Hawaiian Flag Quilt, 1898
This quilt made its debut as part of the Creating Hawai‘i showcase which opened in August 2009 at the National Museum of American History. Missionaries introduced quilting in Hawai‘i in the 1820s, and by the 1840s the flag image began to appear in quilts. Soon after annexation in 1898, there was an increase in the making of Hawaiian flag quilts.
The lettering on the quilt reads “Hawaii Ponoi [the state song and former national anthem of Hawai‘i] Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina IKa Pono,” which is Hawaii’s motto and translates to “The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness.”
Gift of Adelaide D. McDonough
This is perhaps , the most intriguing and beautiful quilt of great historic signficance I have ever seen involving Hawaii’s history. There needs to be a documentary made from this. Perhaps contact the famous documentarian , Ken Burns to do it…
Hawaiian quiltmaking is a wonderful art and an expression of native life. When I was a young girl, I remember my grandmother and her friends would sew quilts while sitting on the floor. When the first Rockerfeller hotel was built on the Big Island, Hawaiin quilts were part of the decor. I don’t remember the details but my grandmother’s quilting hand was photographed for a newspaper article about the hotel and use of traditional Hawaiian culture. I have 2 of my grandmother’s quilts, worn from years of use. And I have her last quilt “top” with the needle she used, and a treasured memory.
Mahalo