Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 3, 1 March 2006 — LIVING HISTORY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LIVING HISTORY

By Sterling Kini Wnng Publicatiūns Editor What's most striking about the Honolulu Academy of Arts' new exhibit "Life in the Pacific of the 1700s" is that many of its 200-year-old Pacific Island artifacts don't actually look like artifacts. The 350 items are so exquisitely preserved that you could just imagine someone opening one of the exhibit's glass cases, taking out a wood fishhook and catching dinner with it. That's because this rare eolleetion of artifacts, whieh was gathered by Captain Iames Cook and his crew during his last two voyages through the Pacific in the late 1700s, has remained largely undisturbed for more than two centuries at the George August University of Gōttingen, in Germany. The artifacts, predominately from Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti, Tonga and Hawai'i, were rarely seen by anyone outside of the school. As a result, the items look almost exactly as they did when Pacific Islanders were still using them in their daily lives, whieh had not yet been heavily influenced by western culture. That means that

the intricately woven flax plant baskets from Aotearoa look store quality. That none of the delicate sticks of bamboo in a Tongan comb are broken. Or that the tip of a five-foot spear is still sharp enough to pierce flesh. This trove of artifacts, whieh will be on exhibit until May 14, is also impressive because it's one of the most comprehensive Pacific Island collections in the world. The 350 objects are spread out over 8,000 square feet, the most space ever allotted to a Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibit. While a majority of the eollection's artifacts are household objects, such as tools and clothes, two items - a Tahitian mourning dress and a feathered image believed to be of the Hawaiian war god Kūkā'ilimoku - were extremely sacred ritual objects. The elaborate Tahitian mourning mask and dress, whieh was decorated with mother of pearl, feathers and coconut shells, was worn during funeral ceremonies for high-ranking chiefs. The outfit was so sacred that at first Tahitians refused to exchange it for any of the western goods commonly used in trade, such as knives and axes. It took a set of highly desired red

( parrot feathers to complete the transaction. The red- and yellow-feath-ered Kūkā'ilimoku image, allegedly gifted to Cook, represents one of the most important war gods in Hawaiian culture. Its snarling mouth lined with dog teeth lends to its intimidating presence. Other Kūkā'ilimoku images have been shown in j Hawai'i, but few are in better 1 shape than the one in this 7 exhibit, said Stephen Little, director of the Academy. "It looks like it was just made yesterday," he said. Out of reverence for these artifacts, La'akea Suganuma, the / grandson of Hawaiian scholar I Mary Kawena Pūku'i and the president of the Royal Academy of Traditional Hawaiian Arts, was asked to bless the collection and escorted it on the trip from Germany to Hawai'i. Another important aspect of the exhibit is that it presents a window into the 18th century lives of Pacific Islanders, while sidestepping the heated debate currently occurring over the role museums should play in the care of Hawaiian burial

items. The exhibit manages to do this because it showcases a eolleetion of artifacts that Cook reportedly acquired either through trade or as gifts. "The exhibit compels us to ask the question, what is ownership?" said Len Barrow, a Maori who helped coordinate the exhibit. "Can anyone own these objects? Is ownership a Western or a Polynesian idea?" Most who attended the opening exhibit agreed that regardless of such issues, Hawai'i residents are especially fortunate to have the opportunity to view these precious treasures. And as an added benefit, the Academy of Arts is offering free admission to the exhibit for its entire run. To complement the exhibit, the Academy is presenting a variety of lectures and other programs, along with paintings by some of the artists who traveled with Cook and a youth photographic exhibit on life in the t Pacific today. S

Life in the Paeiīie of the 1 700s runs through May 14 Honolulu Academy of Arts Free to public 900 South Beretania Street Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; closed Monday. 532-8700

NĀ HANANA • EVENTS

Left: Mohiole (feathered helmet); Hawai'i, 1 8th century. Below, clockwise from left: 1 ) Ki'i hulu munu (feathered image), believed to represent Kūkei'ilimoku. Wicker, bird feathers, dogs' teeth, mother of pearl; Hawai'i, 1 8th century. 2) William Hodges (1/44-1/9/): A view of part of the lsland of Ulietea (Raiatea); Society lslands, September 1//3. Oil on canvas. 3) Uhikunu (headband) with sewn-on shell disc, tortoiseshell applications and feather tufts; Marquesas lslands, 1 8th centuiy. 4) īaumi (breust ornament); Tūhiti and the Society lslands, 1 8th centuiy.