ʻAhu ʻula

The use of ʻahu ʻula cloaks/capes were restricted to aliʻi royals and high chiefs, generally speaking, though they could be conferred to warriors of special distinction. Some examples of ʻahu ʻula have been discussed as "war capes" (Cf. for specific examples, below). The feathered cloaks and capes provided physical protection, and were believed to provide spiritual protection for their wearers. And conversely the mana (spiritual power) of the wearer will be imparted on the cape, and the father's mana can pass down to his heirs via the cape. ==Construction==

The Hawaiian feather cloaks were decorated using yellow, red, sometimes black and green plumage taken from specific types of native birds Bird feathers '' Patches of yellow from certain mostly black birds (now all extinct species of the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily) were extracted, namely, from the ʻōʻō Because of their comparative abundance (and since all of their feather could be used), these were traditionally killed and skinned. The black feathers of the ʻōʻō were also used. There are only three green feather cloak specimens have been passed down. Early and later types Early feathered capes used coarse netting as foundation, first covered by larger but drab-colored feathers (white, black, brown, form chicken or jungle fowl and other birds), atop which decorative feathers were mounted. Later, closer-plaited (hand-knotted) meshes were developed to be used as base, to which the prized feathers could be attached directly. Also the shape evolved from rectangular to circular, but all the known rectangular specimens (including the "war capes" discussed above) are held outside of Hawaii. The circular type may have developed in Hawaii due to foreign (non-Polynesian) influence. Also, early types of Hawaiian feather cloaks were rectangular, though none of the surviving examples remained in Hawaii and have been kept elsewhere, so that only the later circular forms became generally family to the Hawaiian populace. These early type small capes or rectangular ʻahu ʻula include types, below. The earlier types lumped together as "rectangular" by Hiroa (aka Buck, 1944, 1957) were later subdivided into the "trapezoidal" type vs. "straight collar with shaped bottom" type by Kaeppler (1985). ==Captain James Cook collection==

, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi The Third voyage of James Cook (during which James Cook was killed in Hawaii) acquired a number of featherworks, which mostly remained together in the Leverian collection for a time, but later dispersed in sales and auctions, into the hands of private collectors. Some eventually were donated over to non-private museums. Other examples are presumed lost. Cloaks and helmet given him to wear, 1779 When British explorer James Cook visited in Hawai‘i on 26 January 1779 he was received by a high chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaii Island. At the end of the meeting Kalaniʻōpuʻu made the gift of the feather helmet (mahiole) and feather cloak he was wearing by placing them personally upon Cook's head and shoulders, and making him clutch his kāhili ("fan", "fly flap") which was a symbol of authority. Kalaniʻōpuʻu also laid several other cloaks at Cook's feet as well as four large pigs and other offerings of food. Leverian collection Much of the material from Cook's voyages including the helmet and cloak ended up in the collection of Sir Ashton Lever. He exhibited them in his museum, the Holophusikon, Of these, there were 7 feather cloaks (the longer ʻahu ʻula) which she painted. Two sets of feather cape/cloak and helm were sold from the Bullock's collection to Charles Winn, eventually to enter the New Zealand national museum collection, namely, lot 25, probably those listed in the 1805 edition of the Companion to Bullock's Museum, but not associated with Cook's voyage, still retained at Te Papa, ==ʻAhu ʻula in current museums==

The Bishop Museum in Honolulu in 1918 was in possession of some fifteen ʻahu ʻula, including the magnificent full-length cloak of King Kamehameha, made entirely of mamo feathers (450,000 feathers from 80,000 birds.), though some i'iwi red feathers were added to the trimming later when Kamehameha IV wore it ceremonially. and Beaglehole claims it was what Kīwalaʻō wore when Captain Cook was killed. The Kintore example has black stripes (prodigious use of black being rare in itself), which also makes it unique. The Bishop also houses a mahiole and cloak (cape) given to the king of Kauaʻi, Kaumualiʻi, when he became a vassal to Kamehameha I in 1810, thus completing the unification of all the islands into the Hawaiian Kingdom. The mahiole is of primarily of red color, with some yellow feather used. The de Young Museum in San Francisco displayed several cloaks in a special exhibition in 2015–2016, in collaboration with the Bishop Museum (cf. fig. above), with capes on loan from other institutions as well. War capes As already noted, the early small capes or the "rectangular" style capes are all housed in collections outside Hawaii. Those examples classed as shorter ʻahu ʻula for combat, i.e., "war capes" include for example a cape from the Cook expedition held by the Australian Museum in Sydney. There are four similar "war capes" in the British Museum. Further examples The National Museums of Scotland show a feather cloak that was given in 1824 from King Kamehameha II of Hawaii to thanking for his service in London. Musée d'ethnographie de Genève displays an early 19th-century cloak on its permanent exhibition. It was considered the museum's most precious item by the institution's founder, Eugène Pittard. ==Anecdotes==

Kalākaua King David Kalākaua as rightful heir inherited the mamo feather cloak of Kamehameha I, and he used it in his coronation ceremonies held nine years into his reign, in 1883. Robert re-assumed the role of the feather cloak keeper when the king was visiting the maharaja of Johore, but he again got drunk and returned from a luggage-trip to the yacht without the cloak, thus removed from his office a second time. ==See also==