Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 8, 1 August 1989 — Seal [ARTICLE]

Seal

/rom the cover

authority and power. Centered between the quarters is a green escutcheon with a five pointed yellow star in is middle. The star was originally used to represent the star that would some day be added to the American flag should statehood ever become an accomplished fact. T oday it represents the 50th star in the American flag. Supporting the coat of arms are the figure of King Kamehameha on is right side and the goddess of liberty is on its left side. Kamehameha stands as represented in the bronze statue in front of Aliiolani Hale, wearing a yellow eloak and helmet. The goddess of liberty wears a Phrygian eap and laure! wreath and holds in her right hand the Hawaiian flag, partly unfurled. Below the shield is the mythological phoenix bird, wings outstretched, arising from flames. it represented the change from the monarchy to a democratic form of government. The eight taro leaves, banana, and maidenhair fern leaves are typical agricultural products of the state. The crest features a rising sun irradiated in gold, surrounded by the legend "State of Hawaii, 1959." It represented the birth of the new republic and later the new state of Hawai'i. The motto, "ua mau ke ea o ka 'aina i ka pono," generally translated as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness," has been the motto of the kingdom, the republic, the territory and the State of Hawai'i. It was the expression used by King Kamehameha III in a speech he made in 1843 at the time sovereignty over the islands was restored to the Hawaiians by the British. From: "Names and Insignia of Hawai'i by the Hawaii State Library system, "Hawaii's Great Seal and Coat of Arms," by Meiric Dutton, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 5-5.