Pā ki'i
Meat platter
Wood
Late 18th century
This pā kiʻi, or carved meat platter, is symbolic of a time before the Hawaiian Monarchy, when chiefs of Hawaiʻi were battling for control over districts and islands. This particular platter immortalizes the story of the king of Maui's victory over the king of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi.
In the early 1780s, Kahekili, the king of Maui, plotted to conquer the islands of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, then under the rule of Kahahana. Through misinformation and eventual physical warfare, Kahekili succeeded in his quest, becoming the king of Maui, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi.
The meat platter on display once belonged to the victorious Kahekili. The carved figures holding up the platter are said to represent Kahahana and his wife, Kekuapoiʻulaokalani. Their opened mouths were used to hold condiments, like salt. The representation of these two figures is one of degradation, as Kahahana and his wife are immortalized in a servile position, functioning as supports for the victor's food.
This same meat platter became one of the spoils of war roughly a decade after Kahekili's victory over Kahahana. It was then that a chief from Hawai'i island, Kamehameha, conquered the islands of Maui, Oʻahu, and Molokaʻi. The meat platter came to the Museum via Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, a descendant of Kamehameha.
Functional objects serving to degrade the defeated and glorify the victor, like the meat platter, were not uncommon in Hawaiʻi. Another example exists on display in Hawaiian Hall in the form of a spittoon embedded with the molar teeth of the defeated.