Kamehameha Statues - Spiritual and Cultural Significance

Spiritual and Cultural Significance

Since its unveiling in 1883, Kamehameha the Great has come to be regarded by Hawaiians as an important cultural, economic, and spiritual object. Despite its Western origins, influences and artist, and despite the fact that the statue was not considered a spiritual object at the time of its creation (Ref: Wharton, 78), some Hawaiians consider the statue a receptacle of mana, a term that translates to “supernatural or divine power,” and associations have been drawn between it and kiʻi, figurative sculptures created by Native Hawaiians prior to Cook’s arrival to the Islands. While scholars debate the exact functions of these sculptures, Hawaiian oral traditions describe that kiʻi could represent various entities, including akua (spirits, divinities) and manifestations of natural phenomena, and could serve as āumaka sculptures (family or personal gods, deified ancestors). It was believed that through various prayers and hoTemplate:Okniaokupu (offerings), the mana held within these figures increased. For some Hawaiians, any image of Kamehameha is considered a very strong kiʻi, even a Western facsimile such as Kamehameha the Great (original cast), and it is common to find offerings of food, ribbons, and pōhaku left as tribute upon the sculpture’s pedestal. Even Hawaiians who do not believe the statue contains mana often still respect the statue as a representation of the spirit of Kamehameha I, and regard it as a connection to their ancestral history.

One of the statue’s most important cultural functions is its role in the annual celebration of Kamehameha Day, a two-day festival starting on June 11 in which much of the Hawaiian population participates. Activities include hula, chanting, singing, and telling stories about Kamehameha and the significance of the holiday. Various cultural groups, including representatives of each island, travel to the sculpture to present and drape it with long lei (See lei (garland).) In addition, a parade takes place during the festival, beginning in Hāwī (See Hawi, Hawaii) and ending at a location just past the sculpture in Kapaʻau. Those participating often stop at the sculpture to bestow offerings before moving on.

Kamehameha the Great (original cast) has also become an important political symbol for the Hawaiian Islands. It is featured on the official Hawaiian state seal (See Seal of Hawaii), and in the logo of the Kamehameha Schools, which has campuses located throughout the Islands. In 1959, a replica of the statue was cast and placed in the Statuary Hall inside the U.S. Capitol Building (See United States Capitol) in Washington, D.C. to honor Hawaiʻi becoming the fiftieth state. Various businesses, especially those working in the tourist trade, have capitalized on the resulting popularity of the sculpture; its image has been used to decorate brochures, postcards, T-shirts, folk-art, etc., and small reproductions of the sculpture are popular souvenirs in many shops.