Tuesday, August 18, 2009 Honolulu Advertiser
QUEEN'S OVERTHROW REPLAYED
Events of 1893 Come Alive In This Week's Free Living History Walking Tour
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Emotions flared last night in front of Ali'iolani Hale.
Annexation forces bent on overthrowing Queen Lili'uokalani were meeting behind closed doors in offices at the corner of Merchant and Queen, Hina Kneubuhl anxiously told a gathering of listeners.
"They are accusing the queen of treason, and revolution!" she shouted. "And they are forming a committee for safety to formulate a plan of action!"
Kneubuhl was joined by "Legislator" Charles Timtim, who added, "It is insulting and outrageous that the very men — I won't say gentlemen — who promulgated the Bayonet Constitution by force, now have the audacity to call the queen treasonous!"
So went the first walk-through rehearsal of "Mai Poina" ("Don't Forget"), a living history presentation set for tomorrow, Thursday and Friday at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m., starting in front of the Hawai'i State Library.
The free tours, presented by the Hawai'i Pono'i Coalition, give people a review of events surrounding the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy from the arena where those events took place. Tour guides and role players in period costume enact the story at six tour stations around 'Iolani Palace.
The presentation is both factual and interpretive, according to the author, playwright Victoria Kneubuhl, who is Hina Kneubuhl's aunt. The events are accurate and have been gleaned from primary source material and historical review. But the viewpoint is open to dramatic analysis by role players, such as Timtim, playing "The Legislator."
"We have historical interpreters who say what happened on a certain day," Kneubuhl said. "And that's pretty much the facts. And then we have characters — people who are representing characters from the time — who give opinions."
"I am just thrilled about this," said Yuklin Aluli, who is with the Native Hawaiian Bar Association, a coalition member organization. "We just don't want to forget."
Aluli believes "Mai Poina" is a positive step along the way of one day reaching some kind of resolution to a history that is at once oversimplified and not well understood, even among Native Hawaiians.
"The coalition doesn't take a political position," said Ann Botticelli, spokeswoman for Kamehameha Schools, another coalition member organization.
However, Sammie Choy, "Mai Poina" director, considers the walking tours a counterpoint to the 50th Anniversary of Statehood celebrations taking place around the Islands.
"The person doing the introductions will say something about, 'We unapologetically present this tour from the perspective of those loyal to the Hawaiian nation and the queen. ... We want you to remember that Hawai'i was once an independent country with a strong identity,' " Choy said.
While the production is centered on the events leading to the overthrow of the monarchy on Jan. 17, 1893, much of the discussion is on the constitution of 1887. What became known as the "Bayonet Constitution" stripped King Kalakaua of much of his authority through threats and intimidation by armed forces. Kalakaua was forced to sign or be deposed.
Later, in the early 1890s, Queen Lili'uokalani tried to resurrect royal powers by introducing a new constitution. She was accused of treason by those who overthrew the monarchy. She was deposed in January 1893, and later imprisoned in 'Iolani Palace.
Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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ALOHA Kakou, I encourage everyone to make the time to see "Mai Poina" and take your Ohana. Relive the History of our Hawaii, the Hawaiian Kingdom. o Pomai
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