Princess’s image is spotted in the blaze of a beloved banyan tree

As flames roared around the base of the historic banyan tree earlier this month, several people took pictures to document the vandalism.

Later they looked at the images of the flames. There in the midst of the fire is a figure that looks all the world like Kaiulani, the beloved princess. When compared with a historical photo of the princess, the likeness is even more pronounced.

There’s also a video of the fire where some say they see the figure of the princess. The video can be seen at youtube.com/watch?v=v4anRucRZC0.

The 117-year-old banyan tree is a treasure to the elementary school in Kalihi that bears Kaiulani’s name. It was a gift to the campus from Kaiulani’s father the year after the young princess died — a little tree rooted from Kaiulani’s favorite banyan that stood outside her home at Ainahau. The little tree grew as the campus grew, spreading out near the basketball court off Robello Lane. Every year, the schoolchildren celebrate Kaiulani’s birthday in October, gathering on the lawn and performing songs and dances that tell of her life.

Vandals set fire to the base of the tree April 6. Firefighters were called to the campus 11 times over the course of the day and into the night when strong wind fanned embers into flames again and again.

This was a second assault on the banyan tree. In 2011 a fire was set under similar circumstances, but this time the damage was worse. It was doubtful that any part of the tree could be saved.

Princess Kaiulani, born in 1875, was heir to the throne. She grew up at Ainahau, an estate in Waikiki. There are stories of how she loved to play under the large Indian banyan outside her house, where she would ride her pony and feed her peacocks. Birthdays and celebrations were held under Kaiulani’s banyan tree. It was where she visited with famed writer Robert Lewis Stevenson. When Kaiulani died in 1899 at the age of 23, hundreds of people gathered under her banyan to weep and mourn. The original tree was immortalized in a poem Stevenson wrote for his young friend as she prepared to leave for school in England in 1889:

… Her islands here, in Southern sun,

Shall mourn their Kaiulani gone,

And I, in her dear banyan shade,

Look vainly for my little maid.

That tree lived on at what is now Tusitala Street until 1949.

Because of its age and provenance, the Kaiulani Elementary tree was designated an “exceptional tree” and protected by law. There is a fence around it, but that didn’t ward off arsonists.

Though the tree was damaged by the fire, the school community did not want to give up on it. Lloyd Shimazu, school grounds specialist for the Department of Education, worked with the City’s Exceptional Tree Committee to assess what could be done. This week brought good news: It was decided that the tree — keiki of the Ainahau banyan tree where Princess Kaiulani could always be seen — could be saved.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.