DK Travel : Honolulu & O’ahu : History & Culture

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Polynesian Migration

Scholars believe that Marquesan voyagers first came to Hawai’i as early as the 4th century, with Tahitians arriving later, in the 13th. It was these two great waves of migration by skilled Polynesian seafarers that first populated the Hawaiian islands.
Punchbowl Cemetery

Among O’ahu’s most visited sites, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, spectacularly situated inside a volcanic crater, offers extraordinary views and a humbling sense of the human sacrifice brought about by various Pacific wars.
Queen Emma Summer Palace

Hānaiakamalama, a modest white, wood-frame house with high ceilings and deep porches, was the perfect warm-weather retreat, just far enough up the Nu’uanu Heights from Honolulu to catch chilly breezes. Queen Emma (née Rooke), who married King Kamehameha IV in 1856, inherited the home from her uncle. It was slated for destruction in the early 1900s, but saved by the Daughters of Hawai’i organization, who now operate it as a historical museum.
Queen Lili’uokalani

Hawai’i’s last and one of its most beloved monarchs (see Capitol District & Queen Lili’uokalani’s Room). Her government was overthrown in 1893.
Quilting

Among the many traditions brought by the missionaries was quilting. Not surprisingly, Hawaiian women took to the art form and made it their own, replacing New England designs with gorgeous renderings of local flora and fauna.
Royal Mausoleum

The mausoleum is overseen by Hawai’i’s only hereditary state office because the sacred duty to look after the graves is based on genealogy. It contains the bones of post-contact Hawaiian royalty, except for Kamehameha Nui, who was interred in an unknown Hawai’i Island location in accordance with custom, and Liholiho, whose grave is at Kawaiaha’o. A koa -lined coral block chapel dating to 1865 forms the cemetery’s centerpiece, surrounded by the graves and vaults of the various family groups.
Seed Lei

Simple, single-stranded Job’s Tears and intricately crafted wiliwili-seed lei are popular examples of this type.
Statehood

Following several failed attempts, Hawai’i became the 50th state in the Union on August 21, 1959. William F. Quinn and James K. Kealoha were sworn in as the first elected governor and lieutenant governor of the new state. The occasion is marked each year by a state holiday, Admission Day, celebrated on the third Friday in August.
Statue of Lili’uokalani

Weighted with lei (garlands) and symbolism, this exceptionally life-like bronze sculpture of Hawai’i’s last queen stands on the south grounds of the State Capitol (see Capitol District). In her hand she holds a copy of her evocative composition Aloha ’Oe , the 1893 Constitution, and the Kumu Lipo , Hawai’i’s creation story. Ho’okupu (gift offerings) are often left here by sovereignty activists who revere this queen, who was forced to give up the monarchy under protest.
Stonework

Stones are an important part of Hawaiian cultural life, used in practical situations (such as building) and for spiritual needs (such as the fertility and birthing stones found on all the islands). Because stones are so highly regarded, visitors are asked not to remove them from their setting.