The Hawaiian Archipelago - Six Months Among The Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, And Volcanoes Of The Sandwich Islands By Isabella L. Bird
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When The Cheering Had Subsided, The Eighty Boys Of
Missionary Lyman's School, Who, Dressed In White Linen With Crimson
Leis,
Were grouped in a hollow square round the flagstaff, sang the
Hawaiian national anthem, the music of which is the
Same as ours.
More cheering and enthusiasm, and then the natives came through the
gate across the lawn, and up to the verandah where the king stood,
in one continuous procession, till 2400 Hawaiians had enjoyed one
moment of infinite and ever to be remembered satisfaction in the
royal presence. Every now and then the white, pale-eyed,
unpicturesque face of a foreigner passed by, but these were few, and
the foreign school children were received by themselves after Mr.
Lyman's boys. The Americans have introduced the villanous custom of
shaking hands at these receptions, borrowing it, I suppose, from a
presidential reception at Washington; and after the king had gone
through this ceremony with each native, the present was deposited in
front of the verandah, and the gratified giver took his place on the
grass. Not a man, woman, or child came empty handed. Every face
beamed with pride, wonder, and complacency, for here was a sovereign
for whom cannon roared, and yards were manned, of their own colour,
who called them his brethren.
The variety of costume was infinite. All the women wore the native
dress, the sack or holuku, many of which were black, blue, green, or
bright rose colour, some were bright yellow, a few were pure white,
and others were a mixture of orange and scarlet. Some wore very
pretty hats made from cane-tops, and trimmed with hibiscus blossoms
or passion-flowers; others wore bright-coloured handkerchiefs,
knotted lightly round their flowing hair, or wreaths of the
Microlepia tenuifolia. Many had tied bandanas in a graceful knot
over the left shoulder. All wore two, three, four, or even six
beautiful leis, besides long festoons of the fragrant maile. Leis
of the crimson ohia blossoms were universal; but besides these there
were leis of small red and white double roses, pohas, {203} yellow
amaranth, sugar cane tassels like frosted silver, the orange
pandanus, the delicious gardenia, and a very few of orange blossoms,
and the great granadilla or passion-flower. Few if any of the women
wore shoes, and none of the children had anything on their heads.
A string of 200 Chinamen passed by, "plantation hands," with boyish
faces, and cunning, almond-shaped eyes. They were dressed in loose
blue denim trousers with shirts of the same, fastening at the side
over them, their front hair closely shaven, and the rest gathered
into pigtails, which were wound several times round their heads.
These all deposited money in the adjutant-general's hand. The dress
of the Hawaiian men was more varied and singular than that of the
women, every kind of dress and undress, with leis of ohia and
garlands of maile covering all deficiencies. The poor things came
up with pathetic innocence, many of them with nothing on but an old
shirt, and cotton trousers rolled up to the knees.
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