Polynesian – Kaʻahele Hawaiʻi

Hawaiian Astronomy Resources

Whenever I tell stories of our Hawaiian stars and constellations, people always ask me what books they should buy. Here is my most recent list, which contains some new materials as well as classics.

And. . . if you are in Hilo stop by Basically Books, at 334 Kilauea Ave, Hilo, HI 96720. Phone them at 1-808-961-0144. Email to bbinfo@basicallybooks.com. The folks there know books, so ask them what they recommend for your specific interest area.

Purchasing through Basically Books helps a family-owned business in Hilo! They also can ship many items!

Purchasing through the Amazon affiliate links helps keep this website running, as it is my own labor of love. Both choices are appreciated!

NA INOA HOKU: HAWAIIAN AND PACIFIC STAR NAMES

Rubellite Kawena Johnson, John Kaipo Mahelona, and Clive Ruggles

The foundation book around which you should build your Hawaiian astronomy library is Nā Inoa Hōkū, the seminal compendium of Hawaiian astronomical lore. When originally published in 1975 it was the first, and remains the most comprehensive such work. Hawaiian scholars Rubellite Kawena Johnson and John Kaipo Mahelona created a work that is still widely regarded as a definitive source of reference for anyone interested in the use of astronomy in Polynesian voyaging or the nature and development of ritual and calendrical practices throughout the Pacific.

Working together with British archaeoastronomer Clive Ruggles, the authors have extensively revised and extended the catalogues and transformed the discussion of their wider context and significance, resulting in a much stronger focus upon the rich historical legacy of the Hawaiian Islands themselves. This new edition of Nā Inoa Hōkū is completely overhauled, vastly expanded, and includes new translation of many key primary Hawaiian sources from the mid-nineteenth century onwards.

Stars Over Hawaiʻi

Edwin H. Bryan, Richard Crowe, Timothy F. Slater

Click text link below to purchase

Another foundational book for your library is Stars Over Hawaiʻi. For many of us who grew up in the islands, this was our first book on astronomy which centered the Hawaiian night sky, rather than the sky over North America. This is an excellent introduction to the science of Astronomy. It includes some of the Greek and Roman mythology associated with the constellations, twelve monthly star charts, and two charts with Hawaiian star names.

Readers can learn about “Lahaina Noon,” when the sun casts no shadow, a phenomenon exclusive to latitudes near the equator, and will be introduced to Hawaiian Astronomy through legend, surviving oral history, and the ongoing observation of the skies and our planet.

It includes the Hawaiian Moon Calendar is discussed and the Nights of the Moon are depicted and labeled in Hawaiian and other Pacific languages. The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Star Compass is included.

First published over 60 years ago, this latest edition builds upon a solid foundation to bring star gazers up to date with current statistics and theories about our universe. Stars Over Hawai i marries the knowledge of the masterful navigators and astronomers of ancient Hawai i with today’s astronomy experts to bring you an integrated view of Hawai i’s skies, past and present.

North Star to Southern Cross

Will Kyselka, Ray Lanterman

Click text link below to purchase

Informed by a decade of teaching audiences in the Bishop Museum planetarium and star parties by the sea with thousands of young people, the book was designed to provide a framework for understanding the heavens. It is intended for a range of readers, from youngsters to adults, from country folk to city dwellers, from the arm chair enthusiast to the avid night hiker.

Filled with images and charts, and easy-to-read text, this book is an excellent starting point for the new star gazer, and a great refresher for the experienced.

Moʻolelo Kilo Hōkū

by Leilehua Yuen

Image of Moʻolelo Kilo Hoku / Moolelo Kilo Hoku Hawaiian star-gazing log. — Moʻolelo Kilo Hōkū, Hawaiian star gazing log with text in both Hawaiian and English. Perfect gift for the beginner or experienced star gazer.

To purchase, contact Basically Books, 334 Kilauea Ave, Hilo, HI 96720. Phone them at 1-808-961-0144. Email to bbinfo@basicallybooks.com.

This log book for charting Hawaiian stars goes far beyond the usual offering. Written in both Hawaiian and English, it is useful for anyone studying astronomy and/or the Hawaiian language. Yuen gave talks on Hawaiian astronomy for over 20 years. She is now putting all of that research into a series of books on Hawaiian astronomy.

In addition to charting pages for sketching your observations and making notes, there are sample pages showing how to use the charts, an astronomy vocabulary/glossary section which lists the Hawaiian and English translations of astronomical terms, constellations, stars, etc. Hawaiian stories of some famous constellations are included.

Another unique feature is the chart of the Hawaiian lunar phases which shows the orientation of the moon when it rises.

Charts include traditional Hawaiian calendar systems from different areas in the archipelago and a chart of principal meteor showers.

Ample room for notes and clippings, and a bibliography with both book titles and URLs complete the workbook.

On the cover, be sure to write your own name in as co-author!

161 pages, approximately 30 are resource/info and the remaining are sky charts for you to fill in.

Back cover text in Hawaiian: Ua hoʻomaka ʻo Leilehua Yuen e aʻo aku i nā haʻawina kilo hōkū i ka makahiki 1997 i ka manawa mua āna i aʻo aku i nā moʻolelo hōkū ma ka Visitor Information Station i Mauna Kea.

Aʻo aku ʻo Kumu Leilehua i nā haʻawina kilo hōkū ma ke ʻano he haʻi moʻolelo. Ua koho ʻo ia i nā moʻolelo piha hoʻi me nā kaona i mea e makana aku ai i nā haunauna e hiki mai ana.

Hoʻokumu ʻia kēia puke moʻomanaʻo o no ke kōkua ʻana iā ʻoe e aʻo aku e pili ana i nā moʻolelo kilo hōkū, nā ʻikepili, nā kuhikuhina o ke kilo ʻana, a me ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i nā mea i kilo ʻia ai.

Back cover text in English: Kumu D. Leilehua Yuen has taught perspectives of Hawaiʻi astronomy since 1997 when she gave her first presentation on Hawaiian star lore at the Visitor Information Station on Mauna Kea.

Kumu Leilehua approaches Hawaiian astronomical concepts from the perspective of a storyteller, seeking to leaarn what lessons were considered so important that they were encoded into tales passed down through the generations.

This logbook is designed to help you begin your journey in learning about Hawaiian star lore by providing some background information, som suggestions for how to record your own observations, and a simple format for recording them.

A starfinder is a useful tool for observing the night sky. I use this one.

Click text link below to purchase

Regarding “haole”

In response to a question about “haole” being modern slang, or a traditional Hawaiian word:

The word “haole” is actually a fully Hawaiian word pre-dating the arrival of Capt Cook. Its etymology is lost in time. What linguists do agree on is that it is not a compound word. Polynesian linguistic shifts do not support the words “hā” and ” ‘ole” morphing to “haole.”

Also, the word is found in chants which predate Capt. Cook’s 1778 arrival.

PAUMAKUA
Westervelt records in “Hawaiian Historical Legends”:

“…
PAUMAKUA was one of the great voyagers among the ocean-rovers of over eight hundred years ago. Fornander in his “Account of the Polynesian Race” says: “One of the legends relates that Paumakua, on his return from one of his foreign voyages, brought back with him to Oahu two white men said to have been priests A-ua-ka-hinu and A-ua-ka-mea, afterwards named Kae-kae and Ma-liu, from whom several priestly families in after ages claimed descent and authority.” These persons were described as:

“Ka haole nui maka ʻālohilohi
(A large foreigner, bright sparkling eyes)
A āholehole maka ʻaʻā
(White cheeks, roguish staring eyes)
Ka puaʻa keokeo nui maka ʻulaʻula!
(A great white pig with reddish eyes).”

In the later years of Hawaiian history, two of the most prominent high priests in all the islands were among the descendants of these foreigners.
…”

KUMULIPO
The word also is found in the Kumulipo:

“…
Line 505 – Hanau ke Po’ohaole, he haole kela
…”
“…
born was the stranger’s head, that was strange.
…”

KUALIʻI
In the genealogy of Kualiʻi (born around 1710), the chant states:

“…
Hoʻokahi o Tahiti kānaka, he haole
…”
“…
only one people in Tahiti, foreigners.
…”

The word began referring more commonly to North Americans during the overthrow of the Monarchy.

Sometimes translating Hawaiian can be challenging because you first have to determine if the person is actually using the word with its Hawaiian meaning, or if the person is using the word with its Pidgin meaning.

In Hawaiian, I was taught never to say ” ʻōkole” in polite company, because it can mean “anus.” In pidgin, the word generally refers to the buttocks.

Wehewehe.org Hawaiian Language Dictionary

When I was a girl, the following were in common use, with no pejorative meanings:

Hawaiian – Native Hawaiian.

Hapa [HAH-pah]- Part Hawaiian. Distinguished as hapa-haole, hapa-Keponi, hapa-Pākē, etc.

Kanaka [kah-NAH-kah] – Native Hawaiian.
(kuh-NAAK-uh and NAAK-uh were highly perjorative)

Kamaʻāina [kah-mah-ah-EE-nah / kah-mah-AI-nah] – Non-Native Hawaiian person born in Hawaiʻi or very long time resident who was adopted into Hawaiian culture.

Malihini [mah-lee-HEE-nee] – Visitor or new resident.

Maoli [maOH-lee] – Native Hawaiian.

Sometimes, people will become upset that “haole” is not capitalized the way Kepani or Pākē is capitalized. Like “hapa,” “haole” is not an ethnic group. It is a description. One would not capitalize “continental” in describing someone, though one would capitalize “French.” If one wishes to say “hapa-Pelekane” (Hawaiian-British), then, certainly “Pelekane” is capitalized.

It’s Just a Cartoon for Kids

Last night I had an epiphany, a sudden moment of clarity brought on by the question of a haole* person I was sitting beside at a dinner. She asked, “What is the big deal about Moana, it’s just a cartoon for kids.”

I paused. (As a Hawaiian Cultural Advisor to a variety of entities, I’ve learned that any offhand remarks I make can (and often will) be taken literally. )

I thought. “”It’s just a cartoon for kids.” Aha. THAT is EXACTLY WHY it is a big deal.”

Now, I am not going to go into whether it is well done or not, who was insulted, who loved it, and all that. There are many blogs, articles, and comments available on-line and in print which are well thought out and make excellent reading for you to make up your own mind. I am only going to say a few words about WHY IT IS A BIG DEAL.

It is a big deal because kids are watching it.

If what kids see was not a big deal, advertisers would not be spending $17 billion (yes, $17,000,000,000!) annually to get keiki eye-tracks on their ads!

You see, kids/children/keiki, are rapidly absorbing everything that goes on around them. Whatever they see, hear, feel, smell, sense in any way is shaping the adults they will become. So it is critical that whatever is made for and marketed to children be true, honest, and healthful for their souls, minds, and bodies.

Movies, cartoons, and other media directed at children are far MORE important to produce to the highest possible standards than media directed to any other audience.

A child has no filters. Moana is targeted to children who are in that time of life in which they are most actively forming their perceptions of themselves and the world in which they live. What the child sees in Moana will largely inform that child’s perceptions of Polynesian people. If the child is Polynesian, this will have a direct effect on the child’s self-perception and view of his or her own history. If the child is not Polynesian, it will have a direct effect on how the child will see people who look like Polynesians.

If you let your child watch this (or any) movie, watch it with your child and use the movie as a starting point for discussion and exploration of your ʻohana‘s culture and values. It does not need to be heavy – simple questions like, “If you had been in _______’s place, what would you have done?” are a good starting point. Go to the library and borrow books about Maui and the Pacific. (And feel free to explain that it’s just a movie, Maui’s mother loved him very much. She didn’t throw him away because she didn’t love him. He looked like he was born dead, so she wrapped him in her hair and gave him to his ocean ancestors. Click here for a beautifully done video of the story!)

At the bottom of this post are links to resources, and to purchase books if you do not have a library available.

So, it is a big deal. Mahalo for asking a question that made me think!

Another question this lovely woman asked was, “Why are people so upset about a made-up character?”

The answer is, “He is not made-up.”

Maui is an ancestor figure, culture hero, and cultural archetype who defines much of how, as Polynesians, we see ourselves. Any perceived disrespect or attack is disrespect and attack which strikes at the self-perception of an entire people.

For an example of this in European culture, take a look at the stories of William Tell. Whether or not one pursues a literal interpretation of William Tell the Man, or is satisfied with the Legendary Figure of William Tell, again, he is an ancestor figure, culture hero, and cultural archetype. To disrespect or attack him is to disrespect and attack Swiss culture and self-perception.

Archetypal figures, found in all cultures, are used to teach children and adults cultural values and truths that go deeper than those found in simple dates and role-calls.

Here in the world’s largest ocean, Maui is revered throughout Polynesia. His wondrous deeds as a culture hero have been told and re-told for over a thousand years. Though there are differences between island groups, that they have remained as consistent as they have is amazing, and demonstrates how important Maui is to Polynesians throughout the Pacific.

According to Bulfinch (1796-1867), the compiler of Bulfinch’s Mythology,

“The Maui legends form one of the strongest links in the mythological chain of evidence which binds the scattered inhabitants of the Pacific into one nation. An incomplete list aids in making clear the fact that groups of islands hundreds and even thousands of miles apart have been peopled centuries past by the same organic race.”

IMDb is now providing community-created parental guides for movies, including Moana.

Must-haves for the grownups

Hawaʻiki Rising is free on Kindle!

Classic collections of mythologies

*I point out that she is haole (in the sense of ʻforeign to Hawaiʻiʻ) so that you know she is has an American/Euro-centric cultural background, as opposed to someone reared in the islands. If she were Japanese or of any other ethnic/cultural background, I would have pointed that out so that readers would have a cultural referent for her.