Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 3, Number 10, 1 October 1986 — Mu'olaulani, Makalapua Have Special Meanings [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mu'olaulani, Makalapua Have Special Meanings

Associated with Oueen Lili'uokalani

The 148th birthday anniversary of Queen Lili'uokalani was marked by music by the Royal Hawaiian Band under Bandmaster Aaron Mahi, songs by Nalani 01ds Napoleon and staff of Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, the entry and exit of the Royal Guard, pule and the ho'okupu procession to the crypt.

Guest speaker at the Sept. 2 morning program at Mauna Ala was the Most Reverend Monsignor Charles A. Kekumano, newest of the trustees of the Lili'uokalani Trust but certainly no stranger to the QLCC program. A program of hula, songs, exhibits and display followed at the Children's Center where a light luneh was also served. One of the featured hula numbers was presented by Lupe Funaki of Laie who on the weekend of Aug. 15-16 won the 1986 Miss Keiki Hula title in the llth Annual Queen Lili'uokalani Keiki Hula Competition at The Kamehameha Schools.

Msgr. Kekumano spoke on Mu'olaulani. The full text of his address follows. In Hawaii, with the wide variety of plants and flowers, it should eome as no surprise that the very souI of a Hawaiian is so naturally absorbed with every aspect of plant life. From the earliest days of Hawaiian legends and chants and poetry, the plants and flowers served as vehicles to express all that is good and beautiful in life. The fragrance of the flowers, the majesty of the koa trees, the delicacy of the lehua — there was so mueh around them that spoke of love and pleasure and

contentment. But for the moment let me speak of buds — the baby leaves about to develop and the tiny flowers about to blossom. Sometimes they never fully develop; maybe unusual heat or mugginess stunt their growth; maybe drought affects them; or maybe an animal or a fallen tree crushes them. Buds ean be so fragile. There are two beautiful Hawaiian words particularly associated with Queen Lili'uokalani: Mu'olaulani and Makalapua. Both are used in the finest poetic tradition of Hawaiian words. Both words demonstrate the delicate admiration of nature, the delight that Hawaiians experienced as they witnessed the plant life around them.

Mu o refers to the little leaves of plants, how they slowly and gently open and develop into full leaves. "Makala" refers to the same process, but of the flowers. Mu'olaulani was the name that King Kalakaua gave to the Palama residence of his sister Lili'uokalani. The name Mu'olaulani so obviously told of his love and admiration for the talents and character of his young sister. He saw her as developing and becoming his chosen successor. Childless himself, he turned to one from the same roots as he to continue his family. Makalapua was a chant in praise of Lili'uokalani, later put to an enchanting melody. Again the focus on • See Mu'olaulani, Fg. 3 /

Monsignor Charles A. Kekumano escorts Mrs. Jean Ariyoshi to crypt.

the mystery of plant life, the emphasis on the marvelous development of nature's flowers from bud to full blossom.

• Mu'olaulani, from Pg. 1

Today 1 suggest that the "makala" process or the "mu'o" development of Lydia Kamakaeha was seriously affected by the history of Hawaii before and during her life.

If you read her autobiography slowly and thoughtfully, you find her describing her life with bold and positive colors. She not only speaks of the unique status of the alii but also harkens back to the powerful majesty of Kamehameha the Great. With pride she traces her family's lineage and traces the succession of Hawaii's monarchs. Actually the history of Hawaii in the days of her youth was a history already in turmoil. Nineteen years before her birth, an imperious Queen Kaahumanu defied the "kapu" system and thereby overturned the significant religious structure of the past, the structure whieh held the old culture together. Within months, the arrival of stern Calvinist preachers brought a whole new "manao" whieh not only Kaahumanu but also Lili'uokalani would ehampion.

Furthermore, Lili'uokalani was only two years old when Hawaii's first Constitution was promulgated, and she was 14 when the second Constitution replaced it. She was a young lady of 25 when the new King, Kamehameha V, dissolved the Constitutional Convention he had convened and proclaimed a new Constitution of his own. Lili'uokalani obviously revelled in the decision of Kamehameha V but years later, in a half-hearted effort to imitate him, she lost her throne. When she was a very little girl, Lili'uokalani must have overheard discussions about the "mahele" and about the confusion this new concept introduced in the life of the ordinary Hawaiian. The reign of Kamehameha IV and his Queen, Emma, was a period of elegance and the young lady Lili'uokalani was enthralled with the privileges of royalty. Then eame the haughty autocrat, Kamehameha V, and Lili'uokalani was impressed with his heavy-handed partiality to his Hawaiian people. She liked his authoritative style and his frequent rejection of non-Hawaiian notions and influence.

The election of her brother, Colonel David Kalakaua, to succeed King Lunalilo obviously was an important step for the family. That there was great support īn that election for the other candidate a former Queen of the Kingdom, namely Queen Emma, was brushed aside. Apparently it was presumed that all those Hawaiians who were Emma-ites would somehow now change. In other words, the foreign concept of democracy— as introduced in the elections of Lunalilo and Kalakaua within a year's time — meant that such choosing of a monarch was not an easy concept for Hawaiians. That Kalakaua had difficulties asserting his will, that the rise of big business created big problems, that Hawaiians (including the alii) were marrying non-Ha-waiians, that large segments of the Caucasians in Hawaii (Germans, Scots, Portuguese and others) had their own subculture existing informally but nevertheless with strong internal ties within their ranks — these

and so many other factors were having profound effects on Hawaii's life. In 1887, 13 years into the reign of Kalakaua, he was pressured to sign a new Constitution that deprived him of all real power. Because of that pressure it became known as the Bayonet Constitution. Why did the King sign it? That question was answered years later by Lili'uokalani in her autobiography. She says he signed that Constitution "because he had discovered traitors among his most trusted friends, and knew not in whom he could trust; and because (she says) he had every assurance, short of actual demonstration, that the conspirators were ripe for revolution, and had taken measures to have him assassinated if he refused."

Less than four years later, Kalakaua died in San Francisco. As the designated successor, Lili'uokalani took the oath of office. She swore to uphold the Constitution — the Bayonet Constitution. Was it the shock of her brother's death, or the suddenness of her accession to the throne? It isn't clear why she agreed to live by that Constitution whieh restricted the power and authority of the monarch. The King she had admired, Kamehameha V, had refused acceptance of the Constitution he disliked but Lili'uokalani did not follow his example.

And that became the issue that toppled her crown. Almost two years after she became Queen, her efforts to change the Constitution brought her face to face with the same people and the same issues of 1887 when her brother lost the fullness of sovereignty. The turmoil of the past, beginning with Kaahumanu, culminated with the end of Hawaii's monarchy. Because

of that difficult history from 1819 to 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani never really had a ehanee. Although 53 when she became Queen, the flower that was Lili'uokalani never had a ehanee to truly unfold and blossom. And yet, that is not quite true. The leaf bud would develop but iater under her guidance and direction. The flowering process of "makala" began in 1909.

In the quiet of her retirement she found a way to reach out effectively to her people. She bequeathed a legal document to be known thereafter as the Lili'uokalani Trust. She set aside most of her property for a specific group of Hawaiians; she wanted her revenue to be used for them. The Deed of Trust document singled out Hawaiian orphans and destitute children. After her death in 1917, her legacy began to unfold in orderly fashion. Down the years since then, there has been an increase of efforts toenhance the lives of disadvantaged Hawaiian children. The current revenues of her Trust make it possible for 49 professional social workers to deal professionally right now with 1,510 young Hawaiian beneficiaries.

Thanks to Queen Lili'uokalani, those children of Hawaiian ancestry who have experienced the meaning of tragedy or loss or estrangement ean be nurtured and guided to live happier lives. And so their lives develop and blossom more beautifully in the "makala" process so important to Hawaiians. Today the work of Lili'uokaiani's legacy is directed from the site of her former home in Palama. How fitting that long ago that home was called Mu'olaulani, the plaee where young lives develop because of Lili'uokalani.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Moses K. Keale Sr. ctu-ries hookupu to cryptof Queen Lili'oukalani.

Lupe Funaki, 1986 Miss Keiki Hula, performs at the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center program folIowing Mauna Ala program.