Hawaiian and English. Perfect gift for the beginner or experienced star gazer.

To purchase, contact Basically Books, 334 Kilauea Ave, Hilo, HI 96720. Phone them at 1-808-961-0144. Email to bbinfo@basicallybooks.com.

This log book for charting Hawaiian stars goes far beyond the usual offering. Written in both Hawaiian and English, it is useful for anyone studying astronomy and/or the Hawaiian language. Yuen gave talks on Hawaiian astronomy for over 20 years. She is now putting all of that research into a series of books on Hawaiian astronomy.

In addition to charting pages for sketching your observations and making notes, there are sample pages showing how to use the charts, an astronomy vocabulary/glossary section which lists the Hawaiian and English translations of astronomical terms, constellations, stars, etc. Hawaiian stories of some famous constellations are included.

Another unique feature is the chart of the Hawaiian lunar phases which shows the orientation of the moon when it rises.

Charts include traditional Hawaiian calendar systems from different areas in the archipelago and a chart of principal meteor showers.

Ample room for notes and clippings, and a bibliography with both book titles and URLs complete the workbook.

On the cover, be sure to write your own name in as co-author!

161 pages, approximately 30 are resource/info and the remaining are sky charts for you to fill in.

Back cover text in Hawaiian: Ua hoʻomaka ʻo Leilehua Yuen e aʻo aku i nā haʻawina kilo hōkū i ka makahiki 1997 i ka manawa mua āna i aʻo aku i nā moʻolelo hōkū ma ka Visitor Information Station i Mauna Kea.

Aʻo aku ʻo Kumu Leilehua i nā haʻawina kilo hōkū ma ke ʻano he haʻi moʻolelo. Ua koho ʻo ia i nā moʻolelo piha hoʻi me nā kaona i mea e makana aku ai i nā haunauna e hiki mai ana.

Hoʻokumu ʻia kēia puke moʻomanaʻo o no ke kōkua ʻana iā ʻoe e aʻo aku e pili ana i nā moʻolelo kilo hōkū, nā ʻikepili, nā kuhikuhina o ke kilo ʻana, a me ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i nā mea i kilo ʻia ai.

Back cover text in English: Kumu D. Leilehua Yuen has taught perspectives of Hawaiʻi astronomy since 1997 when she gave her first presentation on Hawaiian star lore at the Visitor Information Station on Mauna Kea.

Kumu Leilehua approaches Hawaiian astronomical concepts from the perspective of a storyteller, seeking to leaarn what lessons were considered so important that they were encoded into tales passed down through the generations.

This logbook is designed to help you begin your journey in learning about Hawaiian star lore by providing some background information, som suggestions for how to record your own observations, and a simple format for recording them.

A starfinder is a useful tool for observing the night sky. I use this one.

Click text link below to purchase

Floral Adornments of Hawaiʻi

Above, Kili Redondo (left) and Leinani Lozi (right), oli (chant) at the opening of the 2023 Hilo Lei Day Festival at Kalākaua Park. Photo by Rita French

Lei, the lovely garlands of Hawaiʻi, are made of many different materials, from shells to ivory, to flowers, to feathers – so many things can be crafted into beautiful adornments.

These same techniques can be used to craft other types of adornments as well.

A garland is a lei.

Worn around the neck, open or closed, it is a lei ʻāʻī – a neck lei.

Lei Day 2023, Kalākaua Park
*Photo by Rita French*

Worn on the head, it is a lei poʻo – a head lei.

Leinani Lozi wears on her head a *lei poʻo* of *kupukupu* (native sword fern) in the *hili* style. Around her neck she wears a *lei lāʻī* in the *hilo* style.
*Photo by Rita French*

Worn on a hat, it is a lei pāpale – a hat lei.

Leinaʻala Lassiter wears a *lei pāpale* (hat lei) of *loke* (rose) and *lei ʻāʻī* of *pua kiele* (gardenia) in the *kui* style as she MCs the 2023 Hilo Lei Day Festival at Kalākaua Park.
*Photo by Rita French*

A short garland worn on the wrist or ankle is a kūpeʻe.

Marcia Timboy, a member of the Hilo Lei Day Festival Board of Directors, show her *kūpeʻe* *lima* (bracelet) of fern, *liko*, and other foliage. Around her neck she wears a *lei pūpū*, a shell *lei ʻāʻī*.
*Photo by Leilehua Yuen*

An unidentified student wears a *kūpeʻe wāwae* (anklet) of *lau kukui* (kukui leaf).
*Photo by Leilehua Yuen*

A short garland or a floral arrangement worn in the hair or as a boutonnière is a wehi, wēwehi, or wehiwehi.

Recently we have been hearing that some people are claiming wēwehi are called “koko” or “coco” in Hawaiian. This is not true. “Koko” means “blood” in Hawaiian. “Kōkō” is a carrying net. “Kokō” is to crow or cackle. “Coco” is not a Hawaiian word.

There are many ways to craft a lei or a wēwehi. The two main ways of creating a lei are to kui lei (to sew or string a lei), and to haku lei (to braid, weave, or compile/fabricate a lei). This can be confusing because haku has several definitions, and is both a noun and a verb.

You can learn more about lei at LeiDay.org

Who is she? Mary Ellen Pleasant or Queen Emma?

For Kānaka ʻOiwi, our Aliʻi are so important. They symbolize us as a people, and the generations who forged the path on which we walk.

As Native Hawaiians, our kingdom was stolen, our lands reallocated under colonialist laws, blood quantum requirements were enacted by the American Congress to try and assure that we do not survive as a people for many more generations. Because of land mismanagement and invasive species introduction, many scientists have called us the endangered species capital of the world.

To add insult to injury, people can’t even let us keep the images of our beloved Queen who strove to do so much for her people. Emalani sold her personal jewels and hit up her friends to do the same to build the Queen’s Hospital so that Hawaiians could have proper health care.

And people can’t even let us have her image without appropriating it and giving it to someone else! Honestly, it is hurtful on a personal AND A CULTURAL level.

Below is one of the images often misrepresented as Mary Ellen Pleasant (August 19, 1814 – January 11, 1904), a Black entrepreneur who lived many years in San Francisco. It does a disservice to BOTH women to steal Emalani’s image and use it for Mrs. Pleasant. Mrs. Pleasant does not need to be represented by a Hawaiian. And Queen Emma is OUR beloved Emalani, not a San Francisco businesswoman. Please respect BOTH women and stop using Emalani’s image to represent Mrs. Pleasant, and please speak up when you see others do so.

One of the images claimed to be Mary Ellen Pleasant. It is heavily documented as being an image of Dowager Queen Emma of Hawaiʻi.

The below standing portrait was made based on a photograph taken after August of 1862. We know this because the original photo has the christening cup of her son, Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Leiopapa a Kamehameha. The cup was a gift from Queen Victoria. Tragically, the little prince died on August 27, shortly before the cup arrived. I expect it was a mourning photo and that there is symbolism to the flowers.

The photo may even be after the death of her husband, Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku, whom she lost a little over a year later, November 30, 1863.

For more images of Queen Emma which have been misidentified as Mary Ellen Pleasant, visit this web page.

Lovely Hula Hair

by Kumu Hula Leilehua Yuen
feature photo by Kenji Kuroshima

People often ask hula dancers how they care for their exceptionally long hair. I can’t speak for all hula dancers, but I am glad to share my routine. I have had long hair almost my entire life.

When I was five years old, I had not brushed it properly, so my maternal grandmother took me to her barber and had it cut off. I cried for weeks! When I was 17, I was angry with my father, and cut it off. I cried for weeks. For most of my adult life, my hair has been hip length or longer.

Different ʻohana (families) may have different specific traditions, but these are fairly typical:

Hawaiian hair traditions

We never touch someone else’s hair unless they are a close relative and we have permission.
When combing out our hair, we do not throw away the tangles. They are kept in a safe place, and (depending on the specific family’s traditions) burned or taken to a special place for proper disposal.
Hair is trimmed only on the full moon. The trimmings are immediately disposed of. The saved tangles can be added to the trimmed hair for proper disposal.
We do not share things that are used on the hair or head.
We wash our hair. A lot. Hair is kept scrupulously clean, washing almost every day.

Hair Ornamentation

Probably the most famous way hula dancers ornament their hair is with the lei poʻo (pronounced leh-ee poh-oh) – the lei that is worn on the head.

In this 1816 watercolor sketch by Louis Choris, Queen Kaʻahumanu is depicted wearing a lei poʻo hulu manu, a head lei of feathers.

Hair Vocabulary

garland – lei
garland for head – lei poʻo
hair (head) – lauoho
coarse hair – lauoho ʻoʻoleʻa
wavy hair – piʻipiʻi lau nui, lauoho pipiʻi
kinky hair – lauoho piʻipiʻi Pukikī
straight hair – lauoho kālole
long hair – lauoho loloa
short hair – lauoho pōkole
hair ornament (such as a floral decoration worn in the hair) – wehi, wewehi, kāhiko
hair pin – kui lauoho
hat – pāpale
garland for hat – lei pāpale

Wearing a wewehi in the hair and a lei hulu at the throat.

Lei poʻo palapalai on the head and lei kukui at the throat.

Care for Long Hair

Hair is heavy. Long hair is really heavy. If it is not cared for properly, it will break off under its own weight. Hair grows an average of about half an inch per month, so in a year, most people will grow about six inches of new hair.

For me, that means, at its ends, my hair is about eight years old. Imagine wearing a silk blouse every single day for eight years. It would get pretty worn and tattered. Care for long hair tries to prevent that wear and damage.

Very damaged hair can be trimmed off to give a cleaner, more tidy look to the ends. Today, we generally use a sharp pair of scissors. In ancient times, hair might be styled by trimming with a sharp shell, or singing with a small flame, such as from a burning twig.

Healthy looking hair starts on the inside

Hair is dead. So, it can’t BE healthy. It can only LOOK healthy and BE cared for. However, hair is also an indicator of general health. Healthy people generally have glossy, flexible, vibrant hair. Ill people may have hair that looks dry, dull, and is brittle. So, keeping your body as healthy as possible will help you grow healthy looking hair!

To have hair that looks healthy, one must start on the inside. Drink lots of clean, pure water. Eat good, healthful foods. Keep the body clean through regular elimination.

Essential fatty acids, especially omega-3s
B Vitamins: B6, B12, folic acid
Protein
Trace minerals such as: iron, magnesium, zinc, biotin

Hair is made of a protein called keratin. Keratin is strong, tough, and flexible. Our fingernails and toenails also made from a slightly different kind of keratin. To properly make sufficient keratin to grow healthy looking hair, we need to eat a wide variety of foods to provide essential fatty acids, B vitamins, protein, and trace minerals. To utilize these things, we need lots of clean, fresh water.

Each hair grows from a follicle in the skin. The hair follicle is formed by the base of the hair bulb, where living cells divide and grow to build the hair shaft. These cells are nourished by blood vessels, and deliver the hormones that modify hair growth and structure throughout our lives. Some of the cells provide color, in the form of melanin. To do all this, they need proper nutrition.

Hair grows in phases:

Anagen (growth phase): Each hair spends most of its life in the anagen phase, which generally lasts several years.
Catagen (transitional phase): In this phase, which takes a few weeks, hair slows its growth and the follicle shrinks.
Telogen (resting phase): Over some months, hair growth finally stops and the old hair detaches from the follicle. A new hair begins the growth phase, and pushes the old hair out.

As we age, pigment cells die, and hair turns gray.

So, again, good nutrition is the foundation of good hair.

Exercise

All that nutrition won’t help if it does not reach the cells that make the hair. Exercise circulates and oxygenates the blood, allowing more nutrients to reach the cells making up the hair follicles. Healthy cells do their job better, giving you lovely hula hair!

Scalp massage

Scalp massage is a critical part of hair care for many hula dancers. No only does it feel good and help one relax, but we believe it stimulates the blood supply to the scalp, bringing more fresh nutrients to the follicles. It also helps to spread your natural hair oils, which are the best for your own hair, along the hair shaft.

Protecting the outside

Hair has a layer called the cuticle, which is formed of little tiny scales that strengthen and protect the hair shaft. When hair gets old or dry, these scales lift and curl, causing hair to tangle, and making hair brittle and dead looking. Keeping these scales flexible, flat, and smooth are critical to healthy looking hair.

Coconut oil is my go-to moisturizer for skin and hair. Just put a little bit in the palm of the hand. Rub hands together to melt it onto your fingers and palms. Comb your fingers through your hair. Add just a dab more oil to your palms, and work it into the ends of the hair.

Bunches more expensive than organic, unfiltered coconut oil, but I love, love the Malie Kōkeʻe Beauty Oil (it smells fantastic!). I use it on special occasions. I really like Carrington coconut oil, and it comes in several sizes.

When my hair will be more exposed to the environment, or I will be working in an area where it might be snagged or some such, I use that as an opportunity to give it a good deep conditioning. If I have not just washed my hair, I will dampen it. Then, avoiding the inch nearest the scalp, I saturate the hair with hair conditioner I have thinned to the consistency of cream. Starting at the tips, I comb it out, braid it, and pin it up. Then I wrap it in a scarf or bandana. It can stay that way all day, or even a couple of days.

When unbraided, it will be soft, wavy, and shiny.

Cleanliness is next to awesomeness

Dirt and old care products can build up on hair, leaving it tacky, dull, and dead looking. Without all that gunk, clean hair reflects more light, giving a vibrant, healthy appearance. I wash my hair almost every day.

But, remember the silk blouse analogue? If I washed a silk blouse every single day for eight years, It would certainly wear it out! So, how to be gentle, but squeaky clean at the same time?

I simply scrub my scalp (taking advantage of the opportunity to give myself a good scalp massage), and let the shower-diluted shampoo run through the rest of my hair. I do not rub or pull the hair. When it is thoroughly drenched with shampoo, I gently pick it up and rinse it under the shower. There is no need to rub or scrub. The shampoo and flowing water will carry away any dirt.

I like to change around my shampoo and conditioner, trying new products, or just suiting my mood. Here are some favorites:

When thoroughly clean, I then wrap my hair in a towel and gently squeeze out as much water as I can. Never, ever rub the hair with a a towel. It lifts the scales of the cuticle, weakening and damaging the hair.

Next, I condition my hair – just a little dab of conditioner near my head, and a whole handful from my shoulders down. Using a broad-toothed comb, I comb the conditioner through my hair. I like to stand in the drippings, as hair conditioner is actually one of the very best lotions you can use on your feet!

I never use a brush on my hair, as the brush bristles tangle it, and leave it abraded and fuzzy. For over 40 years, I have only used a heavy wide-toothed comb! My very favorite was a bamboo comb I bought in China back in the 1990s, but I can no longer get that style.

After that, I either let it hang loose, or I put it in a braid. If it might be subjected to abuse, as when I am doing heavy yard work, then I will pin it up, add more conditioner, and cover it in a scarf.

Dying Hair

Sometimes we want to change our hair color – to cover gray, for a fresh look, or any number of reasons. Going to a stylist can be expensive, so a lot of people opt for the “box color” available at just about any drug or grocery store, and color their hair at home.

A few tips to make it easier:

Start a bit lighter than you think you want. You can always go darker.
If you do get too dark, don’t panic. Most home-dye kits will lighten up after a few washings.
Start with simple methods and techniques. As you master them, go for greater challenges, but build your skills from the basics up!
Check out beauty blogs for the most up-to-date information. I like the tips in the following pages best:

True Insider: How to dye your hair at home

Money Crashers: How to dye your hair at home

Glamor: How to dye your hair at home

So, that is pretty much it! Please enjoy, and if you want to join the discussion, come on over to Quora!

Essays on Hawaiian hair:

Hawaiian Hair is Thick as Blood

Hawaiian Hairstyles

Keep Your Eyes on the Hair

Videos on Polynesian Hair

ʻWhat did Queen Emma of Hawaiʻi look like?

ʻ Emalani in Pictures – A work in progress

Here I am sorting my digital collection of ʻEmalani images, trying to arrange them chronologically, to find provenance of them all, and to start including a little history.

With Dr. & Mrs. Rooke. Original photo at the Bishop Museum.
https://digitalarchives.hawaii.gov/item/ark:70111/1z99

Emma and Alexander Liholiho were married on June 19, 1856

Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku (Kamehameha IV)
and
Queen Emma Kalanikaumakaʻamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke

1862 image by Henry L Chase , Front Street, Honolulu

1865

Carte-de-visite depicting a full-length portrait of Emma Kalanikaumakaʻamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke, then Queen Dowager of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She is standing and faces three-quarters left. Her hands are together in front of her, left hand over right. She is wearing a Western style dress, with a light coloured headdress and a veil. On the left of the photograph stands a table with books on it. A curtain is hanging behind the table.
Provenance: From an album of ‘Royal Portraits’ compiled by Queen Victoria
Royal Collection Trust

1866

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Emma_of_Hawaii,c._1859%28colored%29.jpg

After her European tour, Queen Emma arrived in New York in August of 1866. This image was published by Edward and Henry T. Anthony & Co

Carte de Visite by Bradley and Rutholfson, San Francisco, October 1866.
This is the image most commonly mis-identified as Mary Ellen Pleasant, due to it being used by Helen Holdredge in her book on Mrs. Pleasant.

Carte de visite of Queen Emma which has been altered and identified as Mary Ellen Pleasant.

What I think is especially charming about how she signed this *carte de visite*: “On sea,” which is how we would say it in Hawaiian. She then corrected it to “at sea,” the English phrasing.

186?

Although this image is sometimes identified as the wedding of ʻEmalani and Liholiho, Kamehameha IV, it is not. The image is a montage of several members of the Hawaiian royalty based on their photos. While many of their lifetimes did overlap, this is not an accurate representation of a specific moment in time. The image of ʻEmalani is based on a photo of her wearing widow’s weeds, therefore the image of her is post-1863, the year her husband died. In it, she is wearing the same gown as in the *carte de visite* below. The images must, therefore, be at least a year prior to 1870.

1871

1880

This stately image was made by Andreas Avelino Montano, a Colombian from California. He came to Hawaii and was active from 1876 to 1883 as a photographer and portrait painters for Queen Emma and other fashionable aliis. He had a skill for portraying Hawaiian women. His studio at 87 Fort Street in Honolulu became known as Hale Paʻikiʻi (photographer house). He tutored the painter Charles Furneaux. He married Mary Jane Fayerweather, a quarter Hawaiian and three quarter Caucasian woman, sister of Julia Fayerweather Afong, and widow of Benoni R. Davidson. Although she was five years his senior they had four children: Emma, Rose, Maggie and Harry. He later retired photography and became a rancher.

https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/media/queen-emma-of-hawaii-photograph-by-h-l-chase-pp-96-4-008-174482

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Henry_L._Chase

https://www.alexautographs.com/auction-lot/queen-emma-of-hawaii-s-annotated-photograph-album_6567D96713

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/345998106526136-queen-emma-of-hawaii-signed-photograph/?cat=322

Liliʻuokalani at Kīlauea

USGS image

No, Liliʻuokalani did not start the custom of tossing gin into Kīlauea. That was Mr. George Lycurgus, some years later. Following is a description of her visit to Kīlauea in 1800, when she was still Princess, extracted from her autobiography, Hawaiʻi’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen.

Chapter XI
Mauna Loa

IN the year 1880 Miss Helen Aldrich of Berkeley, Cal., made me a visit. She was the daughter of Mr. W. A. Aldrich, a banker, who had married a first cousin of my husband, Elizabeth, the child of Mr. R. W. Holt. Shortly after her arrival we took a trip to the largest of our islands, Hawaii, on which is situated that volcano called with truth one of the greatest natural wonders of the modern world.

I was attended by my retainers, and after a short and pleasant voyage we arrived at the port and chief city, Hilo. As though to illuminate in honor of my visit, on the night preceding our ascent of the mountain a bright glow was seen on the top of Mokuaweoweo. This was the portent which preceded that great flow of lava which soon commenced from Mauna Loa, and took its course down the sides of that mountain towards the city of Hilo. We were thus witnesses from the very beginning of one of the most extensive and long-continued eruptions which has ever been recorded in history, for it was protracted over a period of eleven months.

Early on the morning following we started on horseback on our journey to the crater of Kilauea, where we arrived about five o’clock the same evening. This is not, as some strangers suppose, a mountain by itself, totally distinct from the general volcanic system of Mauna Loa. That word in our language signifies the great long mountain, and the nature of the elevation well deserves the term; for in height, 13,700 feet, it is exceeded by few in the world, while in extent it includes about one-third of our largest island.

The eruptions are not usually from the summit, but generally through fissures in its sides. One of these is the crater lake of Kilauea, a region of perpetual fire, of an activity more or less pronounced, yet never entirely extinct, and situated some twenty miles or so east from the summit, at an elevation of about four thousand feet. It is one of the few, if not the only one, of the volcanoes in the world which can be visited at the periods of its greatest displays without the least danger to the observer; because it is always possible to watch its bubbling fires from a higher point than their source. It is not the lava from the burning lake which makes its way down the mountain, but that from other places where the concealed fires of Mauna Loa burst forth.

There is now a modern hotel at a spot commanding a good view of the points of interest; but at the date of this visit we were received and made very comfortable in a large grass house with thatched roof, under which some forty persons could have been accommodated. Here we were most hospitably received, our tired horses were cared for and sheltered near to our resting-place, and we did ample justice to the evening meal which had been provided for our company.

After our refreshment, darkness quickly succeeded the setting of the sun (there being no long twilight, as in more northern climates); so we spent the evening in watching the fiery glow in the crater, the brilliance of which seemed to be spreading along the level floor of the pit. From a flooring of light and heat the surface changed at times to billows of actual fire; then jets burst up or fountains played high in air, standing by themselves a moment like burning columns; then steam intervened to stifle the flames. Mist following this, the crater was for a while hidden from our sight, and nature’s gorgeous fireworks suspended.

At one of these intervals we retired for the night; but at two o’clock we were all awakened by our host to see an exhibition such as has seldom been furnished for the inspection of any of the many tourists who visit that region. This was a most brilliant illumination at the summit of Mauna Loa itself; and far from lessening, its manifestation seemed to render more vivid, the fires of the crater of Kilauea. The mists had cleared away in that direction, and we thus had the good fortune to watch on one and the same occasion the outbursts of light at the summit and the jets of dancing flame in the sides. It was a night never to be forgotten by any of our party, and well worth the time and labor of the journey, were there no more to be enjoyed. That which was nearest to us, the rising, boiling sheet of liquid fire, seemed to show no abatement by reason of the vent at the mountain-top, but in its agitations disclosed each moment sights more and more wonderful to our gaze.

The next day was spent by our party in descending the crater to the very limits of its seething fires, but I remained at the hotel. They were all provided with some offerings to Pele, the ancient goddess of fire, reverenced by the Hawaiian people. This custom is almost universal, even to the present day. Those born in foreign lands, tourists who scarcely know our ancient history, generally take with them to the brink of the lake some coin or other trinket which, for good luck, as the saying is, they cast into the lava. Our people, the native Hawaiians, have no money to throw away on such souvenirs of the past; but they carry wreaths of the pandanus flower, leis, made like those seen aboard the steamers at the departure of friends, necklaces, and garlands of nature’s ornaments, which are tossed by them into the angry waves of the basin.

As I have mentioned this incident, my thoughts have gone back to that paragraph wherein I wrote of the overthrow of the superstitious fears of the fire-goddess through the brave acts of my aunt, Queen Kapiolani, when she defied the power of the elements at this very spot.

So, to prevent misunderstanding now, perhaps it would be well to notice that this propitiation of the volcano’s wrath is now but a harmless sport, not by any means an act of worship, very much like the custom of hurling old shoes at the bride’s carriage, or sending off the newly wedded couple with showers of rice; usages which form a pleasant diversion in the most highly cultivated and educated communities.

After a day spent in watching the activity of the crater, the party returned to our hotel, weary, hungry, and ready to enjoy the refreshment and repose of which they were in need. One night more was spent at the volcano house of the olden time, and then we all started on our ride down the mountain for the city of Hilo.

The display had not diminished in extent nor in its strange, wild beauty. The lake in the crater was still boiling, and over Mokuaweoweo the location of the opening was easily distinguished by the brilliant glow of light. But turning our backs on these natural wonders, nature was perhaps more lovely in the charms by which she lined our pathway towards the sea; for this road is justly considered to be one of the most beautiful exhibitions of the scenery of the tropics in Hawaii, and our cavalcade passed between lines of verdure or flowers enchanting to the eye and fragrant to the sense; there were the bright blossoms of the lehua, both yellow and red varieties, and other plants or trees shading and pleasing each of us as we advanced. Although we did not arrive at our destination until about five that afternoon, and were quite fatigued with our long ride, yet it had been an excursion of great enjoyment, and I am sure no one of the company was other than satisfied with it.

The great increase in the lava flow which subsequently took place had not at this time threatened the peace of the city; so our return to our friends was made the signal for a round of social pleasures. A grand entertainment in honor of the visit of the heir to the throne was given by Mr. and Mrs. Luther Severance; and it afforded me much satisfaction to show to my California cousin some examples of the generous style of the hospitality of those days, in which those of foreign or of native birth vied with each other in a friendly rivalry of good things.

Judge F. S. Lyman was then lieutenant-governor of the island, and with his amiable wife showed us all the attention in his power; then there were Judge Akao and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Governor Kipi and their agreeable family. The family of Mr. D. H. Hitchcock, especially his wife and daughters, were also most kind and attentive to me and those who accompanied me.

If, in these reminiscences, I should fail to name those who have made such occasions pleasant, it must be accepted simply as an unintentional omission, the names I have given being but examples of that universal kindness received by me from all. Just as we were leaving our kind entertainers, Sir Thomas Hesketh arrived in the port on his own yacht for a visit to the island; he was accompanied by Hon. Samuel Parker, whom he had invited to be his guest during this excursion.

The regular steamer of passenger service between Hilo and Honolulu received me and my company for our return to Oahu, where we arrived in safety; and not long after my cousin, Miss Aldrich, took her departure for her home, with, I am sure, some very pleasant memories of the natural beauties and social pleasures of life on the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen

Three Hills of Hilo

These three puʻu, in legend and in fact, were/are an important part of the hydrology of Hilo. The puʻu are sponges which absorb water all rainy season and slowly release it into the underground streams during the dry season. They are/were on the border between the ahupuaʻa of Punahoa and Piʻihonua.

Our kūpuna knew their importance, it is essential knowledge encoded in the legends.

Hinakuluʻua, a rain goddess, is the personification of the Piʻihonua weather system which begins in the venturi between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and ends near Lyman House.

Hinaikeahi, a fire goddess, created the springs in the intricate lava tube, freshwater spring, and micro-spring system which begins in the hills and continues out into Hilo Bay. In the full version of the moʻolelo, each of the major springs she created is named. Here is Westervelt’s version of the story, in Peter Young’s blog.

These two akua, or elementals, figure in the moʻolelo of their sister/mother Hina of Waiʻanuenue and her courtship by the moʻo Kuna. You can see encoded into this story important information about the dangers of the river.

Since Peʻa and Honu were dismantled, it has changed the vitality of the springs, and the ecosystems which depended on them.

1929 image illustrating landscape of Hilo, Hawaiʻi — This photograph of Puʻu Hālaʻi, Puʻu Honu, and Puʻu Peʻa was taken by Florence DeMello Dias about 1929. Puʻu Peʻa (far right) was excavated in the 1930s to build the roadways of Hilo. The remnants of Puʻu Honu (center) continue to be excavated for development. Puʻu Hālaʻi was built over by homes, which preserved it from most excavation. The mauka (right-hand) slope seen in the photograph was excavated to build the current medical center. The image is taken from above the turn-off to the old Hilo Hospital.

About invasive species – it’s complicated

On the Curious Case of Insurance Populations, Introductions, and Immigration

by Lakea Lin

Feature Image: Parrot Paradise by Wu Guangzhong

There is a concept in invasion ecology (yes, that’s a real field of study with some established books on the topic, although you are unlikely to find a degree for it… for now…) known as the 10% rule. Of all the new species that are transported to a new environment, only 10% are expected to survive.

If that number seems low, it is unfortunately in line with many wild-caught species as many captive breeding efforts and exotic animal rescues may sadly attest (I could go on about how this is all the more reason to conserve species in situ before the need for captive breeding while discouraging importation, but that would be a much longer article). Of the survivors, 10% are expected to breed. This includes unsuccessful attempts at breeding, such as the production of sterile hybrids which threaten many native species (such as the Koloa Maoli) while complicating efforts to conserve them.

Photo: Brenda Zaun US Fish and Wildlife Service

Of those that breed, 10% are expected to establish themselves in an ecosystem, becoming “self-sufficient” enough to persist (although not necessarily sustainably). Lastly, of the 10% that establish, 10% are expected to become invasive. That is only 0.01% of all introduced species, or one in 10,000. It may not seem like much, unless you consider the number of species that could be introduced together (such as the sheer number of microbes that may cling to the bottom of a shoe) and the growing body of evidence that introduced species help other introduced species to establish themselves (especially if they are ecosystem engineers with the power to alter the environment to suit their needs, like earthworms helping pigs in a phenomena known as “invasional meltdown.”

Of course, this is just a model, and real life is far from being this simple. There are factors such as how well intact biodiversity can resist invasion (nature abhors a vacuum, and creating a vacuum by eliminating a perceived pest may invite something far worse, as China’s Four Pests campaign soon discovered) as well as diseases (such as Lyme disease) and many new papers on how invasions tend to go from areas of high biodiversity to areas of low biodiversity (which Hawaii used to be. Is it hard to believe? There were relatively few species compared to the mainland, but the few that made it to Hawaii were far more unique, something we would call high endemism. Unfortunately, that makes the rate of extinction far higher for a small landmass far from other landmasses when compared to a large landmass near another landmass. This is known as the equilibrium theory of island biogeography.

All that being said, many of us are familiar with the many ways that an invasive species can make the headlines. But what about the other 99.99% of introduced species, 0.1% of which (1 in a thousand) are expected to stay in the environment? There are more and more surprising stories about how introduced species have found a way to “fit in.” Urban parrots seem to be sticking to urban jungles, eating ornamental palms and remaining surprisingly free of the diseases that plague their wild relatives whose populations face many threats.

In addition to many escaped parrots, Hawaii has also become home to many geckos. Of these miniature mo’o, the orange-spotted gecko is also endangered in its native range. This does not rule out the possibility that they may be competing with native species for other resources like nesting space, but it does pose some complicated questions for conservationists. Can these introduced populations be considered “insurance populations” that can be used in a repopulation effort if anything happens to the original wild population? If so, should they be protected? As a child of immigrants, I can’t help but think it fitting that species from a home I will never know may have also found a new home while escaping the same threats we did.

Captive bred falcons kept by zoos and falconers were used in successful breeding and reintroduction efforts to restore the Peregrine falcon after their population was decimated by DDT. But species that were introduced to a new environment, especially through the pet trade, may have been exposed to diseases that their wild counterparts have no immunity to. They may have forgotten some important knowledge that their ancestors had, as the captive-bred ‘alalā seemed to be missing the knowledge of how their ancestors contended with the ‘io (they have since been trained using videos of how their American cousins mobbed birds of prey).

It is also possible that they may have become genetically distinct from their wild relatives, like the notorious marbled crayfish which appears to have developed the ability to clone itself while in captivity. This ability, known as parthenogenesis, is a key to becoming invasive, as there is little to control their spread. Many of Hawaii’s geckos also have this ability. Which leads me to my conclusion:

As with many things in life, moderation is key. The most important thing that sets an invasive species apart from other introduced species is the lack of restriction on their spread and activity. Whether that takes the form of having no natural predators or no limits on how much they can consume and reproduce, or no adequate competition for resources, it is easy to liken an invasive species to a malignant tumor that has metastasized. There is an example close to home of a species that is being pushed to the brink due to development pressures and disease. And yet, the Monterey Pine, named for how picky it seems to be when choosing where to lay down its roots, has become aggressively invasive in many other parts of the world. Its roots can reach a depth of three stories, draining water in already arid landscapes. It is difficult to remove and difficult to categorize. After all, we may be asking the wrong questions when determining whether or not a species should be protected, and under what conditions. Life is not so simple.

The Tree That’s Rare, Endangered and Common

Pele’s Hair – what is it?

by Leilehua Yuen

Lauoho-o-Pele, Pele’s hair. What an evocative name for this form of lava!

Strands of shimmering ʻ ehu (reddish-brown) hair can be seen scattered across the Kīlauea. Sometimes, especially after lava fountains, whole hanks of this hair can be found—festooned on branches or trapped against rocks where it has been blown by the winds. What creature would shed in such abundance?

This hair is not grown by a creature, but by our very island itself! This hair is volcanic glass, spun into hair-fine threads by the superheated gasses roiling from the throat of our volcano and blown across the landscape. One method of formation is when a gouts of molten lava separate into pieces, thin strands of lava stretching between them, lengthening into hair fine threads. Carried on the wind, they are so light, they have been found kilometers downwind of their source.

Beautiful and delicate, Pele’s hair often shatters when touched. The fine threads are sharper than needles, and can embed themselves in skin, causing the same itching, prickling sensation as commercial fiberglas. Lodged in the eyes, they are excruciating. It is best to leave them where they lie. The birds, however, know how to handle this gift of the volcanoes, and sometimes use it in their nests.

If you find your car or windows covered in Pele’s hair or volcanic ash, do not try to wipe it off. It will scratch whatever surface it is wiped across. Instead, add some dish soap to a bucket of water and toss that onto the car or window. The soap, a surfactant, will help the hair or ash to left from the surface. You can then use a water hose to wash it away.

Another interesting lava form is Waimaka-o-Pele, Pele’s tears. Sometimes found at the end of a strand of Pele’s hair, because they are so much heavier (though still very light) they tend to snap off.

Jim D. Griggs, HVO (USGS) staff photographer[1][2] – http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/images/pglossary/PeleTears.php

What is NOT Pele’s hair is the so-called “Spanish moss,” which is neither Spanish, a moss, nor Hawaiian. Known to botanists as Tillandsia usneoides, this bromeliad is actually a relative of the pineapple! (Please note that the pineapple also is not a Hawaiian plant!) It is native to southern portions of North America, Central America, and parts of South America.

One of the Native American names for it is Itla-okla, which translates to English as “tree hair.” It has numerous traditional uses, including medicinal. KLTV.com has an interesting article on Itla-okla.

Cumberland Island National Seashore NPS image

The Holokū and Muʻ umuʻ u

Kalākua Kaheiheimālie actually started the muʻ umuʻ u trend.

By the time the missionaries got here on 4 April 1820, Hawaiian women were very familiar with European clothing and fashion. Remember, Europeans had been coming in increasing numbers since 1778, so we’d been familiar with Western garments for over 40 years. They were nothing new. The “upper crust” already were using quantities of imported fabrics in making pāʻ ū and malo because they were status symbols, much like high-end import goods today.

Hawaiian people already had been wearing European clothing, occasionally as full suits, more often individual pieces as fashion accessories, for decades. Kamehameha, himself, often dressed in European clothing.

Drawing by Louis Choris from sketches made from life in 1816.

Despite the “common wisdom,” I sincerely doubt that the missionary wives were the first European women that Hawaiians met in person, though I am sure that coming in such a large group as they did, and with the intent of staying, they were a great curiosity.

Women at sea was not the rarity the common English narrative would have us believe. Most of us have heard the stories of women who disguised themselves as men and went to sea. There also were many women who sailed as women, to the extent of captaining their own ships, though that was more common in Asia than in Europe.

A number of ship captains, both merchants and whalers, sailed with their families on-board. A captains wife often trained in navigation. Many kept the ship’s financial records, acting as purser and chief steward.

In 1846 a smallpox epidemic broke out aboard the whaler Powhaton, out of Martha’s Vinyard. Caroline Mayhew, wife of Captain William Mayhew, knew navigation and practical medicine. She took over as captain and cared for her husband and those crew who were ill, saving their lives.

Also, since the first European ships came to replenished their water barrels in our rivers and streams, Hawaiian men had been working on sailing ships – they were considered some of the world’s best sailors and highly desired – for decades – so they were quite familiar with fashions around the world. I’m sure more than a few of them brought home fabric and garments as gifts for nā wāhine in their ʻ ohana.

In this watercolor, we see a fashion-forward aliʻ i wahine (noblewoman) sitting for a portrait wearing her European style blouse with a traditional pāʻ ū (skirt). We know her high rank by the lei niho palaoa (carved whale-tooth necklace) she wears. Louis Choris painted this in 1816, four years before the American missionaries arrived.

*Femme des iles Sandwich*
1816 watercolor by Louis Choris

We can see that Hawaiian women already were interested in world fashion well before the missionaries arrived. The world had changed, and artists such as Choris were having a hard time finding the untouched Hawaiʻ i of the past.

Kalākua Kaheiheimālie
watercolor by Clarissa Chapman Armstrong.
This may be the first holokū made in Hawaiʻ i.
Her necklace is a lei hala, fashioned from the keys of the hala (pandanus) tree.
In her hair is a large comb, possibly of shell or ivory.
After the death of Kamehameha, Kalākua later married Ulumāheihei Hoapili.

When this whole batch of foreign women showed up, they were quite the curiosity. Kalākua knew that people would be intrigued with them.

She wanted to be in the lead of the fashion trends and made a point of greeting them as soon as possible. Immediately, she had the missionary women make her a gown. To be sure to could be done, she brought her own cloth. she then arranged to have all of the women sit and sew her new gown. It would take all of them, as she wanted it complete so that she could wear it when she disembarked from their ship. This was a huge status and fashion coup for her.

Lucy Thurston wrote:

“Kalākua brought a web of white cambric to have a dress made for herself in the fashion of our ladies, and was very particular in her wish to have it finished while sailing along the western side of the island, before reaching the king.”

“Monday morning April 3d (1820,) the first sewing circle was formed that the sun ever looked down upon in the Hawaiian realm. Kalākua was directress. She requested all the seven white ladies to take seats with them on mats, on the deck of the Thaddeus.”

It would be comparable to a former US president’s wife going on board a visiting ship from China and coming off wearing a custom gown in Chinese silk. All of a sudden, that garment and fabric is all the rage and all the upper class want them.

I think it was a masterstroke of fashion diplomacy. This was the year after her husband, Kamehameha Paiʻ ea had died. The various chiefs were jockeying and re-establishing status and alliances, and the same was happening among the many wives Kamehameha had left behind. In one move Kalākua established that she could make the missionary women work for her, that she was a trendsetter, and placed herself in a powerful position of diplomatic friendship with the missionary wives. By bringing her own fabric, she assured that none could think she was impressed by trade cloth and trinkets handed out. She needed no handouts. She would allow them to do her bidding.

Her own experience living in the highest circles of political power had taught her how and with whom to make alliances. As Kamehameha had used relationships with newcomers to up his own political game in his rise to power, developing a relationship with these newcomers gave her greater negotiating strength with Kaʻ ahumanu, the most powerful of Kamehameha’s wives, in establishing herself in the hierarchy of the new political paradigm.

On the missionary side, the women immediately took the opportunity to use teaching sewing these new garments as a ministry. Women who converted to Christianity did, indeed, adopt the holokū for daily wear, but it took over a decade for other women to follow the trend in daily wear. It was almost 1840 before women in general wore the garment. Like other fashion trends around the world, the early adopters tended to be the more affluent / higher socially placed, and the more urban dwelling people. Outlying areas tend to be more conservative regarding change.

Even at that late date, Clarissa Chapman Armstrong who sailed for Hawaiʻ i in 1831 and taught literacy and Bible study classes for women for the next couple of decades (interspersed with a trip to the Marquesas) wrote that “Week after week passes and we see nothing but naked, filthy, wicked heathen with souls as dark as the tabernacles which they inhabit.”

If the missionary women had ever truly attempted to cover the bodies of Hawaiian women to keep the pure eyes of their missionary men from being tempted by lusts of the flesh, they failed miserably.

What succeeded in clothing both Hawaiian women and men was fashion’s fancy and sartorial aspiration.

The days of Hawaiian women being content with a simple wrap skirt and shawl were gone forever.

*Femme des iles Sandwich*
Portrait of a woman from the Hawaiian Islands, wearing a cloth wrap skirt, a pair of earrings, a whale tooth shaped necklace, and her hair short with a section of hair limed at the front.
1822 lithograph, brown and yellow tone with additional red tone.

Missionaries preaching in a kukui grove. Drawn 1838-1842, published 1845.
Note the variety of clothing styles, from Hawaiian to European.

The holokū, so named due to its ability to make the wearer appear “evenly plump, stout, symmetrical,” was not worn alone. Under it, a loose-fitting shift absorbed perspiration and gave some shape and body to the garment. Cut to a similar pattern as the holokū, this shift had shortened sleeves and no train or trailing hem. Thus it was named the mu‘umu‘u (cut off / amputated). As time went on the muʻ umuʻ u also became daywear instead of just an undergarment.

I think the old narrative of missionary women covering the Hawaiian women to hide them from their men is giving too much power to the male gaze. It really disenfranchises Hawaiian women who had a great deal of agency prior to westernization/colonization. If my own relatives are any example, I really doubt that anyone has ever been able to force Hawaiian women to wear something they didn’t want to.

You can help support this research by subscribing to my Patreon blog, The Adventures of Kamaka Holmes, and/or by purchasing my books (written under my pen name of Fevronia Watkins).

Resources

Newspapers
Ka Elele, 26 Aug 1848
Ka Hae Hawai‘i, 19 Dec 1856
Ka Hae Hawai‘i, 1 Jul 1857
Ka Hae Hawai‘i, 2 May 1860
Ka Hae Hawai‘i, 10 Oct 1860
Ka Hoku o ka Pakipika, 28 Nov 1861
Ke Kumu Hawai‘i, 1 Feb 1837
Nupepa Kuokoa, 12 Jul 1862
Nupepa Kuokoa, 22 Jul 1865
Nupepa Kuokoa, 9 Jun 1866
Nupepa Kuokoa, 23 Feb 1867

Manuscripts
Arthur, Linda Boynton; Fossilized Fashion in Hawai‘i; Washington State University

Books
Grimshaw, Patricia; New England Missionary Wives, Hawaiian Women, and the “Cult of True Womanhood”; University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Robert, Dana Lee; American Women in Mission: A Social History of Their Thought and Practice; Mercer University Press.

NA INOA HOKU: HAWAIIAN AND PACIFIC STAR NAMES

Stars Over Hawaiʻi

North Star to Southern Cross

Moʻolelo Kilo Hōkū

Hawaiian hair traditions

Hair Ornamentation

Hair Vocabulary

Care for Long Hair

Healthy looking hair starts on the inside

Exercise

Scalp massage

Protecting the outside

Cleanliness is next to awesomeness

Dying Hair

Essays on Hawaiian hair:

Videos on Polynesian Hair

ʻ Emalani in Pictures – A work in progress

1865

1866

186?

1871

1880

Chapter XIMauna Loa

On the Curious Case of Insurance Populations, Introductions, and Immigration

Resources

Chapter XI
Mauna Loa