Great Seal of Hawaii

The shield at the center of the seal descends from the royal arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which were established in the 1840s under King Kamehameha III. The quartered shield incorporates eight alternating stripes in the upper portion, echoing the Hawaiian flag, and a rising sun in the lower portion. The shield connects the American state directly to the sovereign monarchy that preceded it.

A phoenix rising from flames appears above the shield at the top of the seal. The phoenix is a classical symbol of rebirth and transformation, a creature that burns and rises renewed. On Hawaii's seal it carries two meanings: the volcanic origin of the islands themselves, which rose from the ocean through fire, and the political transformation of Hawaii from kingdom to territory to state.

King Kamehameha I stands to the right of the central shield, depicted in traditional royal regalia. Kamehameha I unified the Hawaiian Islands between 1795 and 1810, bringing all the major islands under a single rule for the first time and establishing the Kingdom of Hawaii that would persist until 1893. His presence on the seal is a direct acknowledgment that the political entity Hawaii inherits was built by him.

The Goddess of Liberty stands to the left of the shield, holding the Hawaiian state flag. She is a classical allegorical figure representing freedom and democratic governance, drawn from the same tradition as similar figures on American coins, monuments, and official seals.

The sun rises with eight rays of light, one ray for each of the eight main islands of Hawaii: Hawaii (the Big Island), Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau, and Kahoolawe. The number eight connects the seal's solar imagery directly to the geography of the archipelago.

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono translates from Hawaiian as "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." King Kamehameha III spoke these words on July 31, 1843, at a ceremony in Honolulu marking the restoration of Hawaiian sovereignty after a five-month occupation by British naval officer Lord George Paulet, who had seized the islands without authorization from the British government.

Taro leaves and banana foliage frame the lower portion of the seal. Taro (kalo in Hawaiian) is the most culturally important plant in traditional Hawaiian life: it is the primary food crop of ancient Hawaii, and in Hawaiian creation traditions, the taro plant is considered an elder sibling of the Hawaiian people, descended from the same source.

Fifty stars appear around the border of the seal, one for each state in the Union. Hawaii was admitted as the 50th and final state on August 21, 1959, and the fifty stars on the seal record that count. The same number appears on the U.S. flag, where the last star added was the one representing Hawaii.