ʻEleʻeleualani
Kāhili kū, feather standard
Feather, Plant (ash)
Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop
This kāhili, or feather standard, consists of many bunched feathers meticulously attached along the shaft of a pole. Perhaps due to the time, talent, and great value affiliated with the resources required to complete one, kāhili were used as symbols of royalty. This kāhili, belonging to Bernice Pauahi Bishop, is named Eleeleualani, or Black Rain of Heaven, a name passed down through Hawaiian royalty.
Kāhili were carried in processions to show members of the community that a person of high genealogical rank was present or approaching. Kāhili were treated with as much reverence as the members of the monarchy that they represented.
The feathers used in this kāhili are from the 'ō'ō, an extinct native bird with predominately black feathers and small tufts of yellow feathers. Records reveal that there were a variety of 'ō'ō seen at different locations on many of the Hawaiian Islands.
This kāhili is one of many culturally significant pieces in Bishop Museum's founding collections, which were comprised of objects owned by Princess Ruth Ke'elikōlani, Queen Emma, and Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, from whom this kāhili was received. Eleeleualani was in fact the very first item to be listed in the Museum's collection in 1889.