Papamū Kupuna
The championship match of the kōnane tournament will be played on a historic wooden papamū from Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum’s collection. Surviving wooden papamū are rare. There are only six known examples around the world: three in Bishop Museum’s collection, one at ʻIolani Palace, one at Hawaiʻi Volcano National Park, and another in a private collection in France, which was sold at Christi’s for €150,000 in 2017.
Kōnane board, koa
Donated to Bishop Museum in 1923 by Princess Elizabeth Kahanu as a part of the Kalanianaʻole-Kapiʻolani Collection
The wooden papamū selected for play in the tournament — object number B.07230 — was donated to the Museum by Princess Elizabeth Kahanu, wife of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, as part of the Kalanianaʻole-Kapiʻolani Collection. This board’s connection to the Kalākaua family is exciting; according to former Museum Director William Tufts Brigham, both Queen Kapiʻolani and King Kalākaua were expert players of kōnane.
It is unknown when this board was last played before its accession into the collection in 1923. The Ka Makou Kōnane tournament in 2026 marked the first time the kōnane board had been played on in more than 100 years, a revival meant to inspire a new generation.
Photographs by Noel Kenny.