“The Life” Cele b rating t h e a r t s, cu l t u re, a n d s u s t a i n ab i l i t y o f t h e Hawa i i a n Is la nds
Weddings and Special Occasions
Maui County December 2014–January 2015
Aloha from the Publisher
E komo mai, welcome to the debut of Ke Ola magazine’s first Wedding and Special Occasion issue for Maui County. After completing six years of publishing bi-monthly Hawaiian arts, culture and sustainability stories on Hawai‘i Island, and nearly two years in Maui County, we are excited to bring you this first special issue. We are particularly happy to provide a unique product, telling stories about traditional Hawaiian wedding customs and rituals in this first issue, in both English and Japanese. In following issues, you can look forward to features about ecofriendly ceremonies and receptions, unusual locations, baby lū‘au, historical churches, kahu, and a myriad of other wonderful stories. In the interest of inviting bridal parties and anniversary couples to consider having their dream wedding or vow renewal on these special islands, we’ve mailed complimentary copies of this issue to travel agents and event planners in major cities in Washington, Oregon, California, plus Las Vegas, Nevada, and also to our world-wide subscribers (who already have a love affair with these islands). We’ve also shipped boxes to several hula hālau in Japan. This magazine is also available in “flip-book” format on our website, so please share this with everyone you know. Maui County is “No Ka Oi” (the best) for getting married, renewing your vows, or celebrating any special occasion! The advertisers in this issue are well qualified to answer your questions about special occasion planning. Give them a call and thank them for bringing you this lovely keepsake of our beloved island home. Me ke aloha pumehana (with warm aloha), Barbara Garcia, Publisher
Contents KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
3 Traditional Hawaiian Weddings
2
By Leilehua Yuen
10 Traditional Hawaiian Weddings in Japanese By Leilehua Yuen Translated by Yuko Ka‘iualoha Usui
12 A Royal Wedding By Leilehua Yuen cover photo On location at Olowalu Reef photo courtesy Mike Sidney MikeSidney.com
Traditional Hawaiian Weddings | By Leilehua Yuen
T
oday’s beautiful and romantic Hawaiian weddings are a blend of traditions from many cultures, and often incorporate unique personal elements created by the bride and groom for their special day. Our modern weddings draw on traditions from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and, of course, Polynesia. As an officiant, I have been asked to help couples craft ceremonies which honor their blended backgrounds. I have helped couples design their ceremony which juxtaposed dancing flames and reflecting water, Hawaiian ho‘āo and Shinto sake ritual, Mexican lazo, and Hawaiian lei. While the Hawaiian Islands are synonymous with romance, and many of our ancient tales are based on, or at least liberally seasoned with, seduction and romantic intrigue, marriage as it is known in the Western world did not enter the Hawaiian culture until after 1820. In ancient times, there was no ceremony comparable to the modern wedding. What we think of today as marriage did not exist. There was no government licensing, no legal requirement, and no divorce. There was no expectation that one man and one
Intimate wedding performed by Reverend Kimo Po‘olenalena Beach, Wailea photo courtesy Rochelle Ashana
woman would “forsake all others and cleave unto” each other for their entire lives. Higher-ranking chiefs practiced polygamy and polyandry, and both men and women were free to change partners for any or no reason. If a couple decided that their relationship was no longer productive, they simply parted ways. As children were reared by the entire extended family, there was little, if any, disruption in the life of the youngsters. The maka‘āinana, the landsmen, or common people, had traditions which varied from island to island, district to district, and family to family. “Marriage” could be as simple as deciding to share a sleeping mat and starting a family, or as elaborate as the two families getting together, exchanging gifts, and hosting an ‘aha‘aina, a feast, to celebrate. Today, we know these kinds of common-law marriages as nohopū. Lacking an expectation of attachment, jealousy was rare. It did, however, exist, and was notable enough to provide the core of the conflict in several of the great Hawaiian romance epics, such as that of Lu‘ukia, or the story of Kahalaopuna. Of course, there were individuals who had life-long romantic attachments
3
UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘ĀINA I KA PONO.
The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. [Its sustainability depends on doing what is right.] Proclamation by Kona-born King Kamehameha III in 1843. Later adopted as the Hawai‘i state motto.
Publisher, Sales and Marketing
Barbara Garcia Bowman, 808.442.3244 x1, Barb@KeOlaMagazine.com
Interim Editor, Art Director
Renée Robinson, 808.329.1711 x2, HIeditor@KeOlaMagazine.com
Advertising Consultants
Rochelle Ashana, 808.280.1908, Rochelle@KeOlaMagazine.com Miranda Kawaiola, 808.280.5226, Miranda@KeOlaMagazine.com
Subscriptions
Sharon Bowling, 808.557.8703, Subscribe@KeOlaMagazine.com
Distribution
Maui Circulation, Inc.
Ambassadors
Amorah St. John • Shelley Maddigan © 2014, Ke Ola Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved
Worldwide Subscriptions and more: KeOlaMagazine.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
Ke Ola recognizes the use of the ‘okina [‘] or glottal stop, as one of the eight consonants of (modern) Hawaiian language; and the kahakō [ā] or macron (e.g., in place names of Hawai‘i such as Hāna). Ke Ola respects the individual use of these markings for names of organizations and businesses.
4
with each other, and these relationships also are treated in song and story. The romances of ‘Ōhi‘a and Lehua, and of ‘Umi and Kulamea come immediately to mind.
Courtship
While each family is different, a typical courtship might begin with the young man taking choice fish from his catch, or beautiful vegetables from his farm, to the girl’s family. He might begin spending more time helping the men of her family with their daily tasks. If they enjoyed his company, he might stay and help prepare the imu, then remain to eat. At last, he would cease going to his own home, and simply remain as part of the household of his sweetheart. Their relationship would be looked on as a natural part of the evolution of the family. Probably the most famous form of courtship among traditional Hawaiians is playing the ‘ohe hano ihu, the nose flute. Young men would fashion a flute from the local thin-walled bamboo, Schizostachyum glaucifolium, and compose a melody unique to themselves. They would play this melody for that special someone, who would recognize it as composed for herself, alone. Sometimes, the young lady would craft a nose flute for herself, and they would play duets, or play in a call-and-response fashion. Other stories talk about sweethearts crafting lei, not only for their beloved, more importantly for the grandparents of their intended. After all, as the kūpuna say, “If you’re in with the grandparents, you’re in!” Surfing also played a role in courtship, and several of the celebrated romances in Hawaiian history and legend hinge on surfing contests. Men and women both enjoyed, and continue
Ring Blessing photo courtesy Intimate Hawaiian Nuptials
to enjoy, displaying their skill in riding the waves, body surfing, board surfing, and canoe surfing. In the romance of Kelea, the surfing chiefess of Maui, her skill at surfing draws the attention of Lolale, chief of O‘ahu. Though he is not a surfer, and prefers the cool uplands to the seashore, they marry, then eventually she leaves him to be with his surfer cousin, Kalamakua. On occasion, exceptionally high-ranking children would be paired with each other from infancy, if a kahuna skilled in the family genealogies determined that it would be an auspicious match. In general, though family might have hopes and make suggestions, as long as the chiefs provided children of sufficient mana, choice in liaisons was the prerogative of the individuals. Same-sex relationships were also common. High Chief Līloa of Waipi‘o Valley had an male paramour, as well as an official “wife,” the mother of his highest ranking child, and a liaison with another woman which produced his more famed son, ‘Umi, who became an ancestor of Kamehameha Pai‘ea. Interpretations of some stories indicate that his wife had her own hale, and Līloa lived with his paramour until the chief’s peaceful passing in old age.
Marriage Ceremony
Royalty might have more elaborate ceremony when pairing off, yet it was not intended to consecrate the unity of the couple. The ceremony was to ask the blessing of the gods on the children of the royal pair, to assure that these offspring were born with perfect bodies and minds, and great mana, or spiritual power. These ho‘āo ceremonies varied according to locale and family,
Buddha at the Jodo Mission in Lāhainā photo Courtesy Rochelle Ashana
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
Water ceremony performed by Reverend Alalani Hill Kula Botanical Gardens photo courtesy Michelle Jones and Kat Crosby
6
and could be as simple as the royal couple being escorted to their new sleeping hale (house) and wrapped together in a sheet of pure white kapa with their family priests and chanters offering prayer and song for the union and offspring, to elaborate ceremonies of several days length involving exchange of ceremonial gifts, participation of the courts’ priests and chanters, relatives, and interested parties, and the preparation of much food at a great ‘aha‘aina. In some ‘ohana (families), a new hale would be built for the couple in which to conceive a child. This would prevent
the possibility of any negative mana from previous uses of the building affecting the child. New kapa would wrap the couple, and new dishes held their food, for the same reasons. Sometimes, if a family heirloom such as a great-grandmother’s moena (sleeping mat) had seen the birth of many children of great mana, that might be used so that its mana would be added to the conception. All parts of the ceremony were focused toward giving the children-to-be the greatest mana possible, for their health and success was the health and success of the entire community.
The Modern Hawaiian Wedding
Blessing of the lei performed by Reverend Diane Kapalua Beach photo courtesy Rochelle Ashana
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
After the introduction of Christianity in 1820, people began to “male.” This Christian style wedding was adopted by many families and eventually became the legal form. The term is simply transliterated from the English word “marry.” Spelled in Hawaiian, which has no written “r,” and must end in a vowel, the word become “male” pronounced (MAH-lay). The early Christian-style marriages were as austere as the Calvinist Missionaries who brought the ceremony. Records of some of these marriages can be found starting around 1826. A typical wedding might take place at the end of a regular church service. The minister, the couple, and two witnesses would stand at the door of the church and make their vows before the congregation. Afterwards, the minister would scribe the marriage into the church records, with the couple and witnesses signing. The main change at this time was not the outward form of the wedding ceremony; it was that the focus was now on the couple as a unit, “one flesh,” rather than as a channel to provide children of mana for the community. As time went on, the ceremony became more elaborate, especially after the Hawaiian royalty began to travel to Europe and join the Anglican Church. By the heyday of the Hawaiian monarchy, in the mid to late 1800s, weddings of royals and highly placed families rivaled the pomp and splendor of any European fête. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, weddings again became more simple affairs. Then, with the Territorial Era, Hawai‘i was marketed by companies such as Matson and Pan Am as a romantic destination for honeymoons. Local families again celebrated lavishly, often beginning to save for a daughter’s wedding at her birth. The baby lū‘au, a major production in its own right, is only a foreshadowing of the wedding pā‘ina. When Bing Crosby starred in Waikiki Wedding in 1937 and sang Blue Hawai‘i, and later in 1961 when Elvis Presley created a remake and named the film Blue Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i’s role as a wedding destination was set. An entire industry began to build around creating “dream weddings” and honeymoons.
7
Fairytale Wedding Makena Cove photo courtesy Rochelle Ashana
Weddings Today
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
As the different ethnic groups came to settle in our islands, people brought their customs from their homelands. As people met and intermarried, they shared their customs. Today, brides and grooms often select traditions from their ethnic backgrounds and from their life experiences, then blend them together to create beautiful and unique ceremonies that are especially meaningful for them. When I am asked “Is this okay?” or “Do you think I should?” I tell the couple, “Your wedding marks the beginning of your lives together. You will remember this day for the rest of your lives. Create the wedding that you want to remember.”
8
Sometimes, two or more traditions are blended to create a new tradition. The lei is a much loved part of Hawaiian ceremony and celebration. The lazo, a special kind of rosary used in Catholic weddings, is an important part of many Portuguese, Filipino, and Mexican weddings. In the past several years, I have seen a beautiful blending of these traditions. The rosary is replaced by a lei which is wound about the clasped hands of the bride and groom, or placed around both of their necks, linking them together. Today’s couples have the opportunity to interview a number of wedding officiants before deciding on which one will best help them to create their own unique ceremony. I encourage couples
to take advantage of this. Whatever traditions and customs a couple are heir to, in the end, a wedding should be an expression of their love for each other and their dreams and hopes for their future together. ❖ Leilehua Yuen is a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner, historian, author, artist, kumu hula, and kahu, licensed to officiate marriages in the state of Hawai‘i. Contact Leilehua Yuen: Leilehua@LeiManu.com Bibliography . Beamer, Winona; Interviews, 1997-2007 . Beckwith, Martha: Hawaiian Mythology . Carando, Joanne; Hawaiian Royal Incest, A Study in the Sacrificial Origin of Monarchy . Diamond, Milton, PhD; Sexual Behavior in Pre Contact Hawai‘i: A Sexological Ethnography . Finney, Ben; Surfing in Ancient Hawai‘i . Gutmanis, June; Na Pule Kahiko, Ancient Hawaiian Prayers . Handy, ES and Pukui, Mary Kawena; The Polynesian Family System in Kā‘ū . ‘I‘i, John Papa; Fragments of Hawaiian History . Kamakau, Samuel; Ruling Chiefs of Hawai‘i . Kamakau, Samuel; The People of Old . Kamakau, Samuel; Tales and Traditions of the People of Old . Kamakau; Samuel; The Works of the People of Old . Kanahele, George S; Emma: Hawai‘i’s Remarkable Queen . Malo,David; Hawaiian Antiquities . Thrum,Thomas G; Hawaiian Folktales . Westervelt, WD; Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes
Nawiliwili Beach in Hana photo courtesy Rochelle Ashana
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
9
トラディショナル ハワイアン ウェディング (カヒコ ウェディング)
Traditional Hawaiian Weddings translated for our Japanese readers.
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
by Leilehua Yuen (リリフア ユアン) ハ ワイ州公認カフ (結婚式の司祭) ハワイ文化の伝承者、歴史 家、作家、 アーティスト、 クムフラ
10
今日の、美しくロマンチックなハワイアンウェディングは、多 様な文化や伝統が織り込まれています。同時に新郎と新婦の人 柄や、彼らの希望を組み込んでつくりあげる特別な式でもあり ます。現代におけるハワイのウェディングにはヨーロッパやアメ リカ、 アジア、 アフリカ、 そしてポリネシアなどの伝統が取り入れ られています。私は司祭者として、 カップルたちに依頼され、 それ ぞれの文化や信仰をとりいれた式をつくりあげるお手伝いをさ せていただいています。両者と話し合い、 デザインさせていただ いた式には、燃えおどる松明の炎とホビ族の水瓶、 ハワイアン 式の結婚式と神道の盃の儀式、 メキシコのロザリオのコード (ラ ゾ) と、 ハワイの花のレイを同時に行うなどの独創的な結婚式が あります。 ハワイの島々は多くのロマンスがあることで知られており、 古代の物語の数々は、誘惑やロマンチックな興味をそそるよ うなテーマに基づいて伝えられていることが多いですが、西洋 式の結婚がハワイの文化にとりいれられるようになったのは 1820年以降からのことです。 古くには、現在のような結婚式に匹敵するものはありませ んでした。今日のような結婚というカタチは存在しなかったので す。行政の許可も、法的な要求も、 もちろん離婚もありませんで した。一人の男性と一人の女性が「他をすべて見放し、 お互いに 忠実に」 すべきという期待もありませんでした。高い地位にある チーフたちは一夫多妻制や一妻多夫制をとり、 男女ともに、何の 理由が無くとも、 それぞれいつでも自由にパートナーを替えるこ とが出来ました。 お互いに、夫婦関係に生産性が無くなったと感 じれば、彼らは単純に別の道へと進みました。子供たちは大家 族で育てられていたので、夫婦が別れても、子供達の人生に影 響を与えることは、 ほとんどありませんでした。 ハワイ語のマカアイナナ (土地の人) という、 いわゆる一般 の人々は、島から島、地域から地域、家族から家族で別々の伝統 を引き継いでいました。 「結婚」 とは、同じマットで寝て、家庭を 築いていくという単純な決めごとの場合であったり、二つの家族 が互いに集い、贈り物をしあい、 アハアイナというご馳走でもっ て祝う宴を催すことでもありました。現代では、 このような慣習 法に基づく結婚は、 ノホプー、 とよばれています。 お互いへの執着が少なかったため、嫉妬は稀でした。 しか し、 そのような感情は存在し、恋愛を語るいくつかの伝説では、
嫉妬が争いのもとであっとも描かれています。例えば「カハラオ プナ」 の伝説であるルウキアで伝えられています。 もちろん中に は、互いに生涯の愛を貫く人々もいました。 これらの関係もまた 歌と物語の中で扱われています。代表作のオヒアとレフアの伝 説や英雄ウミとクラメアの伝説は、心に響くロマンチックストー リーです。 求愛 各家庭によって違いはありますが、好きな娘の家族のため に、青年が、魚捕りの腕前やや、見事な野菜を収穫出来ることを 示すことが、典型的な求愛の始まりと言えるかもしれません。青 年は、彼女の家の男性たちの、 日々の仕事を手伝うことに多くの 時間を費やし始めます。 もし娘の家族が、青年の同席を喜んだ なら、彼はイム (ハワイの伝統的料理) の準備を手伝い、 それを 食べるために滞在することになります。 そうして、彼は自分の家 に戻らなくなり、恋人の家族の一員として、 そこに残るようにな ります。彼らの愛情関係は、家族の発展の自然な一部とみなさ れるのです。 おそらく、 もっとも有名なハワイの伝統的求愛に、 バンブー ノーズフルートを吹くことがあります。青年は、 その土地にある、 楽器を作るのに適した竹からフルートを形づくり、独特の曲を 作ります。彼らはその曲を、特別な相手のために奏でます。 そし て、 その曲を聞き分けることが出来るのは、特別な相手、 ただ1 人でした。時には、若い娘たちも自分のためにノーズフルートを つくり、 デュエットをしたり、相手を呼んだり、答えたりするため にフルートを吹きました。 他の物語では、最愛の人にだけでなく、 その祖父母にもレイ を手づくりする恋人について語っています。 つまり、 クプナ (年配 者) が言うように、相手の祖父母があなたを好いていれば、結婚 を助け、 サポートしてくれるかもしれないということです。 サーフィン競技にも求愛の役目があり、 ハワイの歴史と伝 説の要となる有名なロマンスのいくつかには、 はサーフィン大会 が関係しています。 男性も女性も、 ともに長く楽しむことが出来 き、体や板、 カヌーを使って、波に乗る技術を発揮し合いました。 マウイ島のサーフィンをする女性支配者、 ケレアのロマンス では、彼女の波乗りの技術がオアフ島のチーフ、 ロレアの注目を 浴びました。 しかし彼はサーファーではなく、 また海岸よりも涼 しい高台を好んでいました。 そこでケレアは彼のいとこでサーフ ァーの、 カラマクアと共に彼のもとを去りました。 時に、並外れた高い地位にある子供たちは、幼い頃から将 来の相手を決められています。家族の家系に熟練したカフナ (専 門家) が決定するならば、 それは幸運と言えるでしょう。 同性の関係も知られていました。 ワイピオ渓谷で高い位に あったチーフ、 リロアには、 男性の愛人がいましたが、公式な 「 妻」 で最高位の子供たちの母親と、彼の最も有名な息子ウミ (カ メハメハ パイエアの祖先) を産んだ別の女性と、連携をとらせ ていていました。 いくつかの物語の解釈では、彼の妻は、彼女自 身の家を所有したことを示しており、 リロアは彼の愛人と、 チー フとして年老いるまで、平和に暮らしたとありました。
Ho‘āo (marriage) ceremony with Kim and Sean Rupley, Officiant Kumu Leilehua Yuen photo courtesy Molly Irene McLaughlin Green Flash Photography Hawaii
For more information: Japan.KaaheleHawaii.com
KeOlaMagazine.com | Maui County, December 2014/January 2015
結婚式 式の全てで、子供たちに可能な限りのマナを与えることに また同時に、 そこには西洋式の結婚式に匹敵するものはあ 集中しました。彼らの健康と成功はコミュニティ全体の成功を りませんでした。王族は結婚する際、 とても念入りな式を催すか 収めることを意味するからです。聖な力を備えたことを保証する もしれません。 しかしそれは夫婦の結束を捧げることを意味し ために、王族夫婦の子供たちに神の祝福を受けられるように願 たものではありませんでした。式では、 これらの子孫が完璧な体 いました。 と心を持って生まれてくるように、 また偉大なマナ、 もしくは神聖 これらハワイ式の結婚式は、場面と家族に応じて変化しま な力を備えたことを保証するために、王族夫婦の子供たちに神 す。王族夫婦が、眠るための新しい家に付き添われ、純白のカパ の祝福を受けられるように願いました。 (木の皮で作った布) のシーツに一緒に包まれ、一族の司祭や これらハワイ式の結婚式は、場面と家族に応じて変化しま 祈祷師が、同盟と子孫のために祈りと歌を奉納する、簡単なも す。王族夫婦が、一族の司祭や祈祷師に付き添われ、眠るため だったかもしれませんし、儀式用ギフトの交換や、王室の司祭た の新しい家で、純白のカパ (木の皮で作った布) のシーツに一緒 ちと祈祷師、親戚や利害関係者を参加させ、盛大な宴のために に包まれ、同盟と子孫のために祈りと歌を奉納するような、簡素 十分な食べ物を準備し、数日におよぶ式を念入りに仕上げたか なもだったかもしれませんし、儀式用ギフトの交換や、王室の司 もしれません。 祭たちと祈祷師、親戚や利害関係者を参加させ、盛大な宴のた いくつかの家庭では、子供を妊娠するために、夫婦に新しい めに十分な食べ物を準備し、数日におよぶ式を念入りに仕上げ 家を建てます。 これは以前から利用されている建物の消極的な たかもしれません。 マナ (力) が子供に影響を及ぼす可能性を妨ぐためでした。夫婦 いくつかの家庭では、子を生すため、夫婦に新しい家を建 が新しいカパに包まれること、新しい皿に食べ物を盛ることも同 てます。 これは以前から利用されている建物の消極的なマナが、 じ理由です。曾祖母のモエナ (ベッド) や寝るためのマットが、偉 子供に影響を及ぼす可能性を妨ぐためでした。夫婦が新しいカ 大なマナ (力) を持つのたくさんの子供たちの誕生を見ていた場 パに包まれること、新しい皿に食べ物を盛ることも同じ理由で 合、時に、家宝として使用されるかもしれません。 す。曾祖母のモエナ (ベッド) や寝るためのマットが、偉大なマナ 式の全ての部分では、子供たちに可能な限りのマナを与え を持つ、 たくさんの子供たちの誕生を育んでいた場合、時に、家 ることに集中しました。彼らの健康と成功はコミュニティ全体の 宝として使用されたかもしれません。 成功を収めることになりました。❖
11
A Royal Wedding | By Leilehua Yuen
O
ne of the best documented royal weddings of Hawai‘i’s monarchy is that of Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV) and Emma Na‘ea Rooke. Their wedding captures the height of that romantic era in Hawai‘i’s history. On the morning of June 19, 1856, the Hawaiian government declared a public holiday. Honolulu’s streets were covered in rushes and grass to keep down the dust. Soldiers stood at attention, lining the street’s sides. Led by a cavalry escort, several carriages drove out in procession down King Street. One carried the bride and her three bridesmaids, Victoria Kamāmalu, Lydia Kamaka‘eha (who would later be known as Lili‘uokalani), and Mary Pitman. The other carriage bore the king, his brother, Lot, and their father, Kekūanao‘a. These royal carriages were flanked by kāhili bearers on foot, protecting the mana of their charges with the stately feathered emblems of rank. Uniformed aides-decamp on horseback followed their king. The procession closed with more of the cavalry escort. The route was thronged with spectators, and a local newspaper noted that many of the Hawaiians, in a return to ancient custom, prostrated themselves as their chief passed by, “until their foreheads touched the ground.” Arriving at Kawaiaha‘o Church, 500 people filled the building, and another 3,000 thronged outside. It was possibly the first recorded interdenominational wedding in Hawai‘i. The Anglican service was held in the Congregational church, where the Reverend Richard Armstrong performed it in Hawaiian and English. As grooms have done before and since, the young king forgot the wedding ring. Fortunately, Chief Justice Elisha Allen quietly slipped his own gold band to the king, and the ceremony continued.
12
The bride’s Parisian wedding gown showed the influence of Queen Victoria’s choice of white, which had set the fashion world on end 16 years earlier. Since Victoria of England had worn her white satin and lace to marry Albert, anyone who was someone wanted white for her wedding. Emma’s elegant choice was of lustrous heavy white silk, trimmed with three richly embroidered flounces. Her veil of Brussels point lace was affixed to her hair by a garland of roses and orange blossoms. Her jewelry was a set of diamonds. After the ceremony, the royal pair returned to the palace and were toasted by the Diplomatic and Consular Corps. That evening, a royal ball and supper was held at the palace for 500 invited guests. While the palace and its grounds were decked out in lights, the new queen shone more brightly in an evening dress of lace embroidered in white silk and silver. Marabou feathers completed the ethereal effect. The new Queen of Hawai‘i was also a queen of fashion! At the end of the evening, fireworks from the summit of Puowaena (today known as Punchbowl) lit the night sky. Yet, the festivities were not over! The Americans, the Germans, and the Chinese business communities each gave a ball in honor of the royal couple, and the king reciprocated with yet another ball, which concluded the grand state festivities. Privately, Queen Emma’s parents, Dr. Rooke and his wife Grace, wishing to acknowledge those who had been part of Emma’s life, hosted a pā‘ina for their tenants, retainers, and household servants. At last, the royal couple was well and truly wed! ❖