Hawaii - Hulihe'e Palace

Samuel walks through the sitting room at Hulihe'e Palace

At my request, we took a break from snorkeling to view the palace (or rather, grand house), of Hawaiian royalty. Built in 1838 of lava rock and mortar from corals, it contains not a single nail.  Later, it was stuccoed and plastered and guzzied up but the windows and beautiful Koa woodwork remains.

Upstairs sitting room, with "Kahili" staffs

My first impression when viewing the interior was "Tommy Bahama."  What the retail store lacks however is feathered staffs, called kahili, that seem to grace every room in this palace.  Think really large feather dusters.  You can see the two on either side of the couch in the picture above.  These were only allowed to royalty.  The bigger the kahili, the more important the person. 

Princess Ruth's bed, made of Koa wood.  

The most interesting royal figure for me was Princess Ruth Ke-elikolani, who lived in a grass hut outside the house, because she wanted to practice traditional Hawaiian customs.  She was the most powerful and wealthiest woman in Hawaii at the time, serving as royal governor of Hawaii.  She was also surely the largest, at 6 feet and 440 lbs. The royal family had heft back then.  Her bed was moved back into the palace for display.