Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Aloha Nūhou Monday! Dear Reader, the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture is the world’s largest celebration of Indigenous Pacific Islanders, bringing together artists, cultural practitioners, scholars, and officials from member nations of the Pacific Community. This traveling festival is held every four years and was first launched by the South Pacific Commission in 1972 to halt the erosion of traditional practices through ongoing cultural exchange. This June, Hawaiʻi will host the 13th festival on Oʻahu under the theme, “Hoʻoulu Lāhui: Regenerating Oceania.”

Over the coming months, we will honor each of the previous FestPAC hosts with posts featuring those island nations and their connections to Hawaiʻi’s own history. The 1st Festival of Pacific Arts was held in Suva, Fiji in May of 1972 under the theme, “Preserving Culture.”

In early 1873, Lunalilo ascends the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom following the death of Lot Kapuāiwa, Kamehameha V. Later that year, multiple Hawaiian language newspapers print letters of condolences and congratulations received by Charles Reed Bishop, Minister of Foreign Affairs, from various international heads of state. In this week's blog, we feature a letter addressed to King Lunalilo from King Cakobau of Fiji.

Image: Fijian dancers. Bishop Museum Archives. SP 50716.

Image-sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives [at] BishopMuseum [dot] org.

Mahalo nui loa to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support of our project, "He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers." Read more at: blog.bishopmuseum.org/nupepa.

Aloha! This just in from our J. Watumull Planetarium — Our January Sky Map is out!

If you’re new to our Sky Maps, they show the sky above Hawaiʻi from about 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time. You and your ʻohana can try your hand at backyard astronomy! Just hold the Sky Map above your heads to align all four directions and discover which stars and constellations are visible this month.

Also, check out our Planetarium shows! In addition to our daytime shows (listed below), we have a live evening show on Friday, Jan. 19! Study the stars, travel across the Earth and into our solar system, and share stories with us. The Stars Tonight is for all ages, and this month’s show will be followed by stargazing with the Hawaiian Astronomical Society.

The Stars Tonight
Friday, Jan. 19 | 7-8p
Location: J. Watumull Planetarium

Registration required. $10 General Adult, $7 General Youth, children 3 and under are free. 50% discount for Bishop Museum Members.

Reserve your spot now at BishopMuseum.org/Planetarium.

Winter 2024 Planetarium Shows*:
- “The Hawaiian Sky Tonight”
- “Wayfinders: Waves, Winds, and Stars”
- “Edge of Darkness”
- “Experience the Aurora”

*Free for Bishop Museum Members as well as children under four; $3 with General Admission ticket.
*Shows are on Friday-Tuesday every week, and select holidays.

View our schedule of live shows, access our full Sky Map, and explore more astronomy resources on our Planetarium page: BishopMuseum.org/Planetarium.

Kick off the New Year dancing like nobody’s listening at the first Museum After Hours of 2024!

Dance the night away with Silent Disco Under the Stars in front of Hawaiian Hall, lit by lighting and laser effects inspired by our featured exhibit, “Playing With Light!” Each Silent Disco Under the Stars guest is provided with their own set of headphones with three custom channels, one of which will feature special guest DJ O’Spliff from Aloha Got Soul! DJ O’Spliff is bringing a custom all-vinyl set blending selections of house, Hawaiian, funk, disco, jazz, and electronic music.

We’re also welcoming the Hawaiian Astronomical Society back to our Great Lawn, where they’ll lead guests through explorations of our starlit sky!

Join us for an evening of access to , paired with good eats, refreshing beverages, live music, and programming perfect for Play Night with the keiki, or Date Night with that someone special.

Bishop Museum After Hours
Friday, Jan. 12, 2024
5-9 p.m.
Throughout the Museum campus.

Special $10 pre-sale admission for non-members! $15 at the door. Bishop Museum Members get in free!
https://bpbm.ticketapp.org/portal/product/70

For two decades, Banaban scholar and artist Katerina Teaiwa followed the flows of phosphate extracted from Banaba, miners, company and government officials, Banabans, and many stories linking Australia, Aotearoa New Zealan, Kiribati, Fiji, and Hawaiʻi.

This map, “A World of Banaban Phosphate,” outlines some of the historical flows of rocks between Banaba and ports, cities, and farms across the globe. Katerinaʻs original research itinerary is also mapped here to show how she pieced together dispersed Banaban histories and lands.

Learn more at BishopMuseum.org/project-banaba.

“Project Banaba” commemorates the history of Banaba Island in the Pacific Ocean, which was destroyed by environmentally devastating phosphate mining during the 20th century. This led to the total relocation of its people in 1945. In “Project Banaba,” Banaban scholar and artist Katerina Teaiwa brings together rare historical archives and multimedia works that shed light on this little-known history, and its ongoing impact on Pacific communities.

Happy ! Bishop Museum's Ethnology Department helps care for some of the Museum’s treasured cultural resources.

Makahiki is one of the most significant seasonal events in Hawaiʻi, occurring during the winter period of Hoʻoilo. Connected to the rising of Makaliʻi (the Pleiades constellation), Makahiki traditions are continued to this day by communities across the archipelago. Competitions of physical prowess, games of skill, and p**e (prayers) for abundance, life, and healing are all part of observances in Hawaiʻi. Some particularly iconic traditions are the ceremonial circuits of the islands made by community members and accompanied by distinctive kiʻi (carved images) called akua loa representing the deity Lonomakua.

Here at Bishop Museum, we recognize Makahiki and the winter months of our year with the pictured display. To the left stands an image of Kū, symbolically wrapped to mark the shift between Kau (or Kauwela), the season of Kū, and Hoʻoilo, the season of Lono. At the center of the display, adorned with symbolic greenery and feather lei appropriate for an island circuit, is a kiʻi understood to be the only remaining akua loa to have been used in Makahiki circuits made by high chiefs in the 1800s, most likely on Hawaiʻi Island.

We extend our gratitude to the Museum’s cultural advisors, interpretive staff and docents, and those who care for our collections for their help in facilitating a way for our institution to recognize and honor the significance of Makahiki.

Visit Bishop Museum today to see this special symbol of Hawaiian culture, and hundreds of other cultural objects and natural history specimens on display in our galleries.

Interested in learning more about the Ethnology Department's work? Come visit our webpage at BishopMuseum.org/Ethnology.

Written by KM, JS.

Did you know that scientists can figure out what stars are made from by studying the light coming from them?

They use spectroscopes to do it. A spectroscope splits light into different colors and spreads them out to form a spectral pattern. We can work out what the source of light is by looking at its spectral pattern. In our exhibit, “Playing With Light,” you can use a spectroscope to look at light sources and see if there are any differences.

“Playing With Light,” created by Scitech in Perth, Australia and produced by Imagine Exhibitions, combines LIGHT, a fundamental element in our everyday lives, and PLAY, a means to ignite the imagination, in this fun exploration into light technology.

Learn more at BishopMuseum.org/playing-with-light.

For many of us, the start of a new year is a time of reflection and renewal, a time to reassess our lives and set new goals for the future.

As part of their education, students at the Chief’s Children’s School were required to keep daily journals written in English, as a way to foster proficiency in that language. In this New Year’s Day entry from 1845, 13-year-old Bernice Pauahi writes about the day’s festivities and lists her resolutions for the new year. We get a glimpse of young Pauahi’s desire to be kind and to grow as a person — as well as her teachers’ advice for becoming a better student:

“Wednesday
Jan 1 –1845.

This is a new year day. We arose very early this morning and bid each other happy a new year. Afterwards we went to Dr Juddʻs place & we fired cracker there. And also at the Governers & Mr Ricord & Mr Jarves.
.. This is the thing that I wished to began this year. Is to correct my faults. And be polite to every body.”

Read the full story on Mau ka Leo at BishopMuseum.org/MauKaLeo!

Mau ka Leo is our online storytelling space that documents, preserves, and shares the priceless knowledge and stories around Bishop Museum’s collections. Many of these stories come from our most valuable resource, our very own staff.

Mau ka Leo is one example of what your gift to the Annual Fund supports. Through our Annual Fund Campaign, you can directly impact our ongoing stewardship of our cultural and natural science collections, and educational and interpretive programming.

Please consider making a gift today: BishopMuseum.org/AnnualFund

Mahalo nui loa for your support of Bishop Museum.

“Bernice Pauahi's New Year's Resolutions” was written by Emma Bornstein.

Image 1: Entry for January 1, 1845 in the childhood journal of Bernice Pauahi Pakī (later Bishop). Written by Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Bishop Museum Archives. QM 215953.

Image-sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives [at] BishopMuseum [dot] org.

HAUʻOLI MAKAHIKI HOU I NĀ MAKAMAKA HELUHELU
Happy New Year, Dear Readers

Aloha Nūhou Monday!

The Hoku o Hawaii newspaper on January 1, 1941 sent a short new year message to its readers, and we at He Aupuni Palapala wish you the same on January 1, 2024!

Read this story, view additional images including scans of the original Hawaiian language newspapers, and learn about our efforts to digitize Hawaiian language newspapers at: Blog.BishopMuseum.org/Nupepa.

Image: Aerial fireworks over Honolulu, Hawaiʻi on New Year’s Eve. Photo by Elias Shura, ca. 1960. Bishop Museum Archives, SP 219361.

Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact [email protected].

Mahalo nui loa to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support of our project, "He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers." Read more about this partnership and effort via our News Room: BishopMuseum.org/NewsRoom.

Mahalo nui loa for a wonderful year! As we look forward to 2024, we can’t help but reflect on 2023 and the many ways we were able to further tell the stories of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific thanks to all of you and your support.

In appreciation of all your support, we’ve been sharing video footage from our Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole public programs. Check out this week’s posts for parts 1 and 2!

Today we’re sharing the third and final video from this year’s programming presented in partnership with the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation. Our November public program, “E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke: E Kūpinaʻi, E Kūwawā, E Kūhailimoe,” brought together multiple generations of chanters from diverse practices and experiences to pay tribute to Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole’s significant influence on the practice of oli in Hawaiʻi today. This footage is of the presentations outside on our Great Lawn.

View these videos at YouTube.com/!

Have a fun and safe New Year! Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou!

Photo: Huihui Kanahele-Mossman and Kamuela Chun on Bishop Museum’s Great Lawn from the Nov. 17 public program, "E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke: E Kūpinaʻi, E Kūwawā, E Kūhailimoe," honoring Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole. Photo by Noel Constantino.

Mahalo nui loa for your support in 2023! Thanks to you and all our community partners, we were able to further tell the stories of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific in dynamic and meaningful ways.

In appreciation of all your support, we’re sharing three videos from our Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole public programs. Part 1 can be found in our Dec. 28 post!

Today’s video is from our November public program, “E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke: E Kūpinaʻi, E Kūwawā, E Kūhailimoe,” that brought together multiple generations of chanters from diverse practices and experiences to pay tribute to Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole’s significant influence on the practice of oli in Hawaiʻi today.

Many gathered with us to honor various genres of compositions and styles of oli both inside and outside Hawaiian Hall. This video shows the presentations inside Hawaiian Hall.

View our videos at YouTube.com/!

This public program was held in partnership with the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation.

Photo: Kaleo Trinidad and La‘akapu Lenchanko inside Hawaiian Hall during the Nov. 17 public program, "E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke: E Kūpinaʻi, E Kūwawā, E Kūhailimoe," honoring Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole. Photo by Noel Constantino.

As we look back at 2023, we're filled with heartfelt gratitude for your support of Bishop Museum over the past year. We’re thankful for the support of our communities on-island as well as virtually around the world; and we’re especially thankful for our partnerships within these communities, that enable us to further tell the stories of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific in dynamic and meaningful ways.

In appreciation of all your support, we’ll be sharing three videos from our Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole public programs over the next few days.

The first of these videos is from our June public program, “E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke, A Celebration of Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole,” celebrating the hula, choreography, compositions, and traditions of Aunty Edith Kanakaʻole.

View the video at YouTube.com/!

This public program was held in partnership with the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation.

Photo: All participants from the November 17 public program, "E Hō Mai Ka ʻIke: E Kūpinaʻi, E Kūwawā, E Kūhailimoe," on stage on Bishop Museum’s Great Lawn. Photo by Noel Constantino.

Have you ever seen snow in Waikīkī? One Saturday in 1952, this snowman—dressed in a lei and coconut-frond hat—greeted beachgoers just outside the Moana Hotel. He was made of a mixture of snow from Mauna Loa and Seattle, as well as locally sourced shaved ice.

The snowman was part of a publicity stunt organized by the Lions Club of Hawaii—an unusual event involving snowball fights, a special guest from Minneapolis, and a proposed ski resort.

Read the full story on Mau ka Leo at BishopMuseum.org/MauKaLeo!

Mau ka Leo is our online storytelling space that documents, preserves, and shares the priceless knowledge and stories around Bishop Museum’s collections. Many of these stories come from our most valuable resource, our very own staff.

“A Snowman in Waikīkī” was written by DeSoto Brown.

Photo by Tai Sing Loo, Bishop Museum. SP 219344.

Image-sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives [at] BishopMuseum [dot] org.

MELE KALIKIMAKA I NĀ MAKAMAKA HELUHELU
Merry Christmas, Dear Readers

Aloha Nūhou Monday! We wish you good cheer, great company, and maybe even a gift or two. Merry Christmas to you all.

Today’s post takes us back almost 90 years ago in Hilo. Enjoy a little nostalgia with these advertisements for Christmas present ideas appearing in Ka Hoku o Hawaii on December 23, 1936.

Read this story, view additional images including scans of the original Hawaiian language newspapers, and learn about our efforts to digitize Hawaiian language newspapers at: Blog.BishopMuseum.org/Nupepa.

Image: Nighttime view of Kamehameha Avenue (left) and Kalākaua Street with holiday decorations; Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Photo by Roger Coryell, ca. 1950. Bishop Museum Archives, SG 120088.

Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact [email protected].

Mahalo nui loa to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support of our project, "He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers." Read more about this partnership and effort via our News Room: BishopMuseum.org/NewsRoom.

E lei nō au i ko aloha.
I will wear your love as a wreath.

‘Ōlelo no‘eau #333 Mary Kawena Pukui

This holiday season, we extend a warm and heartfelt MAHALO to you for your support of our museum, our staff, and the work that we do.

We wish you joy, love, peace, and good health during this season of gratitude, and always. Mahalo nui loa for being part of our Bishop Museum ‘ohana.

Bishop Museum will be closed tomorrow for Christmas. We'll be back open on Tuesday, and will be open on New Year's Day.

Image: Campus murals in partnership with Jasper Wong and Hawai‘i Walls (POW! WOW! Hawaii 2023). Murals by artists Sean “Hula” Yoro, Kai Kaulukukui, Tristan Eaton, Ran Noveck, and Solomon Enos.

On view in our newest exhibition, “Project Banaba,” are four kamari neck pieces made by Aroiti Tane and Temaea Nanton, who live in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Banaban artists create cultural adornments with introduced materials such as glass and plastic, in addition to natural fibers and materials such as pandanus and coconut. Customary ceremonies continue to inspire the making of regalia made of natural materials, while other forms of art and performance incorporate available resources, often colorful and synthetic.

Learn more at BishopMuseum.org/project-banaba.

“Project Banaba,” commemorates the history of Banaba Island in the Pacific Ocean, which was destroyed by environmentally devastating phosphate mining during the 20th century. This led to the total relocation of its people in 1945. In “Project Banaba,” Banaban scholar and artist Katerina Teaiwa brings together rare historical archives and multimedia works that shed light on this little-known history, and its ongoing impact on Pacific communities.

Image 1: Photo by Jon Asato.
Image 2: Photo courtesy of Katerina Teaiwa.

Happy ! Bishop Museum's Ethnology Department helps care for some of the Museum’s treasured cultural resources.

Do you recognize this shell? Kūpeʻe are edible marine snails that can be found throughout Hawaiʻi’s coastal regions. While you may be able to find their empty shells during the day, these little snails are largely nocturnal.

We especially love this particular lei kūpeʻe from the Kapiʻolani-Kalanianaʻole Collection because of the diversity in the size of the shells and the range of color patterning seen on each individual shell. While the shells vary in size and shape, they were carefully strung to create a tapered look with the largest shells sitting prominently at the center and smallest shells strung closest to the lei's purple ribbon closure.

This lei kūpeʻe is on view to the public in the exhibit on the second floor of Hawaiian Hall.

Interested in learning more about the Ethnology Department's work? Come visit our webpage at BishopMuseum.org/Ethnology.

Written by SK.

Image 1: Photo by David Franzen. B.06970 – Q210644.

Hauʻoli lā hānau e Ke Aliʻi Pauahi. With gratitude, we reflect upon the vision and benevolence of our namesake, Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

Born December 19, 1831, Pauahi is renowned for her deep love for her people, whom she supported tirelessly through philanthropy and hospitality. Hawaiians likened her to Kaiona, the goddess of Kaʻala who sends an ʻiwa bird to guide lost souls from the forest, ever in service to those in need.

Pauahi’s husband, Charles Reed Bishop, established a new museum in her honor to preserve Hawaiʻi’s material culture. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum was opened to the public in 1891, with Pauahi’s personal possessions — along with those of Ruth Keʻelikōlani and Queen Emma — becoming the Museum’s founding collections.

From its inception, Bishop Museum has been a lasting memorial to Ke Aliʻi Bernice Pauahi. We continue her legacy by stewarding the cultural and natural treasures of the Hawaiian people, to whom her life and heart belonged.

Read more about Bernice Pauahi Bishop on Mau ka Leo:
BishopMuseum.org/MauKaLeo

Mau ka Leo is our online storytelling space that documents, preserves, and shares the priceless knowledge and stories around Bishop Museum’s collections. Many of these stories come from our most valuable resource, our very own staff.

Photo: Case on the 3rd floor of Hawaiian Hall, featuring the stories of Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

Aloha Nūhou Monday! We celebrate a day early this year the birthday of our namesake, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The featured article appears in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa and describes the festivities in 1869. Mele inoa [name songs] were sung on that night at her residence. As this would be a year after her hānai sister Lydia Kamakaʻeha [later Queen Liliʻuokalani] composed “Pauahi ʻo Kalani,” surely it must have been one of the mele sung for Pauahi that night.

"Birthday of Pauahi Aliʻi.—On the 20th of December a banquet was held at Koholaloa in commemoration of the birthday of one of our young aliʻi, that being Hon. Mrs. A Pauahi Bishop. The celebration was for her thirty-eighth birthday. This past 19th was a Sunday, which was her actual birthday, but because it fell on a Sunday, it was not observed. It was put aside until this Monday. The lānai for the feast was honored by the arrival of the Governess of Hawaiʻi [Ruta Keʻelikōlani], Hon. Mrs. L. Kamakaʻeha [Lydia Kamakaʻeha], Mrs. L. Kaaniau [Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt], and other dignified women of this town. With the coming of night, the aliʻi for whom was the birthday celebration was entertained at her home, led by Pauli [Kaʻōleiokū Pauli], Malo, Kapoli [Elizabeth Kapoli Kamakau], and Wakeki [Wakeki Pauli], who sang name songs for the aliʻi. They were praised for the sound of their voices."

(Kuokoa, 12/25/1869, p. 2)

"I was quite different from my sister Bernice. She was one of the most beautiful girls I ever saw; the vision of her loveliness at that time can never be effaced from remembrance; like a striking picture once seen, it is stamped upon memory’s page forever. "

—Liliʻuokalani reminisces about Pauahi in Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen.

Image: Detail of ambrotype of Bernice Pauahi Bishop with Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī, Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, ca. 1859. Photo by W. F. Howland, Bishop Museum Archives. SP 79852.

Mahalo nui loa to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support of our project, "He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers." Read more at: blog.bishopmuseum.org/nupepa.

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum celebrates its namesake, Ke Aliʻi Bernice Pauahi Bishop, on the 192nd anniversary of her birth with special public programming on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023!

E Ō, E Ka Wahine: Celebrating Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Tuesday, Dec. 19
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Hawaiian Hall

Free with Museum Admission.

Reserve your tickets at BishopMuseum.org/tickets.

E Ō, E Ka Wahine: Celebrating Bernice Pauahi Bishop commemorates the birth, life, and legacy of Ke Aliʻi Bernice Pauahi Bishop with special presentations and tours prompting Museum guests to reflect on our history, our work today, and our future endeavors.

The program includes a lei presentation, staff tributes, and a special performance of an excerpt from Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s “THE ROYAL SCHOOL,” written by Bishop Museum alumnus Moses Goods and Lee Cataluna. There will also be special tours of the Hawaiian Hall Complex honoring Ke Aliʻi Bernice Pauahi Bishop offered throughout the day.