Sisters
of the Burning Branch Goddess Gallery Presents...
Queen
Liliuokalani
Lydia
Liliʻu
Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha
(Liliʻuokalani)
was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Her name means “the
royal sacred one” in Hawaiian and she remains a symbol of Hawaiin
culture and
independence. For myself, she is a woman who fought for her rights and
beliefs
and that of her people in a patriarchal and governmental society. She
was the
author of the famous “Aloha 'Oe that became a national anthem of her
people.
"E onipa‘a...i ka ‘imi na‘auao" (Be
steadfast in the
seeking of knowledge)
Queen Liliuokalani Moto
On
September 16, 1862, Lydia married John Owen Dominis, who became
Governor of Oʻahu
and Maui. They had no
children and she mentioned her marrigae as “unfufilling” in her
diaries. In
1891 when she was 43 years old her brother King Kalakaua, went on an
lengthy
journey around the world, leaving her in charge. She really didn't have
any
experience ruling and as fate would have it an epidemic of small pox,
from
Chinese laborers working in sugar fields, was killing many Hawaiians so
she
closed the port down to protect her people. This really infuriated the
wealthy
sugar growers who became enraged and protested her doing so, but she
stood fast
as the welfare of her people was important to her; more than the
economy at
that time. In retaliation, the U.S. government revoked Hawaii's top
position on
the American sugar market which convinced the sugar growers that
annexation to
the U.S. was necessary to save their economy. In other words, they were
not
able to make their money, became angry and retaliated with help of the
U.S.
Government.
'"For
myself, I would have chosen death rather than to have
signed it; but it was represented to me that by my signing this paper
all the
persons who had been arrested, all my people now in trouble by reason
of their
love and loyalty towards me, would be immediately released. Think of my
position, – sick, a lone woman in prison, scarcely knowing who was my
friend,
or who listened to my words only to betray me, without legal advice or
friendly
counsel, and the stream of blood ready to flow unless it was stayed by
my pen.”
Liliuokalani
could have had her thrown back if she granted
amnesty to those who overthrew her, but she refused to and after an
investigation all the parties involved were found not guilty except for
her.
She also abdicated her thrown in return for the release (and
commutation
of the death sentences) of her jailed supporters. To make matters
worse, one of
the first people who was opposed to her monarchy, Sanford B. Dole,
became
President on July 4, 1894. Eventually, Hawaii was recognized as part of
the
United States in 1898. In 1896, the Republic of Hawaii gave her a full
pardon and
restored her civil rights, but Liliuokalani lost her throne and the
Hawaiian
people lost their kingdom and someone who cared for them so much. In
1896, the
Republic of Hawaii gave her a full pardon and restored her civil rights.
"It
was the intention of the officers of the government to
humiliate me by imprisoning me, but my spirit rose above that. I was a
martyr
to the cause of my people, and was proud of it."
January
1898
She
was
placed under house arrest in her upstairs bedroom and was not allowed
any
visitors. She was not allowed any newspapers or knowledge of the
outside world
as to cut her off from her people. Sadly, being an accomplished
musician, she
was not allowed any musical instruments as well. Over her lifetime she
composed
over 165 songs and was known for her musical talent. She was said to
have
played guitar, organ, piano and ukulele, among other instruments and
also sang
alto.
She
used her musical compositions “as a way to express her
feelings for her people, her country, and what was happening in the
political
realm in Hawaii”. She composed "Aloha Oe" or "Farewell to
Thee," which was actually inspired after seeing a farewell embrace
between
two lovers and was written during her confinement. Because of the
conditions
this song was written under, it became a symbol of the loss of her
country and
people and her plea to restore it. She also wrote Ke Aloha O Ka Haku --
The
Music was s way for her to express her feelings for her people, her
country,
and what was “happening in the political realm in Hawaii”. A
compilation of her
works, titled The Queen's Songbook, was published in 1999 by
the Liliʻuokalani
Trust. Liliʻuokalani
he has
been portrayed in numerous films as well as her music including Elvis
Presley's
rendition of Aloha Oe.
Hours
of which it is not yet in place to speak, which I might
have found long and lonely, passed quickly and cheerfully by, occupied
and
soothed by the statement of my thoughts in music; and even when I was
denied
the aid of any instrument I could transcribe to paper the tones of my
voice.
“To
compose was as natural to me as to breathe; and this gift of
nature, never having been suffered to fall into disuse, remains a
source of the
greatest consolation to this day."
January
1898
Liliuokalani
was also an accomplished author (possibly the first Native Hawaiian
female
author) who wrote about the history of her own country and her
overthrow in
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen. During her imprisonment in her palace
she
feared she would never leave the palace alive, so she translated the
Kumulipo
(the Hawaiian Creation Chant) which tells of the beginning of all life
for
Hawaiians, in hopes that the history and culture of her people would
never be
lost and to disprove the pro-annexation partisans who claimed that
Hawaiians
were ignorant savages who had no culture before the arrival of Captain
Cook.
This work also beautifully explains the connection Hawaiians have with
nature
around them and why they must remain in harmony with creation in order
to
survive.
"The
way to lose any earthly kingdom is to be inflexible,
intolerant and prejudicial. Another way is to be too flexible, tolerant
of too
many wrongs and without judgment at all....”
Liliuokalani
helped Buddhist and Shinto priests in Hawaiian
society gain acceptance and prevented the possible banning of those two
religions by the Territorial government. She also visited many other
countries
and the United States and while in California was impressed with Mills
Seminary
College which gave her hope of starting a college for women in Hawaii.
During
the rest of her life she lived in her home Washington
Place, Hawaii. Before her death, she dictated that all of her
possessions and
properties be sold and go toward the Queen Liliuokalani Children's
Trust to
help orphaned and indigent children and this fund still exists today.
Until her
death, she always stayed fiercely loyal and proud of Hawaiian
traditions and
her people and spent the rest of her life petitioning to have the
islands'
sovereignty restored.
"Aloha
'oe, farewell
to thee . . . One fond embrace before I now depart. Until we meet
again."
Aloha
'Oe January 1878
Queen Liliuokalani Statue Honolulu, Hawaii
She died in 1917 at the age of 79 due to complications from a stroke.
She
received a grand state funeral due to her status as a former head of
state and
her remains were placed in the Royal Mausoleum. Ironically 100 years
after the
overthrow (1993) President Clinton signed a Congressional resolution in
which
the United States government formally apologized to the native Hawaiian
people.
This seems to have come too later as always. What a wonderful woman she
was and
such and inspiration.
Works
Cited
A
Celebration of Women Writers. Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen
by Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii (1838- 1917). Boston: Lee and Shepard,
1898
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/liliuokalani/hawaii/hawaii.html
American
Experience. Hawaii's Last Queen. Vivian Ducat.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hawaii/program.html
Liliuokalani.
http://www.history.com/topics/liliuokalani
Queen
Liliuokalani.
New World
Encyclopedia.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Queen_Liliuokalani
Queen
Liliuokalani (1838-1917). National Women's History Museum.
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/queen-lilioukalani/
Women
of the West Museum. Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii's Last Queen.
https://theautry.org/explore/exhibits/suffrage/liliolder_full.html
Quotes:
Queen
Liliuokalni .A Celebration of Women Writers. Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's
Queen
by Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii (1838- 1917). Boston: Lee and Shepard,
1898
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/liliuokalani/hawaii/hawaii.html
Images:
In order
1.
http://kansascitystories.com/Politics/jingoism/jingoism.html
4.
http://www.mindserpent.com/American_History/introduction/bg/Liliuokalani%28small%29.jpg
5.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/author/pgee/page/9/
This page is the
intellectual and creative property of Avalon
Raine
May 2015
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