Koa - A Hawaiian Legacy

  “The golden koa, the king of woods” Mercedes (The Valley of the Moon by Jack London)

  Hookahi no koa nui,              But one stout hero and soldier,
  Nana e alo ia ino.                  With heart to face such a storm.
  Ino-ino mai nei luna,              Wild scud the clouds,
  I ka hao a ka makani.           Hurled by the tempest,
  He makani ahai-lono;            A tale-bearing wind;
  Lohe ka luna I Pelekane.      That gossips afar.

 A mele from mid-nineteenth century.

 Such is the legacy of Koa (Hawaiian: Warrior) woven in mystique that winds of time still whisper into our ears. The first glimpse of a Koa artifact may captivate the untrained eyes, but to the Hawaiians they tell a spellbinding story about their past. The regal wood symbolizing strength and grandeur, helping the Hawaii’s first ali’i (Ruling class) display their courage through he’e nalu (Surfing), or the wood of wa’a (canoes) for warfare. Though there was no room for “furniture” in the Polynesian lifestyle, there were spears, bowls, and rudimentary benches fashioned out of Koa. This is how Captain Cook found Hawaii in 1778.

 Fast forward to the time of first missionaries in Hawaii, in early 1800s, determined to preserve their New England culture; so distinct from those they had come to convert. The impact of these people cannot be overstated; within a month of their arrival missionaries started a school. Within a decade, Hawaiian had a script and half the nation could read to some degree. These determined people used borrowed tools to recreate their New England dwellings and move out of the native grass huts, they first found themselves in. The uniqueness of their dwellings, underscored by use of native Koa furniture so impressed the monarchs that improvised “new England” Koa furniture became a fixture in all Hawaiian palaces. Rev. Bingham had noted in 1822 the effect that the missionary example was having on Hawaiian chiefesses: “Within another year, Kamamalu, Kapiolani, Kahumanu, Kekauluohi, Kinau, Keopuolani, Kalakua, Kekaunohi, Liliha, Keoua, Kapule, Namahana, and others threw around them an air of rising consequence by the increase, not only of foreign articles of clothing, but of furniture- a chair, a table, a work stand, a writing desk, a bed stead, a glass window, partitions, curtains, etc., noticing, and attempting to imitate what, in the mission families, attracted their attention or appeared sufficiently pleasing, to induce them to copy.”

  In 1844, King Kamehameha III moved his home, and his grand upholstered Koa throne, the center of Hawaii’s power from Lahaina to Honolulu. This transition, coupled with the side effects of the gold rush, led to the influx of mainland craftsmen and the mechanization of woodworking in Hawaii. In 1848, when California found gold, Hawaii became an important source of food supply to the armies of prospectors. The prosperity of Hawaii was immediate, which led Polynesian to comment “California is yonder in Kula- there is the gold without the fatigue and sickness of the mining country”. Large, varied, and always elegant custom Koa furniture became the symbol of regal power and new found affluence of the Hawaiian immigrants.

  By the close of nineteenth century, the Hawaiian directory proudly proclaimed that, “Honolulu, the political and commercial capital of Hawaiian islands, is in many respects one of the most beautiful towns on the face of the earth”. In 1900, when Hawaii became a part of United States, Honolulu’s population had grown to 150,000, largely through importation of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Russian, Norwegian, Puerto Rican, Portuguese, and Micronesian laborers to work in the thriving sugar industry. The inevitable new craftsmen, mostly Japanese, brought their own tools and created a new blend of austere woodwork called the “Plantation style”. In those prosperous times, many living rooms had a rocking chair, a settee, or a plant stand; and given the longevity of Koa, these pieces have survived in surprising numbers. This furniture was accepted by all levels of Hawaiian society, from humble plantation workers to Queen Liliokalani. Koa began to be exported to U.S. mainland, as a hardwood not quite right for construction, but ideal for fine cabinet and furniture making, much more lustrous than the wood it closest resembled in physical properties, black walnut.

  As a part of reciprocity treaty in 1875, United States got the exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor to obtain duty free sugar from Hawaii. The memories of Spanish-American war, Japan’s growing might and the strategic location of Hawaii, forced increasing presence of U.S. military bases on the island. Then, the newly formed Pacific fleet was based permanently in Pearl Harbor in 1941 following growing tensions with Japan. The bombing of Pearl Harbor and its aftermath led to a huge influx of military and civilian personnel to work on the defense projects. Arguably, Hawaii decided the outcome of the second world war, but the predominance of military in Hawaiian life unfortunately led to the downfall of Koa furniture making industry. Every dollar funded the war effort and the focus had now shifted to mass production of cheap plastic and metal furniture. Koa itself rapidly lost value due to low demand and excess supply because of mass logging of Hawaiian forests. So much so, that cheap Koa furniture was available next to factory metal pieces in large outlets. This was the lowest point yet for the majestic symbol of Hawaii’s heritage.

  These were the tragic circumstances, when Jon Martin on a honeymoon in Europe, had a tryst with his destiny. Jon, a passionate woodworker from his early schooldays in Honolulu, saw the role furniture played in the richness of European history. A true son of his soil, he pledged to redeem Koa to its erstwhile grandeur. In 1961, Martin & MacArthur was founded. The company introduced the palace furniture designs, the missionary designs, the plantation designs, the Asian concepts and several of its own innovations to the people of Hawaii. The response was immediate; people embraced them as lost members of their families. Since then, Hawaii has seen many furniture makers come and go, Koa logging has been state restricted largely to dead or fallen trees, and all the finest Hawaiian landmarks have been furnished in Koa. The value of fine Koa furniture has been restored, and better still, made open to all who value it. And Hawaiians valued what they bought for their homes, not only for its beauty and longevity, but for what it had always represented… Gracious Hawaiian Living.

  References
  1. Koa Furniture of Hawaii. Rhoda Hackler
  2. Hawaiian Furniture and Hawaii’s Cabinetmakers. Irving Jenkins
  3. http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/pearlharbor/a/Lest_We_Forget1.htm
  4. Wikipedia articles
  5. Numerous interviews with Jon Martin. President, Martin & MacArthur