The statue of King Kamehameha I represents Hawai‘i in popular culture, at the U.S. Capitol and on the state’s quarter. The figure in the statue looks regal, magnanimous, and welcoming. What it does not appear to be is -- Hawaiian.
It is perhaps not surprising that the figure of Kamehameha is less than realistic. The idea of the statue was the brainchild of Walter M. Gibson, a scoundrel by some accounts, an “adventurer” in others, who attached himself to the government of King Kalakaua. Whatever his virtues or vices, Gibson was certainly an opportunist who arrived in Hawaii as an adult. He proposed the statue as a way of commemorating the “discovery” of Hawai‘i by Captain Cook. He apparently imagined the King welcoming Cook to the islands. This idea is not only wildly implausible it is also historically inaccurate.
Revisionist history aside, the statue itself looks wrong. The sandals are described as “not historically accurate” for Hawaii, although they would fit the feet of a Greek or Italian king. And that is just what comes to mind when I look at the statue. Several descriptions of the statue mention the Roman nose, but it is the pose that suggests to me any number of European statues. I'm torn between seeing it as an idealized representation of royalty in a Polynesian setting or as the South Pacific version of the “noble savage”. Either way, it springs from a Western European concept of manly virtue and physical beauty.
Photo by: Taressa Ishimi. Goddess Athena (Louvre Museum).
Does it matter that the statue representing Hawai‘i does not represent a Hawaiian? Perhaps not. It serves as a focal point for annual celebrations that evoke authentic reverence. The statue now commemorates King Kamehameha’s role in unifying the islands rather than greeting western adventurers. The annual lei draping celebrates a culture that has preserved customs from the time of Kamehameha I to now. The statue has been reclaimed and redeemed from its revisionist creators, restored to its place in a non-Eurocentric view of Hawaiian history.
I just can’t help wishing the statue looked a little more like the people who honor and cherish it.
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