Kāhili, or feather standards, are traditional symbols of Hawaiian aliʻi. Representing the sanctity and mana of the chief, kāhili were borne by favored attendants (paʻa kāhili or lawe kāhili) either preceding or following the aliʻi. Kāhili were used in different social settings to signify the presence of a chief, including in battle, occasions of state, large gatherings, and other events. Wherever they accompanied the chief, kāhili instilled a sense of dignity and regal presence.

Kāhili were considered sacred and were treated as members of the aliʻi’s family, a symbol of royalty imbued with the owner’s mana and enhancing his or her spiritual protection. They were given personal names which were often associated with the aliʻi they belonged to or were a physical description of the kāhili itself.

The kāhili represented the royal household and had kahu (caretakers) who would ensure it was properly cared for, as one would look after a child. The kahu also ensured that when the kāhili was not in use, its feathers were removed, bundled, wrapped in kapa, and placed in calabashes for safe keeping and future use.

When worn feathers needed to be replaced, the kāhili retained its name if the original pole was reused.

Upon the death of an aliʻi, his or her kāhili retained the mana of its owner which was then passed on to its next bearer, in essence, taking on the spirit of the aliʻi to whom it belonged.

Prior to feather standards, the stalk and leaves of the lāʻī (tī leaf) were used as kāhili, as lāʻī itself represents spiritual mana and purification. The long-stalked lāʻī could be seen from far away and alerted makaʻāinana that someone of chiefly rank was approaching so they could prepare appropriately. Rainbows that appeared vertically were called “ānuenue kāhili,” hōʻailona that an aliʻi was in close proximity.

In Hawaiʻi: The Royal Isles, Roger Rose writes:

Before Hawaiian chiefly tradition had been greatly changed by missionary influence, the Reverend C. S. Steward (1828, pp. 117-118) witnessed an impressive state procession in May 1823, commemorating the late Kamehameha I. ‘So far as the feather mantles, helmets, coronets [lei] and kahilis,’ he wrote, ‘I doubt whether there is a nation in Christendom which…could have presented a court dress and insignia of rank so magnificent as these… There is something approaching the sublime in the lofty noddings of the kahilis of state as they tower far above the heads of the groups whose distinction they proclaim: something conveying to the mind impressions of greater majesty than the gleamings of the most splendid banners I ever saw unfurled.’

contributed by Nanea Armstrong-Wassel [Ho‘okahua]