Kāhili facts for kids
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A kāhili is a special symbol of Hawaiian royalty. It shows that someone is a chief or belongs to a royal family. The Kamehameha royal family used kāhili as their royal standard. It helped everyone know they were part of the royal family.
History of the Kāhili
The kāhili has always been a powerful symbol for Hawaiian chiefs, called aliʻi. It showed their importance and connection to the gods. A person who carried a kāhili was called a paa-kahili. They carried the standard for the royal person. The kāhili meant power from the gods. The aliʻi always had these standards around them.
Early kāhili were made using the long bones of enemy kings. They were decorated with feathers from birds of prey. The Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii shows the twin Kameʻeiamoku holding a feather standard. When Captain Cook visited Hawaii, his crew collected many feathered items. These included seven kāhili of the traditional design. In 1825, a painter named Robert Dampier painted Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena. She was holding a royal feather standard in his painting. This happened on a ship bringing Kamehameha II's remains back from England.
The Bishop Museum opened in 1889. It has a large collection of feathered standards. You can see them in their "Kāhili Room." The museum also displays portraits of 19th-century Hawaiian monarchs.
The Kāhili Bearer
Only the aliʻi (chiefs) had the right to own kāhili. It was seen as a symbol of their royal status. A paa-kahili (kāhili bearer) would follow the king everywhere. The standard could also be used to gently wave over a sleeping noble. This was like a fly-brush. A ha'aku'e was a kāhili bearer who was the same gender as the person they served. Their job was similar to a squire or page in other cultures.
Kāhili at Funerals
The paa-kahili had a very important job at the funerals of Hawaiian nobles. This special duty was called hana lawelawe. From the time the body was prepared until it was buried, the bearers waved the kāhili above the person. Three or four kāhili bearers stood on each side of the body. They would raise the standards until they met above the body. Then, they waved the standards right, left, and up. This was done while special genealogy chants were sung. These chants told stories of the person's life and their ancestors.
When the body was moved from the home to the church, kāhili bearers surrounded the hearse. The ritual continued at the chapel and when moving the deceased to the cemetery. At Bernice Pauahi Bishop's funeral, 150 black kāhili were carried and displayed.
Crafting a Kāhili
The skill of feather crafting came to the islands with the first Polynesian travelers. However, Hawaii has the most advanced examples of this art. Feathers from small birds were highly valued. They were important for their religious meaning. These feathers were used to make many royal items for the Hawaiian chiefs. The ʻahu ʻula (feather cloaks), mahiole (feather helmets), and kāhili were all made with these sacred feathers.
Only skilled craftsmen would create these special items. This craft was often passed down through families. Older experts taught younger generations. The poʻe hahai manu were expert feather gatherers. They would spend months in the forest collecting feathers. Sometimes, collecting feathers was a job that lasted for generations in a family.
