#hawaiian-culture

#hawaiian-culture

Dusk settles over Hilo Bay, turning the sky a deep violet and the lingering wisps of clouds the same soft pink as the frangipani that scent the air. In the distance canoes glide across the calm waters, muddling the sky's iridescent reflection. A man gingerly hops across lava rocks, then deftly tosses his fishing net. Local kids perform flips and cannonballs off old stone diving towers.

The young Hawaiian King ascended to the throne in 1819 at the age of 22. In 1824, his court set sail for London to pay a visit to King George IV, arriving in May of that year. A notable curiosity in London, his entourage attracted a lot of attention as he travelled around, and he included a visit to the British Museum - the first record of Native Hawaiian aliʻi (chiefs and royals) at the Museum. However, while in London, the Hawaiian court had caught measles, to which they had no immunity. Both the King and Queen died from the disease while in London, and were later returned to Hawaiʻi to be buried in their homeland.

Kanaka Maoli view lei as representations of their foodways and connection to the land, deeply tied to historical issues like agricultural practices and plant extinction.

"This is a natural process that uncovers, and eventually recovers, these glyphs and others located around the island," Nathan Wilkes explained, highlighting the dynamic nature of the shoreline.