WAIMEA — Hale O Na Alii O Hawaii, one of the four royal Hawaiian societies, will celebrate its 100th anniversary beginning this Wednesday through Saturday in Honolulu.
The society was originally founded by King David Kalakaua as the Hale Naua Science Society in 1886 with the purpose of gathering and preserving the knowledge of the alii and kahuna, and to promote the advancement of modern science, art and literature. In 1911 the society was renamed Ka Hale O Na Alii, became inactive and was then re-established in 1918 as Hale O Na Alii O Hawaii.
Today the society has seven halau (groups), two of which are on Hawaii Island: Halau O Kalakaua in Hilo and Halau O Keliiahonui in Waimea. Naui Murphy, Waimea Middle School’s science teacher, has been the president of the Waimea Halau for about eight years.
“Usually they’re nominated. I had no choice. I was told, ‘you’re young, you can do all this. You can’t say no,’” she said.
The royal societies were created by various Hawaiian monarchs who saw traditional Hawaiian cultural practices ebbing away through the encroachment of outside influences.
“Hale O Na Alii O Hawaii is a benevolent organization that was founded by Princess Abigail Wahiikaahuula Kawananakoa in 1918. She was the daughter of James Campbell and Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine of Lahaina, Maui. Her desire was to establish an association to unite and uphold the morale of the Hawaiian people, their culture, gain a deeper respect for each other and perpetuate Hawaiian heritage,” Murphy explained.
The Waimea society meets monthly.
“We have goals and one is olelo Hawaii. So we do language lessons. We’ve also done hulu (feathers) workshops and made kahili (feather standard) to perpetuate some of those crafts and we practice rituals. We also learn mele (songs) and we have a song contest every year,” she said.
Each halau is unique in how the society’s objectives get carried out within their community.
“Everybody has taken those objectives and figured out what works for their community,” Murphy said. “We have connections with The Royal Order of Kamehameha, the Kaahumanu Society and the Hawaiian Civic Club, and we participate in any events that have to do with Kamehameha and Kuhio.”
“There’s also an annual ball on Oahu to honor people who have done good work in the communities,” she added.
In traditional Hawaiian society, the rulers had the welfare of the people at heart and so the Hale O Na Alii O Hawaii strives to perpetuate that legacy of aloha.
“We’re trying to honor the line of alii but also the Hawaiian people in general. It’s about trying to care for your land, care for your people. Objectives are to promote fellowship among members, kokua in times of sickness and death, creating funds for members’ benefit, and perpetuating the use of Hawaiian language and culture,” Murphy explained.
The society is also a response to the disruptive historical periods where Hawaiians were dying in great numbers and the end of life protocols were not being performed.
“It’s really about honoring those people as they pass and making sure they have proper burials because that was a huge concern right around when a lot of Hawaiians were dying from disease. There weren’t places to bury them. There are protocols that aren’t publicly shared, but need to be perpetuated,” she said.
The Waimea halau was formed in 1949 and past presidents include George Lindsey, Thelma Lindsey, Mabel Tolentino, Marguerite Kealanahele, Eva Perez and Elaine Flores.
Previous to Murphy, Tolentino was president.
“Aunty Mabel was very much a go-getter. She would rally people together to help families. She was always making sure that we were touching base with the families, helping families if we needed to and just gathering in good fellowship. She was also very involved with Kamehameha Day,” Murphy said.
Kealanahele was another prominent member.
“She could speak Hawaiian and she gave me this old book of protocols. She told me, ‘You need to be very strong. You need to carry on the traditions. It’s important that we don’t lose this.’ She also served as an advisor to the society’s regent, Quentin Kawananakoa. She was very knowledgeable and very instrumental in making sure that Waimea had a club,” Murphy said.
One of the biggest concerns for the society is how to continue the legacy.
“The struggle we have is to continue the tradition and get younger people involved. People are so busy trying to live. My grandmother actually got me into Hale Na O Alii. It’s kind of a passing on and including family. Our young members tend to be children or grandchildren of our members. We had a retreat about how to get younger people involved. They want to learn about their history, so we want to do workshops or a huakahi (trip) somewhere so they can learn about their place,” she said.
The 100th-anniversary celebrations in Honolulu will start Wednesday with excursions to the Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace, and continue at the Ala Moana Hotel Thursday with health workshops followed by meetings, culminating with a ball on Saturday.
