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Ethnology

Image: Up-close detail of braids of a lei niho palaoa.

Ethnology

The Ethnology Collection focuses its priorities onto the physical care and documentation of cultural objects with historical and/or cultural ties to the Pacific region, used in all levels of daily life, from the ceremonial to the day-to-day. The ongoing documentation process of compiling recorded histories, cultural stories associated with objects, and the identification of materials and techniques used in their manufacture, all assist in better contextualizing each object. These cultural materials can be categorized into three major groupings from:

• Hawaiʻi
• Oceania
• Hawaiʻi’s immigrant communities

Explore Bishop Museum’s Ethnology Collection through our online database. You will have access to information and images to over 77,000 cultural objects in the Collection from Hawaiʻi, Oceania, and the greater Pacific region. Records and information are routinely updated, but if you require information currently not available online, feel free to contact us at ethnology@bishopmuseum.org.

Bishop Museum is temporarily suspending public access to the Ethnology and Archaeology collections from August 16-November 12, 2023. Ethnology and Archaeology department team members are part of the Lahaina cultural recovery response plan and are working in service of Maui’s cultural needs. If your inquiry is NAGPRA related, please email the Registrar’s office by clicking here.

Ethnology Department
808.847.8279 or 808.847.8264
ethnology@bishopmuseum.org

Established in 1889 as the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History, the Museum actively engaged in the preservation and stewardship of significant cultural treasures from its inception. Today, the Museum’s collection of cultural treasures serves as a unique resource to better understand the history of Hawai‘i and the Pacific, to address the opportunities and the challenges that arise for the communities we serve, and to continue to inspire practitioners, artists, scholars, and the many guests that come through our doors every day.
At the core of the collections under the care of the Ethnology Department, the founding collection consists of personal possessions belonging to Ke Ali‘i Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, and Queen Emma, which bear witness to the important lives of these three chiefly women, to the changes happening during their lifetimes, and to their commitment to support and nurture their lāhui.
 
Expanding from this foundation, the Ethnology Department currently cares for more than 77,500 cultural objects from Hawai‘i and the greater Pacific, or brought to Oceania[s3] [AC4]  through trade, migrations, and diplomatic relationships. This vast collection includes significant heirlooms from local and chiefly families, objects acquired through Museum expeditions in the Pacific, and items purchased from or exchanged with collectors and curators from across the world. Notable collections include those of Queen Liliʻuokalani, Princess Kaʻiulani, Joseph S. Emerson, Te Rangihiroa (Sir Peter Buck), Lucy Peabody, Edgar Henriques, Eric Craig, and the Kapiʻolani-Kalanianaʻole chiefly line.
 
Caring for one of the most significant collections of its kind, the Ethnology staff is actively engaged in the preservation of these cultural treasures, and works closely with community representatives and partners to continue to improve collection care. Through the development of exhibitions, cross-departmental research, collections-driven public programs, publications, and unprecedented documentation and digitization efforts, the Ethnology department also seeks to increase physical and digital access to the collections and explore multiple ways of knowing and seeing. Through these processes, we honor the multitude of relationships and stories embodied by these cultural treasures, and celebrate the many pathways ahead as we continue to engage with and inspire and be inspired by our community and our guests.

Be a Part of Our Story

Celebrate the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific with a gift to Bishop Museum. As a partner in the Museum’s work, you can help to sustain vital collections, research, and knowledge, and inspire exploration and discovery with a tax-deductible donation.

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OPEN DAILY 9 AM – 5 PM

1525 BERNICE STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96817

OPEN DAILY 9 AM – 5 PM

1525 BERNICE STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96817

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