Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - Kalakaua -- Part 8 The US GenWeb Archives provide genealogical and historical data to the general public without fee or charge of any kind. It is intended that this material not be used in a commercial manner. All submissions become part of the permanent collection. Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands " Keepers of the Culture " A study in time of the Hawaiian Islands As told by the ancients-- Kalakaua ---Part 8 Kalakaua -- The Young Man as told by the Ancients-- by Darlene E. Kelley March 8, 2001 http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kalakaua -- The Young Man --part 8. On December 8, 1863, Kalakaua's romance with Julia Kapiolani crystallized. and they were married in a quiet, secret ceremony by an Episcopal minister. The news soon became known, and Kalakaua fell under heavy criticism for having been married during the mourning period after the death of Kamehameha IV ( November 30, 1863 ). Kalakaua wrote several letters to Kamehaeha V explaining that the marriage had been a secret one, he had not even told his sister Lydia. Still, criticism of the young people grew, fueled by Queen Emma's resentment of Kapiolani and some question of Kalakaua's abortive engagement to Victoria. Julia Kapiolani was born December 31, 1834, in Hilo, Hawaii, of High Chief Kuhio and High Cheiftess Kinoiki. She was named in honor of the first High Chieftess to defy the Goddess Pele. The story goes that when Kilauea erupted, the first Kapiolani walked to the edge of the active volcano and pelted the flames with sacred berries that grew on the hillside and were presumed to be the personal property of Pele. She then cried out," Johovah, is my God." Julia Kapiolani did not follow in the footsteps of the missionaries, but both she and Kalakaua joined the Episcopal Church.Well versed in Hawaiian history and its tradition, she continued to speak no English and tended to lean toward the old kahuna system. Despite this, she often attended the Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu. As a descendant of Kaumualii. the last King of Kauai, the only island that surrendered peacefully to Kamehaeha I, she carried a strong line of nobility and vast lands. On December 7.1863, Kalakaua had been reappointed to the Privy Counscil-- just previous to his marriage. It was no wonder he felt uncomfortable under the criticism, but apparently Kamehameha V carried little resentment, for he appointed him Chamberlin to the King on February 3,1864. The same year Kalakaua served unsuccessfully as postmaster general. His duties had not been fulfilling to him nor the minister of interior, who accused him of irresponsibility and absenteeism. Under Kamehameha V, Kalakaua took on more serious challenges than he had under Kamehameha IV, but he continued as social host. Kamehameha V was not known for his social graces, and social enertainments fell to Kalakaua, such as acting as host to the Duke of Edinburgh. also a Mason, at an extensive luau. Lot was not appreciated by the haole for his political activities. Lot had for some years seen Hawaii slipping away from the Hawaiians. Not only had they lost their land, they had lost their ability to hold what was rightfully theirs in terms of heritage and culture as well. Kamehameha V resented the liberal constitution under which his father had ruled and under which his brother continued to rule. He, like Kalakaua, looked to their roots of a strong Hawaii under Kamehameha I and saw it being destroyed inch by inch by foreig diseases. land grabbing, and cultural extinction. The dwindling of the Native Hawaiian population, which continued despite Queen Emma's establishment of a hospital for natives ad foreigners, was discouraging enough. More discouraging was the loss of self worth and the ability to hold on to and have pride in a culture full of tradition. Kamehameha V decided the first step to a return of Hawaii for Hawaiians would be a return to monarchy they could understand. He requested a Constitutional Convention to change the 1852 Constitution to a more monarchial one. When he received nothing but opposition, he consulted with Attorney General C.C.Harris and Harris' one-time law student, Kalakaua, and found that although critics might insist he needed a constitutional convention, if he had the courage, he could follow the wishes of his people. In May and June, Kamehameha V toured the outer islands. He asked his people, the Hawaiians of Hawaii, not the politcians nor the foreigners-- What their wishes were. He found an enthusiatic response, a strong urge against the current restrictions on monarchial power, as stated in the provisions of the 1852 Constitution. Mainly, he discovered the people intensely loyal to him and his purposes. Back in Honolulu, the King called for a constitutional convention. Nothing but acrimony resulted, not only in the constitutional meetings, but also in newspapers, public meetings, and private conversations. Kamehameha V took matters into his own hands and stated that he would give them a constitution, and so he did. The Constitution of 1864. This new constitution gave greater power to the King and his appointed cabinet, curtailing the powers of the privy council and the legislative assembly. It also abolished the honorary office of kuhina nui as unnecessary and expenive. Hawaii was to be governed by this monarcial constitution for twenty three years, until the Bayonet Constitution in 1887 was forced upon Kalakaua. Secondly, Kamehameha V sought to reestablish the heritage his people had lost. He chose Kalakaua as his emissary. Sophia Cracroft presented her view of Kalakaua's popularity among the Hawaiian people. " Buchland [ Lady Franklin's maid ] saw Col. Kalakaua ( who was greatly loved by the natives for his amiable character and because he is one of the highest families of pure descent ) seated by an old woman with his hands on her shoulders. She had drawn them forward and was kissing first one and then the other with every sign of affection." The old men and women, who had vivid memories of the cordial, entertaining, and generous Liliha, welcomed him into their homes, recited genealogies, recounted legends and history. Kamehameha V, therefore, sent Kalakaua among the natives in the back country to find the culture of the people. There seemed to be a resurgence of interest in the past in which the haole did not at first protest. Then came a setback, Princess Victoria, sister of Kamehameha V, died on May 29,1866, at the age of twenty eight. Because of the Hawaiian custom of lying in state, journalists at home and abroad suddenly brought accusation against the Hawaiians as heathen and pagan with little hope of redemption. The old Hawaiian ways were severly condemned. Kamehameha V, who had ambivalent feelings about his sister, was at a cultural crossroads. He had stopped her from being kuhina nui, but she never wanted to be co-ruler. As has been noted, she suffered severely from cultrural shock and her abortive romance. As result, she had returned to alcohol and the old ways, ways deemed by the haole heathen and pagan, full of evil and eroticism. Although Kamehameha V had returned the country to a monarchial form of government, he recognized that the culture and customs were not respected. Yet his conscience bothered hm, and he decided his sister should have the traditional royal funeral that she would have wanted. Victoria's body lay in state at the palace for nearly four weeks. The Chamber was darkened, and the walls and ceiling were draped and festooned with black. The kahili bearers, six on each side, stood as the honor guard under the command of Kalakaua. His sister Lydia, and his wife, Kapiolani, shared the death watch duties with other high chiefesses, one of whom was in attendance at all times. The tragedy of the situation was that Kamehameha V forgot the disrespect that could come from the haole. The first evening the palace doors had been open for all to view the body and gather in the courtyard. It soon become evident, however, that the foreigners did not respect the living or the dead and turned the scene into one of rowdy desecration, attempting to join the sacred hula dancers and pushing wildly for front row views. Kamehameha promptly placed a ban on the haole spectators. Disgruntled, they watched from a distance in a haole home, where they could see inside the palace gates. A journalist wrote of the scene with condemnation: " Hula girls attired in white bodices and full skirts, wreaths of white flowers about their shoulders and garlands of green leaves on their heads dnced rhythmicaly, slowly, in the center of a large assembly. The Palace grounds were illuminated by candle nut torches--- a dozen native women locked arms and swayed back and forth wailing the death songs." On June 30, 1866, the funeral of the Princess took place from Kawaiahao Church. The services were read by Reverend H.H. Parker, later a pulpit slanderer of Kalakaua. By the 1870's, Kalakaua was beginning to feel the pressure of poverty that nearly all Hawaiians were either now or soon to experience. It is true that the Kalakaua family did not have the riches of the Kamehamehas. His father, Kapaakea, had died in 1856 and his mother, Keohokalole, had inherited part of the lands of her father High Chief Aikanaka. One-half of the lands went to his younger brother, who had died in 1868, and was passed on to his heirs. The lands that came to Kalakaua were few. His government salaries were low and his talent for making money in the haole way was negligible. But as Queen Emma wrote her cousin Peter Kaeo, Kalakaua was constantly trying to better himself. " With Taffy's [ Kalakaua's nickname ] faults we must give him credit for great ambition -- he has faltered but keeps on trying. He is not idle, he has stumbled and blundered before the public till actually he really has gained courage amongst the and speak out and write boldly." Emma's reference to Kalakaua's faults, faltering, stumbling, and blundering referred to Kalakaua's disasterous tenure as postmaster and his engagement in newspaper work. Along with his poitical duties, Kalakaua's dreams and interests were with the arts and in writing. In 1865, Kalakaua joined John Kapena in publishing Ke Au Okoa ( The New Era ) to protest rising American domination. Kalakaua continued through the years to write for pro-Hawaiian publications. His previous venture in the Hoku and thi one proved to be financially disasterious. As late as 1870, he promoted at his own expense ( he received some of Aikanaka lands in 1868 )-- " Ka Manawa"-- the first daily newspaper written in Hawaiian for Hawaiians. Unfortunately it did not last long, due to financial problems. While it stressed genealogies, mele, and legends. it carried local and international news. For the first time, Kalakaua signed his peices as " Figgs." ***********************************************