Free Public Screening of ‘Nā Hulu Lehua’

The original ʻAhu ʻula and mahiole of Kalaniʻōpuʻu that was gifted to Captain James Cook in 1778 and now on display at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. Wikimedia Commons photo.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will host free public screenings throughout the state in February and March for its film, Nā Hulu Lehua: The Royal Cloak & Helmet of Kalaniʻōpuʻu.

The film documents the historic return of Chief Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s sacred cloak and helmet, which left Hawaiʻi more than two centuries ago.

In 1779, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, aliʻi nui of Hawaiʻi Island, greeted Capt. James Cook in Kealakekua Bay and draped his treasured ʻahu ʻula over the newcomer’s shoulders as a gesture of goodwill.

While Cook himself would not leave Hawaiʻi, Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s feathered cape and mahiole sailed back to Europe with Cook’s crew, and ultimately ended up at the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

The film will be shown at Huliheʻe Palace in Kona on Friday, Feb. 24, and in South Kona at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park Amphitheater on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the program will start at 6:30 p.m. Seating is

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

More about the film is available online.