A spectacular suite of bold works from the Hawai’ian
Islands forms the fi nale of the exhibition
and presents examples of the impressive feather-
and fi berwork created for the elite ruling class
that are among the high points of Hawaiian artistic
achievement. Chiefs were a living embodiment
of the prosperity and abundance of the
land. In Hawai’ian oratory, the highest-ranking
chiefs were referred to metaphorically as “sharks
that walk the land,” an epithet indicative of the
awe-inspiring power
and authority that
they wielded. A celebrated
feather cape
that once belonged to
the Hawai’ian chief
Kamehameha I6 incorporates
several thousand
small feathers
from cultivated populations
of the i’iwi
and ’o’o birds, each
meticulously tied by
its split quill to a fi -
ber foundation and
arranged in bold designs to create a sumptuous,
velvet-like surface (fi g. 7). The ingenious
construction of feather capes elicits important
ideas of transformation and effi cacy in the chiefs
that wore them. Intended to dazzle and overawe,
these were transformative works designed
to embellish and adorn the divine body of the
chief by harnessing the vitality of the natural
world. As a formal design element, the crescent
itself had powerful associations. The Hawai’ian
term for the shape, hoaka, applies to a number
of concepts. It can mean the arc of a rainbow,
the raised crest of a helmet, and, signifi cantly,
to brightness and radiance. Its reference to glittering
daylight or a fl ash of lightning evoked the
very sources of divine power. Wearing a boldly
designed crescent-shaped feather cape in the ritually
signifi cant colors of red, black, and yellow
was a strategic way for a chief to reinforce his
embodiment as a divine being.
Chiefs were understood to be embodiments
of the vitality associated with agricultural prosperity.
Since ancestral deities ensured life and
growth, it was essential for leaders to maintain
productive relationships with their gods, and
their clan in any district or island group as and
when needed. Mobility was a key feature of all
ritual sculpture and regalia.
The second section of the exhibition, “Propping
Up the Sky,” presents exquisitely carved
ceremonial staffs and important deities from
Tahiti, Mangareva, and the Cook Islands alongside
complex fi ber- and featherworks, including
an impressive feather-and-shell headdress from
the Austral Islands (fi g. 5) and a feather, fi ber,
and dog-hair breastplate (taumi) from the Society
Islands (fi g. 6). One of the most complex of
Tahitian artifacts, the taumi is a crescent-shaped
foundation of woven fi ber that incorporates
bands of neatly trimmed iridescent feathers;
small, perfectly graded shark teeth; and a thick
fringe of grey-white dog hair along its outer border.
The intricate construction of taumi was testament
to the ability of the elite class of chiefs
who commissioned them, who, by the very
process, proved themselves adept in managing
access to valuable resources and networks of
skilled labor required to produce these complex
works. The distinctive grey-white dog hair and
fi ne-grade coconut fi ber cord were imported to
Tahiti from the neighboring atolls of the Tuamotuan
archipelago. The carefully graded red
and green feathers were from a rare species of
lorikeet (Vini kuhlii) traded in from Rimatara
in the Austral Islands, while many hours were
required to capture the sharks and extract their
teeth for incorporation into this unique component
of ritual regalia. The complex assemblage
of rare, signifi cant, and valuable materials
combined to produce a startling ensemble worn
only by high-ranking chiefs and certain priests
and warriors in their service, reinforcing their
power and dominion. Pictorial evidence suggests
that taumi were worn in pairs across the
front and back of the chest and shoulders so
that the head appeared to rise up and out of the
jaws of a shark. The transformative aspects of
this dramatic armature were clear and explicit,
with each material signaling control and domain
exercised over land, sky, and sea. Encircled by
rows of white shark teeth, the luster of gleaming
feathers, and groomed sections of gray-white
dog hair, warrior-priests known as Arioi took on
the ferocious and powerful qualities of the gods
from whom they claimed descent.