ions and into battle. They demonstrated political power and offered protection according to one’s value in the social hierarchy. Along with the capes, chiefs would wear wicker and feather helmets into battle, which mimicked the shape and coloring of the capes. Fly whisks, called kahili, were used at the royal court as well, emphasizing the ka mo’i’s claim to the feathers. Hawaiian ornaments may have carried metaphorical social and sacred power, derived from the materials from which they were made as well as the process of making them.
Class was based on birth, whether you were royal, a peasant (maka ‘ainana), or slave (kuawa) with no land or rights. The ka mo’i was the supreme and absolute chief. This was a position held by men, and was based on rank and the ability to rule, which was in turn based on the number of followers you had and the ability to declare what was kapu (taboo). Kapu was the external and internal force for order in the social and religious life of the community.
Hawai’i, Reconstruction of ceremonial structure at Kamakahonu known as ʻAhuʻena Heiau and Hale o Keawe (photo By No machine-readable author provided. Sasquatch assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=806139 and By Gillfoto – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21217776)
Outdoor temples, called heiau, were religious precincts that held carved images of the gods. Hawaiian deities and their conceptualizations about them express the importance of genealogy, the family, and the elevation of individuals by virtue of their descent from specific ancestors. Small stick gods, called akua ka’ai, were used for personal devotion. Images of the gods were also made in the same feather-working techniques as the helmets and cloaks. These can also be related to the war god. Some images represented other deified ancestors or lesser deities. These are often called ki’i ‘aumakua.
Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, is geographically the furthest east of the Polynesian islands. It is believed to have been settled between 300 & 1200. Moai probably commemorate elevated ancestors. These were placed on elevated stone platforms called ahu, and had hat-like pukao on top of their heads. After the moai were no longer being carved and erected, the Birdman Cult achieved ascendancy. The moai kavakava may represent deceased ancestors or demons, and may have been hung around the neck or from the rafters of the home. Male and female figures, called moai tangata and moai papa, were also sculpted.
Rapa Nui, Moai on ahu platform and Ahu Nau Nau (photo By Bjørn Christian Tørrissenderivative work: George Tsiagalakis – original work by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36590098 and By TravelingOtter – Ahu Nau Nau – Easter Island, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28473627)
Rapa Nui, Petroglyph related to the Birdman Cult, the Make Make god and Moai kavakava (photo CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=681929 and By WereSpielChequers – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7788990)