Renaissance King

Kalākaua – Renaissance King. Mahalo for building ʻIolani Palace. Mahalo for showing our people that we are somebody, that our cultural traditions of hula, oli and haʻiʻōlelo have value, that our ancient ways of doing things – lapaʻau – are also of value, that our chiefly genealogies are worthy of study and appreciation. Mahalo for being the first monarch to circumnavigate the globe and for representing tiny Hawaiʻi as one in the family of nations. In the face of criticism you continued to work always for your Hawaiian people. We were a dying race but you gave us hope in ourselves, urging us to hoʻoulu lāhui, giving us food for our souls. Mahalo iā ʻoe e ka Mōʻī Kalākaua. Ua kapa ʻia ʻoe he flamboyant. And what’s wrong will that?