32nd Annual Experts Lecture Series – Life & Death of Kamehameha the Great – Video replays now available

Winter 2019, January 30 to March 6

St. Andrews Cathedral, Von Holt Room

229 Queen Emma Square, Honolulu

All talks Wednesdays at 12:00 noon

Sponsored by the Historic Preservation Program, Department of American Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation

The Experts at the Cathedral Series held a series of lectures on the life and death of Kamehameha the Great in commemoration of the bicentennial of his death in 1819. Videos of the series are available below.

Dating the Birth of Kamehameha the Great, January 30

Mahalo to Dr. Ralph Kam and Jesse Otto of University of Hawaii’s Graduate Certificate Program in Historic Preservation for curating an excellent series this year. Please check back to view videos from each lecture which we will continue to add over the next several weeks. A hui hou!

A legend of a comet helped establish the timing of the birth of Kamehameha. The arrival of Halley’s Comet provides a possible clue to the approximate date of his birth.

Ashlie Duarte-Smith, “Determining the Birthdate of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III,” Hawaiian Journal of History (2018) and Tony Smith, Planetarium Supervisor, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum

Pu‘ukohola: The War Heiau of Kamehameha I, February 6

Kamehameha built the Pu‘ukohola Heiau to secure the favor of his war god Kuka‘ilimoku. Take a look at its history and preservation.

Samuel M. ʻOhukaniʻōhiʻa Gon III Ph.D., Senior Scientist & Cultural Advisor, The Nature Conservancy, Hawai‘i

The Peleleu Fleet of Kamehameha, February 13

The conquest of an island kingdom required the building of a great fleet. The armada of ships landed Maui in 1790 and O‘ahu in 1795. Find out about the forest resources required to build such a fleet.

Benton K. Pang, author of In the Wake of Ruling Chiefs: Forest Use on the Island of Hawai‘i during the Time of Kamehameha I (2003).

The Conduct and Boundaries of the Battle of Nu‘uanu, February 20

The opposing forces positioned themselves in Nu‘uanu for the last great battle for the control of O‘ahu. Learn how the 2018 Summer Field School of the Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation Program helped determine the possible boundaries of the Battle of Nu‘uanu.

Neil Bernard Dukas, author of The Battle of Nu’uanu, 1795: An Illustrated Pocket Guide to the O’ahu Battlefield (2010) and Ami S. Mulligan, history doctoral student, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

Na hulu ali‘i no Kamehameha, the Chiefly Feathers of Kamehameha, February 27

The famed ahu‘ula and mahiole of Kamehameha represented the pinnacle of feather work. Learn the creation and preservation of the cloak of Kamehameha I.

Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu, Assistant Specialist, Public Humanities & Native Hawaiian Programs, Department of American Studies, University of  Hawai‘i at Mānoa

The Last Royal Death and Burial Under the Kapu System, March 6

The burial and mourning practices for Kamehameha I represented the last full instance of these observances. Keōpūolani restricted the mourning rites to wailing. Her son, Kamehameha II, returned from England in a Western-style coffin.

Nanette Naioma Napoleon, author of Oahu Cemetery Burial Ground & Historic Site (1998).

Ralph Thomas Kam, author of Death Rites and Hawaiian Royalty: Funerary Practices in the Kamehameha and Kalākaua Dynasties, 1819-1953 (2017).

Stop by on your lunch hour and feel free to bring a brown bag lunch.

Click here for a map of the venue location.

PARKING: Metered parking is available near Iolani Palace. Parking is also available at the Alii Place Parking Garage located at 1099 Alakea Street near the Hotel Street intersection ($3 for 2 hours) and in the St. Andrew’s public parking lot ($12 for 2 hours).

Open to all.  Reservations are not required.