Facts about the ways of the old Hawaiians based on years of interviews with Native Hawaiians.

Nana I Ke Kumu - Look to the Source, Volume 1 (Hawaiian Folktales)

Literature & Fiction

Mary Kawena Pukui

E. W. Haertig

Catherine Lee

Mythology & Folk Tales

Hui Hanai

Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source) is dedicated to the families and children of Hawaii. It is a source book of Hawaiian cultural practices, concepts and beliefs which illustrate the wisdom and dignity contained in the cultural roots of every Hawaiian child.The Hawaiian lived for many years isolated from the rest of the world, with a viable culture that met the needs of a thriving, industrious and religious people. Then came the foreigner with his technology and Judeao-Christian culture. He saw the native beliefs as pagan and inferior, and superimposed his culture. In order to gain acceptance, avoid ridicule and disapproval, the Hawaiian gradually adapted to Western ways. However, he secretly hung on to some of the beliefs and ways of his own culture. The confusion in his sense of identity which resulted exists today. For many Hawaiian families today, only the negatives, often in garbled fashion, have persisted. This is complicated further by mergers or conflicts of Hawaiian convictions with other ethnic or religious precepts. Forgotten are the positives in the culture, such as: the importance of the family (ohana); the respect for seniors (kupuna); insuring harmonious interdependence within the ohana through regular family therapy (hooponopono); dealing with each successive layer of trouble (mahiki); forgiving fully and completely (mihi);) and freeing each other completely (kala). It is this knowledge that the Hawaiian needs to recapture. The objectives of this work are to provide factual information as accurately as possible in a subject that reaches back to unwritten history and legend, to clarify Hawaiian concepts, and to examine their applicability to modern life. Volume I culminates seven years of weekly meetings of study and research by the Culture Committee of the Queen Liliuokalani Childrens Center, a child welfare agency created by the Deed of Trust of Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani, to provide services to children of Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian ancestry. This committee was started when, in our work with children and families, many Hawaiian concepts, beliefs and practices emerged. Our staff, confronted by these deeply felt beliefs, felt uncomfortable, and as a result avoided discussion and exploration, even though this hampered successful work in resolving family conflicts. This pointed to our need to learn and understand the authentic Hawaiian culture in order to increase our effectiveness in helping those we serve. We are fortunate that Mrs. Mary Kawena Pukui, associate of the Bishop Museum, translator and author, agreed to be our kumu (this also means teacher). Her belief in our sincere wish to help our people and her recognition that cultural information was of great value, were the motivating factors behind her sharing her knowledge with us. She did express her concern that the concepts in this book not be misused or misunderstood to cause her people embarrassment. (For example, she was once severely criticized for writing an article on hooponopono.) She believes the Hawaiian needs to understand and appreciate the soundness and beauty of his culture. We are deeply indebted to the contributions of Mrs. Pukui. Without her, this work could not have been done.

Nana i ke kumu, Vol. 2 (Look to the Source)

Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source) is dedicated to the families and children of Hawaii. It is a source book of Hawaiian cultural practices, concepts and beliefs which illustrate the wisdom and dignity contained in the cultural roots of every Hawaiian child.The Hawaiian lived for many years isolated from the rest of the world, with a viable culture that met the needs of a thriving, industrious and religious people. Then came the foreigner with his technology and Judeao-Christian culture. He saw the native beliefs as pagan and inferior, and superimposed his culture. In order to gain acceptance, avoid ridicule and disapproval, the Hawaiian gradually adapted to Western ways. However, he secretly hung on to some of the beliefs and ways of his own culture. The confusion in his sense of identity which resulted exists today. For many Hawaiian families today, only the negatives, often in garbled fashion, have persisted. This is complicated further by mergers or conflicts of Hawaiian convictions with other ethnic or religious precepts. Forgotten are the positives in the culture, such as: the importance of the family (ohana); the respect for seniors (kupuna); insuring harmonious interdependence within the ohana through regular family therapy (hooponopono); dealing with each successive layer of trouble (mahiki); forgiving fully and completely (mihi);) and freeing each other completely (kala). It is this knowledge that the Hawaiian needs to recapture. The objectives of this work are to provide factual information as accurately as possible in a subject that reaches back to unwritten history and legend, to clarify Hawaiian concepts, and to examine their applicability to modern life. Volume I culminates seven years of weekly meetings of study and research by the Culture Committee of the Queen Liliuokalani Childrens Center, a child welfare agency created by the Deed of Trust of Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani, to provide services to children of Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian ancestry. This committee was started when, in our work with children and families, many Hawaiian concepts, beliefs and practices emerged. Our staff, confronted by these deeply felt beliefs, felt uncomfortable, and as a result avoided discussion and exploration, even though this hampered successful work in resolving family conflicts. This pointed to our need to learn and understand the authentic Hawaiian culture in order to increase our effectiveness in helping those we serve. We are fortunate that Mrs. Mary Kawena Pukui, associate of the Bishop Museum, translator and author, agreed to be our kumu (this also means teacher). Her belief in our sincere wish to help our people and her recognition that cultural information was of great value, were the motivating factors behind her sharing her knowledge with us. She did express her concern that the concepts in this book not be misused or misunderstood to cause her people embarrassment. (For example, she was once severely criticized for writing an article on hooponopono.) She believes the Hawaiian needs to understand and appreciate the soundness and beauty of his culture. We are deeply indebted to the contributions of Mrs. Pukui. Without her, this work could not have been done.

Nana I Ke Kumu, Vol. 2 (Look to the source) (A Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center Publication)

Pukui, Mary Kawena

Nānā i ke kumu (Look to the source) (A Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center publication)

Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source) volume I

Politics & Social Sciences

Haertig, E. W.

Lee, Catherine A.

Social Sciences

Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source), Vol. 2

By royal command: The official life and personal reminiscences of Colonel Curtis Piʼehu Iaukea at the court of Hawaii's rulers

Iaukea, Curtis Pi Ehu

Queen Liliuokalani left two major legacies. The first, her lands, have benefited the Hawaiian people through the Liliuokalani Trust and Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center. The second, her music, has brought pleasure to many people of many cultures, and Hui Hanai hopes the publication of The Queen's Songbook will enable others, for generations to come, to draw readily on the musical treasury that the Queen created. Hui Hanai was organized in 1969 to assist in carrying out the objectives of the Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center and to perpetuate the memory of the Queen and her accomplishments. In 1973, it decided that the most meaningful contribution it could make would be to collect and publish the Queen's Songs, and a Songbook Committee authorized by the Hui Hanai Council embarked on the task.

The Queen's Songbook

Biographies & Memoirs

Gillett, Dorothy Kahananui

Smith, Barbara Barnard

Historical

Queen Lili‘uokalani, born as Lydia Lili‘u Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamaka‘eha, was the last reigning monarch of the kingdom of Hawai‘i. She ascended the throne in January of 1891, upon the death of her brother, King David Kalākaua. The Queen’s desire to restore traditional powers to the sovereign threatened the power of the group of prominent businessmen known as the Missionary Party. With the support of armed U.S. Marines, this group overthrew the Queen in January 1893. For years after her overthrow, the Queen sought redress in the Congress and courts of the United States, but her efforts failed. In July 1898, Hawai‘i was annexed as a territory to the United States of America. As part of her efforts to stave off annexation, the Queen published Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani in early 1898. She worked closely with the American journalist Julius Palmer on the manuscript, and the book reflects her experiences and perspectives. This classic work is the only autobiography written by a Hawaiian monarch, and provides a glimpse of life in Honolulu during her lifetime. The Queen describes her childhood, and shares her thoughts on Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, Kamehameha V, the reign of Kalākaua, and her marriage to John O. Dominis in 1862. A key work on Hawaiian history, it is especially valuable for the Queen’s account of the increasingly ominous state of Hawaiian politics surrounding the overthrow of the monarchy, including her 1895 arrest, abdication, and trial on charges of having knowledge of treasonous activities against the newly formed government, the Republic of Hawaii. The new edition of Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani, is based on the 1898 edition, enhanced with additional illustrations, and annotated by David W. Forbes. An introductory essay about the publishing history of the first edition includes portions of early drafts of the manuscript deemed too inflammatory to include by the publisher. A foreword by the trustees of the Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust underscores that the Queen’s legacy lives on, providing financial resources and social services for orphans and destitute Hawaiian children through the programs of the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Centers.

Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen Liliuokalani

Queen Liliuokalani, Queen

Community & Culture

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Books by Hui Hanai