Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Knights Templar Ribbon, Honolulu Commandery No. 1, Oahu Hawaii
1901
Maker not marked
Place made not marked
Ink on silk
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.6062

Yellow Masonic Knights Templar silk ribbon with black printing says: "Aloha. / Pilgrimage to / Louisville, KY. / 1901 / Honolulu / Commandery / No. 1 / Honolulu, Oahu." At center of ribbon is image of a sculpture of King Kamehameha surrounded by the words: "Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono".

Ribbons and badges have long been ubiquitous at Masonic gatherings. These souvenirs identified participants and their affiliations, commemorated a range of different kinds of meetings, ceremonies, and galas, and were a clear way for members to declare support for their Masonic group. In the late 1800s ribbons printed specifically for particular gatherings enjoyed huge popularity. The many Knights Templar Commanderies which organized pilgrimages and excursions to different locations often commissioned ribbons for these events. As demonstrated by the one pictured here, in 1901 members of the Honolulu Commandery on Oahu brought bright yellow ribbons decorated with a picture of a statue of King Kamehameha I, the first ruler of Hawaii, to exchange with the other Knights Templar they met in Louisville, Kentucky.