The Great Seal of the State of Hawaii was designated officially by Act 272 of the 1959 Territorial Legislature and is based on the territorial seal.
/ref> Modifications to the territorial seal included the use of the words "

State of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

" at the top and "1959" within the circle. Provisions for a seal for the state of Hawaii were enacted by the Territorial Legislature and approved by Governor William F. Quinn on June 8, 1959.Pamphlet that accompanied "The Official Statehood Medal Commemorating the Admission of Hawaii as the 50th State of the United States of America, August 21, 1959", Medallic Art Company, New York The passage of the Admission Act in 1959, admitted Hawaii as the 50th State of the United States of America on August 21, 1959. The seal of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

was the same as the seal of the republic, except that it had "Territory of Hawaii" placed at the top and "1900" (signifying the year that the territorial government officially was organized) within the circle. The 1901 Territorial Legislature authorized the modified republic seal as the Seal of the Territory of Hawaii. The seal of the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'' epupəˈlikə o həˈvɐjʔi was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii, Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had Black Week (H ...

had the words "Republic of Hawaii" at the top and "MDCCCXCIV" (1894) within the circle, for the year the republic was established. The republic’s seal was designed by Viggo Jacobsen, a Honolulu resident, and itself was derived from the Royal Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii used in the reigns of

King Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K� ...

King Kalākaua King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

and

Queen Liliuokalani Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, which had been designed by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in London in 1842, and officially adopted in 1845. File:Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii.svg, Royal Arms of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

as designed by the

File:Royal Coat of Arms of Hawaii.svg, Version of the Royal Arms, adopted by the Kingdom around 1870 File:Coat of arms of Provisional Government of Hawaii (1894-1895).svg, Version used by the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

State Seal

The Great Seal of the State of Hawaii is circular in shape, two and three-quarters inches in diameter, and of the design being described, with the tinctures added as the basis for the coat of arms. The Hawaii state seal represents Hawaii's nation.

Coat of arms

In the center of the seal is a heraldic shield which is quartered. The blazon is as follows ''Quarterly, 1st and 4th, barry of eight Argent, Gules, and Azure; 2nd and 3rd, Or, a puloulou or sacred staff proper; en surtout, an inescutcheon Vert charged with a mullet Or.''

Supporters design

On the left side is

King Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

, standing in the as represented by the bronze statue in front of

Aliʻiōlani Hale Aliʻiōlani Hale is a building located in downtown Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, currently used as the home of the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court. It is the former seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the Republic of Hawaiʻi. Located in th ...

, Honolulu. His cloak and helmet (a mahiole) are in yellow. Kamehameha I's figure is in

proper Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

. Kamehameha I unified the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

into a single united kingdom. On the right side is goddess Liberty also wearing a

Phrygian cap The Phrygian cap ( ), also known as Thracian cap and liberty cap, is a soft Pointed hat, conical Hat, cap with the apex bent over, associated in Classical antiquity, antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe, Anatolia, and Asia. The Phry ...

and

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

. She is holding ''Ka Hae Hawaiʻi'' in her right hand that is partly unfurled.

Crest design

A rising sun irradiated in gold surrounded by the legend "State of Hawaii, 1959" on a scroll in black lettering.

Motto design

The

state motto All of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...

: ''

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono ''Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Āina i ka Pono'' () is a Hawaiian language, Hawaiian phrase, spoken by Kamehameha III, and adopted in 1959 as the state motto. It is most commonly translated as "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." An alte ...

'' is on the scroll on the seal's bottom in gold lettering. ''Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono'' is roughly translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." The motto was adopted by the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

in 1843 and was used in an address by

at ceremonies following the return of his kingdom from the British. British captain

Lord George Paulet Lord George Paulet CB (12 August 1803 – 22 November 1879) was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He entered the navy shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and after some years obtained his own command. He served off the Iberian Peni ...

of demanded that Hawaii was ceded to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in response to claims of political abuses against British residents made by British Consul

Richard Charlton Richard Charlton (1791–1852) was the first diplomatic Consul from Great Britain to the Kingdom of Hawaii (1825–1843). He was surrounded by controversies that caused a military occupation known as the Paulet Affair, and real estate claims th ...

. After Kamehameha III notified

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

of the captain's actions,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Richard Darton Thomas Admiral Richard Darton Thomas (3 June 1777 – 21 August 1857) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station in the 1840s. Bio ...

returned sovereignty back to the King. The motto is also featured in

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997), also called Braddah IZ or just simply IZ, was a Native Hawaiian musician and singer. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians from Hawaii and is considered the most succe ...

's song "Hawaiʻi '78" and is used on the Hawaii state quarter.

Compartment design

Below the heraldic shield, the bird phoenix has it wings outstretched arising from flames. The phoenix's body is black and wings half yellow and half dark red. Below the heraldic shield are eight taro leaves having on either side banana foliage and sprays of

maidenhair fern ''Adiantum'' (), the maidenhair fern (not to be confused with the similar-looking maidenhair spleenwort fern), is a genus of about 250 species of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae, though some researchers place it ...

trailed upwardly.

Symbolism

*1959 represents the year of admission into the Union as a state. *The rising sun replaced the royal crown from the original coat of arms. This represents the birth of a new state. *

King Kamehameha the Great Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

and the Goddess of Liberty holding the Hawaiian flag replace the two warriors on the Royal Arms. This may represent the old government leader (King Kamehameha the Great) and the new government leader (The Goddess of Liberty). *The quartered design of the heraldic shield is retained from the original coat of arms. *The eight stripes in two of the quarters of the shield represent the eight main islands. *The '' Puloulou'', or ''

tabu ball Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

and stick'', in the second and third quarters was carried before the king and placed before the door of his home, signifying his authority and power. In the seal it is a symbol of the authority and power of the government. *The star in the middle of the shield signifies the fiftieth star added to the United States flag. *The phoenix, symbol of death and resurrection, symbolizes the change from an absolute monarchy to a free, democratic form of government. *The eight taro leaves, flanked by banana foliage and

are typical Hawaiian flora and represent the eight main islands. Taro is the traditional staff of life and has great spiritual significance. Taro is also still cultivated and is the ingredient of the popular dish called poi. *The state motto, "''

''", "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness," is retained from the royal coat of arms.

Government seals of Hawaii

File:Seal of the Hawaii Department of Transportation.svg, Seal of the

Hawaii Department of Transportation The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is a state government organization which oversees transportation in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The agency is divided into three divisions dealing with aviation, maritime, and roads. HDOT Divisions A ...

References

External links

The Great Seal of the State of Hawai'i
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Hawaii Symbols of Hawaii

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Cultural depictions of Kamehameha I