Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - The Royal Women of Hawai'i - Part 3 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: by Darlen6 E. Kelley December 3, 2006 http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Hawai'i Keepers of the Culture The Royal Women of Hawai'i - Part 3. Lydia Kamaka'eha / Lili'uokalani The Birth - The Royal School - to Queen. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ LYDIA KAMAKA"EHA / LILI'UOKALANI It was September 2, 1838, in the middle of the reign of Kamehameha III, within a grass thatched compound at the base of Punch Bowl Hill, chiefess Keohokalole prepared to give birth, attended by several ali'i, a midwife, and a kahuna to provide a priestly blessing. Through her mother, the newborn was linked to the prominent Keaweaheulu clan. Keohokalole's family had been court chanters and composers of mele [music and chants] and the start of labor was accompanied by genealogical chants that told of her ancestral history and the deeds that brought her family additional mana. Directly after birth, the infant, named lili'u, was wrapped in soft white kapa, the cloth made of mulberry bark, and quickly taken to the home of the high chiefess Konia, by a high chieftess who had witnessed the birth of the granddaughter of Kamehameha I, and her husband, the high born chief Abner Paki. In keeping with Hawaiian tradition, a hanai adoption had been arranged. Earlier the couple, Konia and Paki, had given their daughter, Bernice Pauahi, to the high chieftess Kina'u, who had already offered her sons in hanai to their uncle, Kamehameha III, thus providing the kingdom with heirs. But first Kinau, as the high ranking cheiftess of the land, the half sister of the king and wife of the Governor of Oahu, according to custom, was immediately informed of the birth, as she had the preprogative of naming the newborn child. The name given in accord with the old method of dating a child's birth, after an important event in the local regent's life occuring at that time, or important aniversary. Kinua was petulantly concerned about her eyes which had developed an infection. She had been surounded for days by high chiefs and chiefesses, as well as missionaries, who had administered various remedies, none of which had been effective. To Kinua her distress seemed an important event, one that was to be remembered. Consequently, when the news came that Keohokalole and Kapaakea's child had been born, and was to be hanai and heir to Paki and Konia, the premier dated the child's birth by her own affliction: naming her, Lilu (smarting) Loloku ( tearful ) Walania (a burning pain) Kamakaeha ( the sore eye ). After the christianing she was called, Liliu meaning " Lydia." The name Liliuokalani, by which she was known in history, was given her by her brother David Kalakaua, after he was elected king, named her heir apparent in 1887. She was wet nursed by a lesser ali'i, a retainer in Konia's household named Kaikai. Through Kaikai, the first years of Lilu's life were spent in the spiritual embrace of old Hawai'i. Konia welcomed the infant Liliu with complete hanai. She was her child and heir. Konia's natural child, Bernice Pauahi, had been given in hanai to Kinau. Kinau's own children were hani to the king. These children were about to be placed in the HIgh Chiefs' School, a boarding school under the supervision of Juliette and Amos Starr Cooke, missionary teachers. Hanai had a changing concept that would plague Liliuokalani all her life. The misssionaries did not understand either the aloha or the social value of hanai. To them, parents simply did not give their children away. Among the high chiefs, a child was socially advanced to a higher position by hanai. The parents not only gave the child in aloha to a close relative or a friend, but also to better the child's station in life. This further cemented the relationship among the chiefs as well. Thus, as Kinau's children had become heir of the king, and Bernice Kinau's heir to the other Kamehameha lands, Liliu would be heir of Konia, as her hanai child, and an heir of the Kamehameha line, although not by birth. Missionary laws and customs, however, were later to decree otherwise. Before they entered boarding school, Liliu would spend her years in the old Hawaiian way as an ali'i child, cradled in the arms of Konia. Although she ws of small stature, she was inclined to stoutness. Konia had Liliu brought to her daily to fondle and love. To express her special love and complete the relationship of hanai she wrote Liliu a name song. Konia, combining what she considered the best of the old and the new, took an old chant and gave it new words, a method that was not uncommon, adding the suffix lani to Liliu, thus recognizing her of high birth. It goes thus: O Lihiu-lani " Profuse bloom glowing as a delight And lei for Kamakaeha, For Kamakaeha the lei of the forest goddesses, The ladies with baskets of flowers. Wear a lei, O Liliulani Wear a lei, O Liliulani Pluck kamani flowers to link with ti flowers As a lei to adorn the lady Beloved by the forest glens And the buds in the mountain greenery. Kaala* wears a lei of rain and showers Pouring down on Hele-auau** Rainbow mist that ia a lei on pili grass Where nene grass grows close kupukupu ferns. Wearing a lei of hala fruit of Kelele *** Hala of Malailua that sweethearts dream of Swaying freely amid Kawelu grasses Kamakahala flower leis of Waahila**** rain. [ Key - * Kaala ( mount Kaalala in Oahu) ** Hale-auau ( gulch at Waialua ) *** Kekele ( below Nuuanu Pali ) **** Waahila ( rain at Manoa and Nuuanu ) Thus Konia gave in her song, a legacy to Liliu beyond property as the westener conceived it. She gave Liliu the flowers, fruits, the leaves of the trees and vines: she gave her rain; the riches, the verdure, the beauty of Nuuanu Valley; the showers from the mountain tops to the lowest valleys. A royal princess could have no higher heritage; but it could never be hers entirely, for it was shared by all, from forest goddesses to the being of a rainbow lei for pili grass. ++++++++++++++ The Royal School- The building blocks of Liliuokalani's national and personal life were fashioned between the years 1843-1848. She was more often an observer than an actor in the early days at the school, being one of the youngest. There was much for a child to observe and all of it difficult to sort out in any proper way. The High Chiefs' Children's School ( often shortened to High Chiefs School). the boarding school for the royal children and those for the highest chiefs, was a long frame two story building with a large dining room, separate sleeping quarters for the children and for te Cook family. There was also a New England parlor, furnished with home made and treasured furnituresent from home, but much brought from China. It resembled nothing Hawaiian in its appearance nor its atmosphere. It stood near the Palace, near Beretania Street, on ground that Kamehameha III had given the Cookes for the school. For the children it became a compound -- their household -- and as in the old way of hanai, the children united. Eight of these children, who were predominately to come into history, regarded each other as brothers and sisters. Although not all were related by blood, they were to remain close to the royal family and court allied. In 1843, when Lydia Paki ( as the missonaries called her ), became an established pupil, the children's ages ranged from five to fifteen. The oldest children were the Kings hanai sons-- Moses, fifteen; Lot, thirteen; Liholiho, twelve; Bernice Pauahi was also twelve; Lunalilo, the child of Premier Auhea and a lesser chief; Kanaina, was next in age, being eight: Emma Rooke and David Kalakaua, Lihiu's blood brother, both seven. The last two children who were to play a part in history were Victoria and Lydia, both five years old. Lydia, labeled by the Cookes as the "foster sister of Bernice," developed the feeling that she was somehow " wrong " that she fell short of Bernice, who became her measuring stick. Over and over, she heard about " our darling princess." Bernice, for Bernice was the Cookes' favorite. Bernice, being the oldest of the ali'i girls, and having a disposition of docility and malleability, quickly learned the things a gentlewoman should know, from Juliette Cooke. She was hsotess with Juliette, when the high chiefs or important foreign visitors came; she read aloud to Juliette, whose eyesight was rapidly failing as a reult from an accident. But most important she was the only student allowed to go into the Cookes' " tabu " ( meaning taboo ) yard to play with Charles, whom she dubbed her " liitle red robin, because of a red garment he frequently wore. Only once did Lydia enter the " tabu " yard. She wrote in her book th the children were often sent to bed hungry, although the Cookes themselves were proud of their midday table, frequently noting " the menu " in their letters and journels: " fried pork, boiled kalo and sweet potatoes, boiled rice desert and a bowl of poi." On Sundays two meals were served, and after an " abundant midday repast," supper was a thick slice of bread covered with molasses. Though adequate for a thrifty minded and slim bodied New Englander, it left a grumbling hollowness in the chubby Hawaiian children. Liliuokalani reminisced that by rubbing two sticks together the children lighted small fires to cook roots, that they gathered in and about the school.Partly to stave off hunger and partly for sheer excitement after the Cookes had gone to bed, the silent menehunes or gobblins stole through the still moonlit night, casting elegonated ghostly shadows.to gather these roots, roast them over small fires or eat them raw. It was in this school that Lydia learned to play the piano, sort as a punishment, which to her delight she throughly enjoyed. It was limited for one hour, and Lydia wished it could have been for two. By the age of seven, they were being taught by John Li, reading and writing, English Grammer, arithmetic spelling; one hour, they were restricted to their rooms for study; one hour was spent in the parlor to read miscellaneous writings, revealing the character of people in every land and the way royalty lived in those lands. In later years Liliuokalani's summary recollections of the school was that she did not like it, although she had some kindly memories of Juliette Cooke, who had taught her to play the piano. As for the stern Amos Starr Cooke, she disliked and to the end of her life she could hear his severe condemnation of the older childen, who seemed to Cooke was always engaged to some " infraction of the rules." In 1846 the High Chiefs' School became a government school and it was renamed the Royal School. At this time it was opened to day students, among whom was John Owen Dominis, later to be Lydia's husband. In the same year there was a measle's epidemic amongst the city, where mass burials were made the same day after the deaths. Lydia was deeply distrurbed because in this epidemic, her younger sister, who had been given in hanai to the king and queen, also died. No laying in state was allowed; no wailing was permitted, although in the country, the last edict was ignored. The forbidden wailing could be heard echoing through the valleys and volleying against the mountain slopes, as if nature herself objected to the haole command. The ali'i of the Royal School were well aware of what was hapening and how their gods of nature was reacting. In 1838, the Cookes decided to close the School and go into business -- called Castle and Cooke. Dr. Judd left for Europe taking the two young princes, Lot and Lihiliho withhim to show them how other people live. And Lydia Paki, went home to become the now only daughter and heir of Paki and Kona. +++++++++++++++++ In 1862, twenty four year old Lydia Paki married John Owen Dominis, the only son of an Italian sea captain lost at sea in the 1840's. Lydia's restless intelligence, independent nature, and love of music were in stark contrast to the remote and dour man she married. While providing her with guidance in the foreigner's world, Dominis seemed an unlikely mate. Her brother, King Kalakaua, chose her to succeed him when their brother, Leleiohoku, died in 1877. Strong willed and well informed, she came to the throne prepared to rule. She believed her right to rule was God Given and in the best interests of the Hawaiian people. She watched the Bayonet Constitution implemented in 1887, humble Kalakaua with his royal authority subordinated to a cabinet that answered to the Legislature. She condemned Kalakaua's ceding of Pearl Harbor in exchange for trade advantages with the United States. Judging Kalakaua weak, Lili'uokalani opted for a more aggressive stance. Possessed of a complex personality and a regal sense of self that some considered too proud and arrogant, the new queen was not easily understood. In a time of political turmoil, her personality proved a liability, for it fed misconceptions as to her intentions that further alienated opponents already committed to ending the monarchy. Lili'uokalani's authority as queen was vulnerable from the start, due to the declining population of her native people. In addition, economics played a a significant role in undermining the monarchy. Some of the royal lands, a traditional source of wealth and authorty for the crown, were surrendere during the Great Mahele of 1848. More of the land was absorbed by the government, while vast tracts, once the property of Hawaiian kings, were inherited by non-ruling ali'i. With the crown and the 'aina no longer linked, another sacred bond had been broken. As the kahuna Ka'opupulu had predicted a century earlier, the Hawaiians were losing claim to much of their ancestral lands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To be continued in part 4.