Weeda Stamps: News


FOX TALES ON STAMPS Edition #493 Friday, April 02, 2010
Bishop Museum in Honolulu
	While we were in Hawai'i we visited the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, which is the official Hawai'i State Museum of Natural and Cultural History. It was founded in 1899 and houses the largest and most extensive collection of Polynesian artifacts. The Museum was built as a memorial to the Hawai'ian Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. She was the last legal heir of the Kamehameha Royal Family. The Hawai'ian Hall that you see here is a Victorian styled skylit multi-tiered exhibition hall. As you walk around each level of galleries you can really get a good idea of the richness of Hawai'ian and Polynesian culture. The first floor covers the world of pre-contact Hawai'i. The second floor covers life and work in Hawai'i. The third floor explores religious and cultural aspects as well as key moments in Hawai'ian history. The original temple, as reproduced in this diorama, was a sacred focal point of Hawai'ian spiritual life. Unfortunately it no longer exists. Suspended from the soaring ceiling are sea creatures and vessels representing aspects of Hawai'ian life. Rare original carvings of important Hawai'ian gods flank a life-sized hut. These two carvings were repatriated from foreign collections. European whalers chasing sperm whales as represented here were some of the first Europeans to make contact with indigenous Hawai'ians. I know that this whale is life sized because there is a skeleton under the papier mâché. The Hawai'ian flag and the Royal Coat of Arms pre-date any close association with the United States. The stairs leading up to the Melanesian Gallery are made out of Koa wood. The Melanesian Gallery offers visitors a wonderful "sampler" of Melanesian culture and history. It is amazing to see the links and relationships between the peoples of such far-flung island groups. The museum is not only a repository for cultural and historical items. There are literally millions of plant and animal specimens stored on site. A considerable amount of research is conducted on an ongoing basis. This photo is of the General Store that made up a portion of the ground floor of an elaborate Victorian era dollhouse on display in one of the wings. Considering how close Hawai'i is to the equator it's easy to see why hats are an important part of Hawai'ian culture. The exhibition "Ka Lei Papale", the wreath of hats, featured examples of the museum's 19th and 20th century hat collection as well as contemporary hats made by expert modern craftspeople. We were only able to spend one day at this astoundingly rich museum. A return visit is something we quite look forward to. Here are a couple of interesting links: http://www.bishopmuseum.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_P._Bishop_Museum
The Salvation Army Quiz
	We show you a minute portion of the design of a postage stamp. You have to determine which stamp it is. Send us an email with your answer. We hold a contest every newsletter. For every correct answer we will donate $1.00 to our favourite charity, the Salvation Army. Click here to go to the The Salvation Army International Home Page to see what services they offer to communities around the world.
Answer to Last Week's Salvation Army Quiz
	We received nine correct answers to last week's identification quiz. That means a $9.00 donation to Salvation Army. Here's the famous person we asked you to identify Here's the answer - Prince Komatsu Akihito. For more information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Komatsu_Akihito .