One of the first ethnographic studies of Hawai’i was by Eduard Arning. During his nearly three years in Hawai’i 1884-1886, he not only collected the 500 Hawaiian artefacts now in Berlin and presented in this publication, but also studied the customs of Hawaiians during the later part of the 19th century and especially their remembrances of times past. The Arning collection is one of the most important Hawaiian collections outside Hawai’i.