Hawaiian Legends; Legend of Pele and Hi’iaka of Hawaii
Hawaiians have a great significance of their beliefs and culture. Some beliefs are based on nature and the things within it. Native Hawaiians also have great legends that explain what they believe in. Almost everyone would say legends are only made up stories for interest or to scare people but not everyone would think that here in the Hawaiian Islands. Many people do not believe in legends; however Native Hawaiians rely on their legends which allow them to learn about their ancestors. A well-known legend to the natives of Hawaii would be Pele and her sister Hi’iaka. Pele, the goddess of the volcanoes and fire was the one that controlled the volcano and lava on Kilauea. Hi’iaka, the goddess
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An english professor from UH Manoa named, Ku’ualoha Ho’omanawanui wrote an article Mana Wahine, Education and Nation-building: Lessons from the Epic Pele and Hi’iaka for Kanaka Maoli Today on the importance of the Hawaiian culture. She wrote many detailed ideas of what the Hawaiian culture is and why it is important to many Native Hawaiians. She had an argument about the importance of the Hawaiian culture to be taught in schools. Her arguments were based on how they should preserve the Hawaiian culture by teaching it in schools so the culture does not die. She used Pele and Hi’iaka as an important connection to the culture.
Pele and Hi’iaka are two “skills to create and revive the ‘aina” (Ho’omanawanui 209). This is a very important line used to help understand why the goddesses are important to the Hawaiian culture. Pele and Hi’iaka are not only goddesses of Hawaii but also the unity to the culture. Pele is the creator of the islands and Hi’iaka revives the plants within the islands as a combination of
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Some cultures such as the Hawaiians have tried to preserve their culture. In Ho’omanawanui article she also concentrates on why she wants to preserve the Hawaiian culture. She talks about the many ways the culture is significant in a way that students should learn. The many lesson and relations of how the Hawaiians view their beliefs today. Many people today do not always follow culture anymore. Everyone is influenced by the American life. There are not many natives due to social media and culture not being taught each generation. Personally many people in my culture, the girls specifically do not follow our culture. It is interesting that it is not only happening to my culture but also to many other cultures. The Hawaiian culture is also in the middle of that crisis today. Not many Native Hawaiians are still around. The legend of Pele and Hi’iaka mentioned in Ho’omanawanui’ s article is used to help the readers understand that these legends are not only for storytelling but also a method that could help bring the Hawaiian culture back to its
While sitting on the beach looking into the ocean, rubbing the sand and enjoying the beautiful weather at Cabana’s beach; in beautiful Hawaii on the west side of the island of Oahu is a blessing. Listening to “Hawaii 78” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole at midday at three-thirty pm sparks a sense of uneasiness to a Native Hawaiian, Who are my ancestors? Who is Israel Kamakawiwo’ole? What is the land used for? Has Hawaii really changed, what is the difference between today and one hundred years ago? The importance of the logo “Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono O Hawaii” http://www.netstate.com/states/mottoes/hi_motto.htm
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
Tabrah, Ruth M. Hawaii: A Bicentennial History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1980.
Ka’ahumanu was a strong-willed woman that made a significant impact on the islands by transforming the structure of Hawaii’s society, as well as their beliefs. At one point, she was the most powerful figure in the Hawaiian islands, paving the way for a new era for the kingdom.
Sonia P. Juvik, James O. Juvik. Atlas of Hawaii. 3rd Edition. Hilo: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998.
The most prominent deities are Lono, Ku, Kanaloa, and Kne, the creators of all that exists. Martha Beckwith states, “The Hawaiians worshiped nature gods and these gods entered to a greater or lesser extent into all the affairs of daily life.” (2). Hawaiian mythology has a unique way of incorporating itself in different forms into all facets of daily life in the past. In Hawaiian mythology, all forms of nature have their own god who represents a specific aspect.
20 (1994): 252-271. Kualapai, Lydia. "The Queen Writes Back: Lili'uokalani's Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen. " Studies in American Indian Literature. 17.2 (2005): 32-62.
Racism in Hawaii has caused various issues, and one of them is racial tension. It states that “ some say…”[there are]”...racial tensions between the islands white community and native hawaiians” (Hansen, paragraph 3). Well, in history, it was quite difficult for most of the
Castanha, Anthony. (1996, August). “A History of the Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement.” The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement: Roles and Impacts on Non-Hawaiians, Chapter 3. <http://www.hookele.com/non-hawaiians/chapter3.html>[10/14/00]
The role of a kahuna in the Hawaiian culture takes on the responsibility of keeping a balance between the people and the nation. In doing so, they apply their field of expertise towards assisting the aliʻi and the makaʻāinana. In ancient Hawai’i, there were many different types of kāhuna that had a skill set that contributed or benefited the community. In this paper I will discuss the different ways a kahuna achieves this type of balance within the lāhui. These kuleana include advising the aliʻi to make pono decisions, guiding the makaʻāinana in their daily lives and practices, and taking care of the spiritual side of the Hawaiian culture and traditional practices of the people.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
...Hawai`i’s economy is very dependent on tourism, however many locals are possessive of their land, and as they stereotype tourists, many do not accept others as they have a unity for their own. Numerous individuals feel the desideratum to fit the local stereotype because they prefer not to be labeled as a “haole”. It becomes tough and rather intense for an individual, because becoming haole betokens that you forgot and disregarded the local or Hawaiian quality values and ways of routes, as well as the flowing stream of life in the islands. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of where we emanate from, our skin tone, race, physical characteristics, and so forth, everybody ought to acknowledge just for who we/they are and treat one another like 'ohana and show "aloha", and subsequently, we can determinately verbally express "This is it. This is Paradise" (33).
Pele (also called Ka wahine `ai honua, the woman who devours the land) is the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. She is very popular in Hawaiian mythology and is believed to live in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, a fire pit at the summit of Kīlauea (an active volcano). There are a few variations of how Pele actually came to the Hawaiia islands. One was through expulsion, and the other by canoe. In the canoe/flood version, Pele received a canoe from her oldest brother, Kamohoali'i, the king of sharks and travelled far away with her brothers and came across Hawaii. Upon arrival, she is attacked by her older sister, Na-maka-o-Kaha’i. Pele survived, recovered, and fled to Oahu. There, she dug a numerous amount of “fire pits,” which include the DIamond Head crater in Honolulu. After, she travelled farther southeast to Maui, and created the Haleakala volcano. In the meantime, Na-maka-o-Kaha’i discovered her location, and went to Maui to battle. The battle ended somewhat neat Hana, Maui with Pele being torn apart by her older sister. It’s said that her bon...