The first wave of Protestant missionaries in 1820 viewed these scant coverings of Kānaka Maoli as immodest and lewd. Rev. Hiram Bingham, on first sighting Native Hawaiians, described the people as “chattering and almost naked savages.” The very strict mores of these New England Congregationalists clashed dramatically with traditional Hawaiian beliefs. Rising influence of the church meant great change in dress among Native Hawaiians as traditional pā‘ū were altered and later replaced with ankle to neck Mother Hubbards and mu‘umu‘u.
During this transition period the kapa itself changed as innovations brought by western technologies affected everything from applied colors to stamping techniques. The pā‘ū of Kamāmalu, Queen Consort to Liholiho, Kamehameha II, was one of these transitional pieces that incorporated new techniques in style and pattern. The Queen brought this pā‘ū with her on the Royal couple’s journey to visit King George IV of England in 1823-24. Both Kamāmalu and her husband Liholiho contracted measles in London and died. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum received this pā‘ū from the family of Captain Valentine Starbuck of the ship L’Agile, the vessel that carried the King and Queen across the Atlantic.
Location: Bishop Museum