An Historic Hawaiian practice has been resurrected just in time for the 176th anniversary of Queen's Emma's birth at her Summer Palace Monday morning.
The resurrection called for the donation donation of a new Hawaiian kahili.
The creation of the feathered mark of royalty began as a plan to restore 30 that are currently displayed at the Summer Palace. However, a man decided that wasn't enough. Project Director Shad Kane aimed to recreate the ancient practice of creating kahili with a federal permit and a handful of people headed to Midway. Their mission there was to collect 50,000 feathers from dead Hawaiian birds.
"It's not just a restoration of kahili or the building of a kahili, it's learning how it was done anciently, and restoring it in the very traditional way of feather gathering and the chants and the prayers necessary to assert the activity," says Kane.
The project also received funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
The new kahili is on display at the Queen Emma Summer Palace.
