COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE AT KAWAIAHAO
Memorial Tablets to the Alii of the Land are Unveiled.
This past Sunday the Kawaiahao Church was filled to listen to the commemorative program for John Ii, Haalilio, Haalelea, and Ululani; the people whose names are inscribed on the marble tablets placed in the church.
On the wall mauka at the pulpit of the pastor is where the marble tablet of John Ii is placed, and mauka of the central door to enter into the chapel [keena pule] is where the tablet of the last three names.
The Kaahumanu Society came in great numbers on this day, and one side of the church was filled with them, and there were many visitors who came to witness the events held on that day.
It was Rev. H. H. Parker who introduced the two that gave the speeches about the history of those who were being memorialized on that day, they being Rev. S. L. Desha and the Hon. E. K. Lilikalani.
Rev. S. L. Desha’s speech relied heavily upon his introductory words that morning about the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, and just as the words of the Lord speaks of the actions of that woman becoming something remembered, in that same way Desha presented things about John Ii.
He spoke of the story of this man from his childhood, and he was one of the intelligent ones who gave great assistance in guiding the nation forward.
When the missionary teachers urged the King to educate him, he chose John Ii to be educated along with the younger brother of the King; this showed the King had much trust in this man.
In the administration of the nation, John Ii was the first amongst the Hawaiians who the King chose for an important post. When a commissioner was being chosen to give lands to the people, he was one who was selected, and he rose to the position of judge on the Supreme Court.
When the King received instruction from San Francisco to send someone from Hawaii to sit in the jury of that city pertaining to the crime committed by a Hawaiian [Harry Kaheleiki], it was indeed John Ii who the king chose to send to hear this case, and this man’s abilities and intelligence was seen through his actions.
In his attitude towards religion, he was a man who always stuck to what was right, and he gave sermons at the Church of Ewa. It is said that if it was heard that he was the one to be speaking, the church would be filled, and people stood outside, and on one Sunday when he went to go pray, when he was headed home, he fell from his horse and broke a rib, and that was his ailment which persisted until his death.
It is said in the history of this man, he was a man of strength, and the Alii were of great importance to him. As a result of an accident involving one of the Alii, that being the Alii falling from a horse, he did not wait to find out the cause of this distress to the Alii, but his outrage was focused upon the horse, and in his anger, with but one punch he struck the horse and it died.
After the words about John Ii was done, the Hon. E. K. Lilikalani stood and read the story of the second part of the events of that day, and we are printing what he presented for them, just as he read, and here it is below:
Whereas:—The second portion of the events of this day is the dedication of the commemorative tablet for Ululani and Haalelea which is affixed to the wall in front of this church.
This gift was not on account of just one person, but it is a present from the people. It is the members, intimates, and friends of the Kawaiahao Church showing the family of the ones who died their aloha and their never-ending remembrance of Ululani Haalelea.
The reason and the cause that this endeavor was carried out by the members and it was decided to place it here in this church of Kawaiahao:
Whereas, Ululani did a great deed for this church and its members, over a long period of time, during her lifetime, and she was a brethren of this Church.
With the auspices of the Church, along with this commemorative speech, will be attached the history of her life, her birth, her fine works, and the list of names of the intimates and friends who were involved, and will be gifted to the family of Ululani Haalelea here in Honolulu and in other places.
(See page 8.)
(Kuokoa, 10/18/1907, p. 1)
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XLII, Helu 42, Aoao 1. Okatoba 18, 1907.
COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE AT KAWAIAHAO.
(From page 1.)
Ululani was born in they year 1842, in the month of July on the 21st, at Hilo, Hawaii. Sixteen years later, in the month of June, she was married to the alii, Levi Haalelea.
They lived in the holy covenant of matrimony until 1864, when Haalelea died; therefore, she only lived with her husband for six years, and they had not children.
In that very year, and a just before that time, Henry H. Parker came from his position as teacher at Lahainaluna College.
He was to serve as kahu of Kawaiahao Church, and it was then Ululani Haalelea was included into the church by this Henry H. Parker; she was the first fruit for righteousness in her confession of faith [hoike manaoio], and she became a member of the Kawaiahao Church.
And from then on she remained a member of the Church until her recent death in 1904; she was a member for 40 years, in her 62 years of life.
Mrs. Ululani Haalelea was a chiefess who was steadfast in the righteousness of God. She was humble with aloha. She was pleasant and benevolent, she was a mother for the Christian good in Hawaii, she was a famous chiefess and prominent among the Courts of the Monarchs, and the high chiefs of the land, she was an attendant of Queens, and held honored positions in the courts of those days.
Mrs. Ululani Haalelea was a leader and an adviser of the Beneficent association of this town, from the Beneficent Associations of the haole, to the haole women and to the Hawaiians; she was the vice president of the Ahahui Hoola Lahui of Kalakaua and Kapiolani, she was a distinguished member of the board of trustees of the Maternity Home, and a president of the Choir “Hawaii Noeau.”
In 1893, a difficult situation fell upon the membership of Kawaiahao, that being the Kahu realized the state of the church at that time; it was old and the wood all over the building was rotting.
He fetched carpenters and they came and looked; they said that shortly services could not be held in the near future; it was just a matter of time before it fell.
Therefore, that very year, the doors of the church were shut. And the meetings of the members were held in a coconut front lanai upon this grounds.
Looking on, there was nothing left to do; the members ordered the building be torn down from top to bottom, leaving only the stone walls.
There were two big problems at the time. 1. The poor and needy state of the Church; there was no money to reestablish and rebuild the church. 2. the overthrowing of the Monarchy of Hawaii that year. The thoughts of the Hawaiians and the haole were cleaved in two, the unity was broken, and aloha was broken into bits, and feelings of rage and anger grew. The church members were split in two with one group being patriots while the other group being for annexation.
Because of these problems, there grew many doubts and predictions of disaster. Kawaiahao would not be built anew for the land and the people were in turmoil. But Ululani Haalelea had no doubt, she stood up and holding a plow in her hand, in righteousness, and she set up the very first money-making event to rebuild Kawaiahao Church, among the many words of doom from the haole and Hawaiians alike.
Six months later, in December 1893, a great Fair [Aha Fea] was held in the uplands of Manamana, under the direction of Ululani assisted by Mrs. Annie Dowsett and the mothers of Kawaiahao, and the effort went smoothly.
Subtracting the expenses from the profits, what was left was $2000 in the funds to build the church.
At the same time, the members took action by figuring out on paper their donations. Some put $20, some $10, some $5, some $1.00, and so forth, and in the month of April of 1894, in the coconut frond lanai, the members gave their donations which totaled to $890 in cash, and $400 on paper.
When the wealthy haole amongst us living in Hawaii nei as well as in foreign lands saw that the members of Kawaiahao were taking action at the urging of Ululani Haalelea, they said, [“]We will now give you aid, O Kawaiahao, for we see that you are working and putting in great effort.[“]
Therefore, from Britain, from Theo. Davies, came $1000; from his wife $500; from C. R. Bishop $1000; and some others.
In that same year, the members chose a committee for the building of the church: The Kahu, Chairman; Ululani Haalelea, E. K. Lilikalani, D. L. Naone, Mary Adams, W. R. Castle, and P. C. Jones was the treasurer for the funds to build the church.
In the closing months of 1894, the church was completed, and the members entered after nine months of holding services in the Coconut frond hut [hale papa’i Launiu]. The church was complete with the total expenses being $14,000. In the famous history of this church, it was King Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III who first set up the building of this church in the year 1839, and it was complete in 1843 and consecrated to Jehovah. Its head was Rev. Hiram Bingham [Rev. Hiram Binamu].
In 1892, the Jubilee of the old Kawaiahao was held. And it was torn down in 1893. Therefore the old Kawaiahao stood for 51 years before it was razed.
And in the reconstruction of the New Kawaiahao, Ululani Haalelea was the one with a steel heart of aloha in the works for the Lord who inspired the brethren, [“]Let’s rebuild the Church.[“] And this is what we see now, that it is better than the previous Kawaiahao. And Rev. H. H. Parker is the Kahu, the leader; therefore I say that Ululani Haalelea is a Chiefess who is ranked in the List of famous chiefesses of the land.
- Her Highness Victoria Kamamalu, was the one to establish the first Kaahumanu Society of women here in the town of Honolulu in 1864, just as you all on this day, and she was extremely intelligent and famous for her knowledge in singing and musical instruments.
- Queen Ema Kaleleonalani, was the one who established the Queen’s Hospital which is called by her name, a place of refuge for their [Queen Emma and Kamehameha IV] citizens in times of trouble.
- Her Highness, Princess Pauahi Bishop, dedicated all of her wealth for the Kamehameha Schools. A blessing for the generations of youth of her lahui.
- Queen Kapiolani was the one who established the Kapiolani Maternity Hospital called by her name, the place of rest for Hawaiian women for their periods of difficulty.
- And the Chiefess Ululani Haalelea, the second cornerstone, the one who lead her fellow laborers of good, [“]Let’s rebuild the Kawaiahao Church,[“] by establishing the first Fair [Fea], and the proceeds from it was dedicated to the funds for the construction of the church, and this was carried out, and it was built, and the Building was completed in time and paid off with no debt.
And we all are witnesses who see firsthand the famous works of these chiefesses. Those words of the Lord Jesus Christ about that woman who anointed him in oil were fulfilled: Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
In that way we are remembering Ululani, with this stone monument for her, for Haalelea, her own husband, and for Haalilio; along with the monument to the Hanai Parent of the chiefs, Ioane Ii, the great Judge of the Supreme Court during the reign of Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III, a member of the National Boundary Commission, a member of the House of Nobles, and a native born chief. It was for all of them that the speeches of commemoration on this day were given, people who give pride to this land.
E. K. LILIKALANI.
[It is interesting to compare this account by E. K. Lilikalani with the account presented earlier in the PCA on 10/14/1907.]
(Kuokoa, 10/18/1907, p. 8)
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Buke XLII, Helu 42, Aoao 8. Okatoba 18, 1907.
nupepa 