Proceedings to determine the fate of some 83 lots of valued cultural items known as the Kawaihae Caves collection begin anew today at the Bishop Museum after a six-year halt.

Fourteen Hawaiian organizations are expected to take place in repatriation hearings involving some of the most significant items known in Hawaiian culture, including a wooden female figure and several stick 'aumakua.

It will also be the first time some of the claimants will get to see the items since they were retrieved from the Big Island cave complex last fall.

Hui Malama I Na Kupuna o Hawai'i Nei had received the items on loan from the museum in 2000 and placed them in the caves from which they are believed to have been taken in 1905 by three men known as the Forbes expedition and sold to the museum.

Hui Malama leaders said the items were stolen by the expedition, and that its act of returning them to the caves constituted repatriation.

But two other claimants sued Hui Malama and the museum in August 2005, insisting that the items should be returned to the museum until a final decision is made on their future as spelled out by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

While Hui Malama believes the items should be returned to the caves, other claimants believe they were hidden away to be preserved for the benefit of future generations.