Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 3, 1 March 2010 — Kalākaua, the merrie aesthete [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kalākaua, the merrie aesthete

By Liza Simon Public Affairs Specialist King David Kalākaua, the last monarch of the Kamehameha dynasty, is well remembered for his joyful love of hula. This earned him the niekname Merrie Monarch, whieh lives on in the annual hula festival and competition in Hilo, whieh has its 47th event in April. In the new book Tlie Arts ofKingship, author Stacy L. Kamehiro gives us a stirring look at Kalākaua's sweeping aesthetic vision and its lasting inhuenee on Hawaiian history and culture. In rich detail gleaned from 19th century newspapers and puhlie records, Kamehiro looks at Kalākaua's embrace of courtly ceremony, coronation regalia and imperial architecture as a reflection of a drive to forge a new Native Hawaiian identity, distinct from the rising dominanee of eolonial democracy in the Islands during his time. Kamehiro's book examines Kalākaua's interest in European symbols of royalty, such as his fondness for a display of military

swords, as being similar to that of his English counterparts. However, the book makes it clear that as mueh as Kalākaua sought to integrate into Hawaiian culture many symbols he brought back from his celebrated diplomatic missions across the globe, his main aim was to reinvigorate ali'i traditions, especially those associated with the warriors of King Kamehameha, such as the 'ahu'ula, the feather eloak, whieh Kamehiro calls "the primary symbol of the king's sacred nature and his religious

responsibilities for maintaining chiefdom and nation." Kamehiro finds evidence that his purpose in doing so was to rekindle

native pride. That he succeeded in doing so is underscored in the book's weahh of anecdotes about Kalākaua's charisma with Hawaiians and foreigners alike, who found him a force to be reckoned with, during

his reign and still today. In addition to providing a provocative lens on the Hawaiian Kingdom, the stories in this book speak volumes about the power of art to create meaning and move people to action. ■

[Hhl www.oha.org/kwo

nāpukeIBūls

THE ARTS OF KINGSHIP Hawaiian Art and National Culture of the Kalākaua Era By Stacy L. Kamehiro University of Hawai'i Press 280 pages $24

King David Kalākaua, (right) ruler of the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1874 to 1891, promoted puhlie art and architecture, as detailed in the new book The Arts of Kingship. Author Stacy L. Kamehiro provides historical and cultural analysis of Kalākaua's devotion to many projects, including 'lolani Palaee, above. - Courtesy photos