Believed to have originally been an organization to unite the Hawaiian aristocracy, it gradually disappeared as the influx of outside cultures changed the dynamics of the island kingdom.
Kalākaua revived the Hale Nauā, purposed with educating and developing knowledge of modern sciences, art, and literature among native Hawaiians.
The foundation of the Hale Nauā is from the beginning of the world and the revival of the Order was selected and the base levelled [sic], the outer and inner pillars erected, the beams and scantling attached, the rafters bound with cord, the roof plated and thatched, the erection of the Iku Hai's[1] mansion completed in the month of Welo (September), on the night of Kāne, in the reign of His Majesty Kalākaua I., the 825th generation from Lailai, or 24,750 years from the Wohi Kumulipo (the beginning), and Kapomanomano (the producing agent), equivalent to 40,000,000,000,024,750 years from the commencement of the world and 24,750 years from Lailai, the first woman, dating to the date of the present calendar, the 24th of September, a.d. 1886.Hale is the Hawaiian word for "house",[3] but "nauā" has been up for interpretation.
Malo had stated that the original Hale Nauā was an organization to promote peaceful relations among leaders, with membership requirements that were non-discriminatory by social position.
[11] Kalākaua was well-versed in the role that fraternal organizations played in leadership skills, as well as their political connections as an international power base.
[13] On his 1881 world tour to negotiate labor contracts, he was feted at masonry lodges in Hong Kong,[14] Singapore,[15] Egypt[16] and Edinburgh, Scotland.
[17] When the construction of Iolani Palace was completed in 1882, the king opened it to the Lodge Le Progrès de L'Océanie (The Progress of Oceania) for masonry activities.
Historian Noenoe Silva has described Kalākaua's reign as a balancing between accommodating the non-Hawaiian power brokers in Hawaii, and a continuance of native Hawaiian resistance.
His sister Princess Likelike organized the Hui Ho'oulu a Ho'ola Lahui of Kalākaua at Kawaiahaʻo Church, with an initial 51 members.
[24] Hawaii's history from its beginnings up through Kalākaua's reign, as told through the genealogical chant known as the Kumulipo, documents that women were central to the Hawaiian narrative of creation, and held respected positions of power.
[24] On September 20, 1886, Kalākaua and Queen Kapi'olani met with a small committee to revive the Hale Nauā to promote the advancement of the Hawaiian race.
Combined with existing deep-sea maps and other published evidence, Hawaiian concepts presented a more complete study with which to encourage the United States to continue and extend research into the scientific forces that created the islands.
[35] Hale Nauā III is a society founded in the 1970s by Rocky Ka'iouliokahikikolo'ehu Jensen and other visionaries, to promote Hawaii's culture through the creative arts.