Flag of Hawaii
The flag of the state of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian: Ka Hae Hawaiʻi) is the official standard symbolizing Hawaiʻi as a U.S. state. The same flag had also previously been used by the kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory of Hawaiʻi. It is the only state flag to feature the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, a holdover of the period in Hawaiian history when it was under the influence of the British Empire.
Design
The canton of the flag of Hawaiʻi contains the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, prominent over the top quarter closest to the flag mast. The field of the flag is composed of eight horizontal stripes symbolizing the eight major islands (Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi and Niʻihau). A ninth stripe was once included, representing the island of Nihoa. Other versions of the flag have only seven stripes, probably representing the islands with the exception of Kahoʻolawe or Niʻihau. The color of the stripes, from the top down, follows the sequence: white, red, blue, white, red, blue, white, red. The colors were standardized in 1843, although other combinations have been seen and are occasionally still used.[1][2]
Origins
There are various accounts of the earliest history of the flag of Hawaiʻi. One relates how King Kamehameha I flew a British flag, probably a Red Ensign, given to him by British explorer Captain George Vancouver as a token of friendship with King George III. Subsequent visitors reported seeing the flag flying from places of honor. An adviser to Kamehameha noted that the Union Flag could draw Hawaiʻi into international conflict, as his kingdom could be seen as an ally of the United Kingdom, and he subsequently lowered the Union Flag over his home at Kamakahonu. While disputed as historically accurate, one account stated that in order to placate American interests during the War of 1812, a flag of the United States was raised over Kamehameha's home, only to be removed when British officers in the court of Kamehameha vehemently objected to it. This explains why the resulting flag of Hawaiʻi was a deliberate hybrid of the two nations' flags.[3]
In 1816, Kamehameha commissioned his own flag to avoid this conflict, which has evolved into the current flag. It was probably designed by one of the commanders of the Royal Hawaiian Navy, former officers of the British Royal Navy, who advised Kamehameha, based on a form of the British naval flag. There is debate as to the actual designer: some credit Alexander Adams, others George Beckley. It was very similar to the flag of the British East India Company in use about this time which had only red and white stripes. Captain Adams used this flag for the first time on a Hawaiian trade mission to China in 1817.[4]
The original flag was designed to feature stripes alternating in the order red-white-blue, also attributed to various historical flags of the United Kingdom. However, some have argued that the stripes were influenced by the flag of the United States. The flag used at the first official flying of the flag of Hawaiʻi erroneously placed the stripes in the order white-red-blue[5], although it seems explorers to the island disagree about the exact order of colors and the number of stripes up to the late 1840s. There may have been possibly different versions of the flag with different numbers of stripes and colors.[6] The number of stripes also changed: originally, the flag was designed with either seven or nine horizontal stripes, and in 1845 it was officially changed to eight stripes. The latter arrangement was adopted and is used today.[3]
Ka Hae Hawaiʻi day
In 1990, Governor of Hawaiʻi John D. Waihee III proclaimed July 31 to be Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day, the Hawaiian Flag Day. It has been celebrated each year since then.[7]
Flag of the Governor
The flag used by the governor of Hawaiʻi is a red and blue bi-color. In the middle of the eight white stars appears the name of the state in all capital letters. During the time Hawaiʻi was a United States territory, the letters in the middle of the flag were "TH", which stood for "Territory of Hawaii".[8]
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| Standard of the governor before statehood in 1959 |
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| Standard of the governor of Hawaiʻi |
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Kanaka Maoli flag
The Kanaka Maoli ("true people" in the Hawaiian language) flag is sometimes claimed to be the original flag of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. To some, this flag symbolizes the Native Hawaiians, because the present Hawaiian flag, a hybrid of British and American symbolism, evokes images of colonialism.[9] The colors are red-green-yellow, said to have been Kamehameha’s personal flag, and reintroduced by Kamehameha III. The central design is also present in the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
Gene Simeona of Honolulu claims he has recreated the "original" Hawaiian green, red, and yellow striped flag, destroyed by British navy Captain Lord George Paulet when he seized Hawaiʻi for five months in 1843. Simeona says a descendant of Paulet, whom he met on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace in 1999, told him the present Hawaiian flag is not the original. Simeona said he found the design in the Hawaiʻi State Archives.[9] However, no evidence to date has supported this claim either in Hawaiian newspapers, historical sketches, nor any government documentation of that era.
At the center of the flag is a green shield bearing a coat of arms of the kanaka maoli, made up of the royal kahili, the original Hawaiian royal standard. Crossing this kahili are two paddles, representing both voyaging traditions of Hawaiians, and Kamehameha's Law of the Splintered Paddle. There are nine stripes, unlike the eight striped flag of the present state of Hawaiʻi. Each stripe represents one of the inhabited Hawaiian islands. They are: Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, Niihau, and Nihoa. According to this flag's promoters, the green in the flag represents the maka 'ainana (commoners), the land and goodness; the red represents the landed konohiki (middle class), genealogy and strength; and the yellow represents the aliʻi, spirituality and alertness to danger.[9] Other flags have been proposed, and interpretations of colors,[10] but even leaders of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement often use the current state flag, since it was in effect after 1843.[11]
Chronology
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| Date |
Flag |
Image |
| 1793–1794 |
British Red Ensign[5] |
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| 1794–1816 |
Union flag (probably not updated in 1801) |
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| 1816–1843 |
Early version of the present flag |
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| Feb 1843 – July 1843 |
Union flag (during Paulet Affair) |
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| July 1843 - May 1845 |
Early version of the present flag |
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| May 1845 – Feb 1893 |
The current Hawaiian flag introduced in 1845 |
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| Feb 1893 – Apr 1893 |
U.S. Flag |
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| 1894–1898 |
Hawaiian flag re-adopted by Republic of Hawaii |
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| 1898–1959 |
Hawaiian flag used by U.S. territory of Hawaii |
| 1959–present |
Hawaiian flag used by state of Hawaii |
Gallery
See also
References
External links