PRINCE OF WALES’ TOUR.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 April 1920, Page 4

PRINCE OF WALES’ TOUR.

r ßy Electric Telegraph—Copyright

HONOLULU HOSPTALITY. HONOLULU, April lo

The feast called Royal Luan is reserved exclusively for royalty. It contained a feature which has not been represented since the Duke ol Edinburgh visited Honolulu in 1858. Behind the Prince, who sat garlanded with flowers, between a Hawaiian Princess and the hostees, Mrs Atkinson, two tall Hawaiians stood holding sacred tapu sticks, long pointed rods ornamented with globes. The tapu sticks still profoundly influence the native imagination and emphasise to their mind the sacredness of kingship. These are never produced except for Royal personnel. The ships’ officers, wearing white mess jackets with gold lace and war decorations were similarly garhujsled as were the ladies who were present in equal number. Several representatives of aristocratic Hawaiian families also participated in the feast. Amid fragrant odours exhaled from the various flowers gleaming pearls were worn by lashionably dressed ladies guests. Hawaiian delicacies in Hawain fashion, and strange drinks of unknown composition were served in small glasses. If Hawaii were j not so uncompromisingly dry in com- j moil with the rest of United States tevri | tory, one might have suspected those ailuring palatable drinks to bo American cocktails, in the guise of .beverages compounded by ancient Hawaiian art. Many of the guests who resided in Ha-, waii used their fingers for eating. Strangers were accommodated with forks. During the progress of the feast, the Prince exhibited close interest in the programme presented by the Hula Hid a gills and listened to the plaintive Hawaiian chants and love songs.* An American lady, versed in Hawaiian lore kindly interpreted the meaning of many songs and explained them. J hey were largely historical ballads like Walter Scott’s’ celebrating warlike achievements of Hawaiian heroes and giving their genealogies and the exploits of their ancestors and descendants. Other ballads referred to the Prince of Wales and recounted the ancient ties of friendship between Hawaii and Brittania. Others again were purely love songs. The principal singing girl, who accompanied herself on an ukulele, possessed a voice of much sweetness and charm and quite captivated the audience, who loudly acclaimed Hawaiian dancers which were supposed to portray dramatic scenes and stories, which were rather monotonous, but were danced with extraordinary vigor and abandon. An old man comedian furnished a comic relief, singing and dancing with a chorus of Hula Tlula girls. The perfoimance was quite unintelligible to outsiders but was greeted with uproarious laughted and applause. With the plain tive love songs of the Hawaiian prima donna who sang under her native cocoanuts ringing in their ears, the Renown left for Fiji at daybreak on Wednes- | day. .