i8 



B RICH AM ON HAWAIIAN FEATHER WORK. 



the kaliilis made especially for the funeral were of pure white as in keeping with her 

 charaAer. No such distin(5lion held in the olden time. I do not forget that in the case 

 of cloaks, and to a less degree with kahilis, yellow was a royal color as with so many 

 oriental nations; possibly, as has been suggested, from gold the king of metals, but 

 most likely from the sun the ruler of earthly life. The yellow robes of China, the yel- 

 low umbrellas of the East Indies, the 

 golden disks of Peru, — and we might go 

 back to the life-giving orb of the Egyp- 

 tian Ra, — all proclaim the regal essence 

 of yellow. 



Formerly the base of the liiiliiiuaiui 

 or cylinder of feathers was closed or ter- 

 minated at the base by an inverted cone 

 of feathers kept in place b\- bands of kapa. 

 This simple form gave way to rather 

 tawdry sleeves of silk bound with long 

 ribbon streamers of the gaudA- colors dear 

 to tlie colored races. 



The very grand effect of the kahilis 

 carried in a funeral procession will not 

 easily be forgotten by those who have been 

 present at sucli functions. From every 

 side they present the same aspect, and 

 the graceful forms add dignity to the 

 stream of humanity almost as palms do 

 to a tropical sunset. Nor alone in pro- 

 cession,— grouped about a throne or a bier 

 the\- both decorate and add dignity to 

 the place. The funeral of Kauikeaouli 

 ( Kaniehameha III.), in January, 1S55, 

 was sketched by a Swiss artist, Paul 

 Emmert, and from his drawing the illus- 

 tration, Fig. 14, p. 20, is given. The pall 

 upon the coifin was the ro\-al robe of his 

 sister Nahienaena, and many of the 

 kahilis used on that occasion are now in the Bishop Museum. The officer in charge 

 of the kahili was called Paakaliili. 



Before leaving the subject of kahilis we may recall the description given by 

 Rev. C. S. Richards, in his Journal, of a celebration given in May, 1S22, in memory of 

 Kamehameha the Great. The American Mission had been on the Islands but two 



FIG. II. UNFINISHED KAHILI HANDLES. 



