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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 11:18 a.m., Wednesday, January 30, 2008

King Kamehameha IV cloak to return to summer palace

Advertiser Staff

The Daughters of Hawai'i, caretakers of Queen Emma Summer Palace in Nu'uanu, will next month unveil a full-length 'o'o (yellow) and 'i'iwi (red) feather cloak of Alexander Liholiho, King Kamehameha IV.

A ceremony is set for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at the palace.

Hawaiian protocol will be used for the occasion under the direction of renowned kumu hula Kaha'i Topolinski.

The event is open to the public, with light refreshments to follow the ceremony.

Although the exact origin of the cloak is unknown, it is believed to have belonged to Peleioholani, the early 18th-century king of O'ahu and Moloka'i.

The cloak was eventually given to Kamehameha the Great, until it was passed to King Kamehameha IV and his consort, Queen Emma. The cloak was willed to the Daughters of Hawai'i in 1959 by Alice G. Hite, a longtime member of the organization, whose husband had purchased the cloak in 1947 at a London auction.

For the past two years, the cloak has been at the Bishop Museum under the care of conservationist Valerie Free, who has cleaned and restored the garment.

After the ceremony at the palace the cloak will remain on display at Queen Emma Summer Palace.

The Daughters of Hawai'i, a membership-based organization founded in 1903, have dedicated themselves to perpetuating the memory and spirit of the Hawaiian culture and language. The Daughters care for and operate both Queen Emma Summer Palace in Nu'uanu and Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua, Kona.

For additional information, contact the Daughters of Hawai'i at 595-6291.