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Ritual staff (ki’i)

Late 18th–19th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Upright ritual staffs (ki’i) were often used during rites associated with the god Lono during Makahiki, the season that accompanied the rise of the constellation Pleiades and signaled a time of prosperity and abundance. The vertical pole resembles an abstract back bone (iwikuamo’o), which was representative of genealogical connections with the divine. The open spaces between the finial figure’s legs and the lower figure’s raised arms may have been used to attach white barkcloth (kapa) streamers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ritual staff (ki’i)
  • Date: Late 18th–19th century
  • Geography: United States, Hawai'ian Islands
  • Medium: Wood (kauila)
  • Dimensions: H. 39 in. (99 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Implements
  • Credit Line: Private collection, Mark Blackburn, Honolulu, Hawai'i
  • Rights and Reproduction: Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing