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The Bishop Museum on Oahu
The andHawaii.com Travel Ezine, dated 06/15/03
To read past issues, visit andHawaii.com's Hawaii Travel Ezine page
| Recent Island News = | Hawaii Airline Scam |
| Title Article = | Bishop Museum |
| Travel deals = | various |
| Hawaiian Word = | moani |
| Hawaiian article = | Kealakekua Bay trip report |
| Featured Website = | Hilo Tropical Gardens |
| Featured Links = | various |
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Island News / My Comments
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Hawaii Airline Scam
Mainline Airlways, which appears to be nothing but a website (now removed), has been shut down after selling (too) cheap airfare tickets between LA and Honolulu.
I visited the Bishop museum for the first time a few years ago and was absolutely amazed and enthralled by what I found. This museum is said to be the best polynesian artifact museum in the world - and I believe it. I only wanted to spend about an hour there; but the museum sucked me in and I lost about 4 hours.
When you park in the parking lot you'll be looking at the front side of the gift shop and entrance where you pay (15.00 adult admission). To the right of that is the planetarium and a restaurant. The museum itself is in a separate building behind this, across the courtyard.
The front entrance is made of some sort of rock or concrete that has been painted with designs that look like eyes, petroglyphs, and deformed geckos. Be sure and look around the gift shop before you head in, most of the items here are also very unique and there are a few displays of leis (made of shells and feathers), poi pounders, ukuleles, koa bowls, and quilts.
As you walk across the courtyard to the museum itself, you will notice a large immaculate lawn, native flowers, and a 10 foot stone idol across the entrance. The main and original building, called Hawaiian Hall is extremely noble looking. It was built in 1898 to 1903 with Victorian architecture and is beautifull. The color is a dark brown, almost gray. It has a domed front entrance and gabled windows with ornate stone work. Next to the Hawaiian Hall is the Castle building that normally houses a "special exhibit".
We first went into the Hawaiian Hall - this is where all the artifacts are. We went immediately to the right, and walked through the building in a circle, going up all three floors, and back down again, ending in the Kahili room on the other side of the entrance. Some of the notable exhibits here, grouped by familiarity, were ....
- agricultural artifacts; what ancient Hawaiians used for digging and planting, actual kapa bark for clothing and bedding, twined baskets and containers from roots and lauhala, gourd bowls for water.
- Wooden surfboards, pictures from surfers in Hawaii in the early 1900's, one with a man wearing a malo (loincloth), pictures and explanations of the early Hawaiian games which tested 4 areas: skill, watersports, strength and endurance, and quiet contemplation.
- colorful feather arts and scary idol replicas and a to-scale heiau (temple) replica.
- a full sized sperm whale suspended from the ceiling (this caused me to stand in the middle of the room with my mouth open until a security officer came up to me and said "it's a whale"). The whale is 55 feet long, and weighs 50 tons. The skull itself weighs 3300 pounds. The skeleton can be viewed up close by going to the third floor.
- an 8 foot tall menacing, carved Ku (god of war) idol.
- a full size grass hut in the middle of the room, where the most authentic hula show in the islands is periodically given. We were lucky enough to see one of the shows. An older woman did the introduction and did all the music (using a ukulele and a gourd) while two younger women danced in authentic costume. It was one of the better shows I have ever seen and the last thing I heard the 'Auntie' say was "If you don't have a good time in Hawaii it's your own fault", which is so true.
- a dog tooth anklet worn during the hula, made with the canines of 500 dogs.
- feather capes and helmets.
- authentic petroglyphs - the rock they were carved in is actually there, plus rare petroglyphs in high relief (carved up instead of down).
- volcanic emergence of the islands, plus the life stages, views inside a lava tube, and replicas of the insects that live there.
- 'how life came to Hawaii' exhibit, showing the first birds and insects and the changes in the ecostructure over the years.
- Hawaii's gems, including olivine, agate, jasper, opal, and quartz.
- Polynesian Hall, which features artifacts of polynesians from around the world, including pictures of Easter Island. There were grass idols that made me think of Children of the Corn, paddles, necklaces, daggers, replicas of gods, war charms, spears, masks, fly whisks, and canoes. The interesting thing about this room was I could easily identify similarities between the works of different tribes and cultures, that lived thousands of miles away from each other, like they all still retained an ancient memory of a single influential place.
- the Kahili room, which had Queen Liliuokalani's carriage: a large black carriage with red, plush seating and large wheels, royal jewelry, portraits of royalty, and the Kahili's, which are 'feathered standards of chiefly authority. For example, a baby was born to royalty, and a kahili would be made to announce the babies arrival. It was normally on a tall wooden pole, between 5 to 20 feet high, with decorations of ivory and bone and topped with bright (over 100,000) feathers that plumed out in a circle.
We also went into the Castle building, which is a newer building next door to Hawaiian Hall. The current exhibit (they change it every few months) was "Aloha from Waikiki". As we walked in we stepped on a floormat timeline of the history and expansion of Hawaii and Waikiki. There were many hollywood memories, featuring music from Don Ho, and pictures of stars like Shirley Temple on Waikiki Beach. In this building there was also a lot of interesting exhibits for the kids, like interactive video of space shuttle launches, computer games, educational movies, and a chance to put on child size cave spelunking gear and walk through a miniature lava tube.
All in all, the Bishop museum is fascinating for the entire family. Adults will get more out of Hawaiian Hall, but after the kids see the sperm whale and the volcano exhibit they will want to head over to the Castle building. You may want to split this trip into two parts, because there is just so much to see. The Bishop museum is a must-see for anyone who enjoys Hawaii for its heritage, culture and people.
Have a great vacation! Lisa
** check the web sites for details and restrictions
moani - (mo ah nee) - light or gentle breeze, usually associated with fragrance; wafted fragrance; to blow perfume
definition from New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary.
Kayak Rentals and dolphins in Kealakekua Bay
one page of a well-done trip report to Kauai and the Big Island
Hilo Tropical Gardens
Nice place to visit in Keaukaha area on Big Island.
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