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In order to understand how our literature is empowering to us, nā

Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian people), one must first look to our ’ōlelo

makuahine, our Indigenous language base, and the mana’o (thoughts)

expressed within its embrace. A traditional ’ōlelo no’ eau (proverb), i ka

’ōlelo ke ola, i ka ’ōlelo ka make, “in the language is life, in the language is

death,” speaks to the power of language, as words have the ability to heal

or destroy.1 ’Ōlelo is “language, speech, word, utterance; to speak, say,

tell; oral communication.2 ’Ōlelo is the root of our word for stories oral

or written, mo’olelo. Mo’olelo is formed from two words: ’ōlelo, language,

and mo’o, a “succession [or] series”; thus mo’o ’ōlelo is “a succession of

talk, as all stories were oral, not written,” although today the term also

encompasses written literature.3

Until American Calvinist missionaries created a Hawaiian alphabet

and writing system after their arrival to the Hawaiian islands in 1819, all

Kanaka Maoli literature was oral. By inventing a Hawaiian alphabet, the

missionaries were able to teach Kanaka Maoli reading and writing; by the

early 1830s the first missionary-controlled printing press was established,

and by 1861 the first of several dozen independent Kanaka Maoli Hawai-

ian-language newspapers, which flourished from 1861 through the 1930s,

came into existence. From the beginning Kanaka Maoli enthusiastically

embraced the technology of writing as a new method of recording oral

traditions such as mo’olelo, oli, mele, mo’okū’auhau (genealogies), and

other kinds of information they wanted to preserve and share. Rather

than replace oral tradition, the technology of writing expanded the ca-

pability of recording and sharing information within the lāhui Hawai’i

(Hawaiian nation). Kanaka Maoli wrote down and published, side by

Hä, Mana, Leo (Breath, Spirit, Voice)

Kanaka Maoli Empowerment through Literature

ku’ualoha ho’omanawanui

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side, traditional Hawaiian mo’olelo (such as the epic of Pele, the Hawai-

ian goddess of the volcano), mo’olelo from other countries translated

into the Hawaiian language (such as The Tempest, Tarzan, and 20,000

Leagues Under the Sea), and also created new mo’olelo (such as the ro-

mance of Lā’ieikawai). These and other mo’olelo ranged in length from

a paragraph to over one thousand pages and comprised the bulk of the

typically eight-page long newspaper. Thus, Hawaiian literature, com-

posed in the Native language, flourished for approximately one hundred

years.

The overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by U.S. military – backed

American businessmen in 1893 had devastating effects on Hawaiian

mo’olelo, as the subsequent foreign-run Provisional Government banned

the Hawaiian language, replacing it with English as the official and

sole language of the islands. Thus, by the 1930s the number of Hawaiian-

language speakers began to drop dramatically, resulting in the death of the

Hawaiian-language newspaper industry. Because the Hawaiian language

was severely eroded by colonial laws and social enforcement during this

time, very little Kanaka Maoli literature was published from the 1940s un-

til the revival of Hawaiian politics and cultural practices in the 1960s, a pe-

riod generally referred to today as “the Hawaiian renaissance.” While

some cultural arts (like hula) have flourished, others, such as Indigenous-

produced literature, have grown at a much slower rate. No one knows ex-

actly why Kanaka Maoli – produced literature has not prospered as much

as our other culture arts, although some speculate there are several pos-

sible reasons, such as the banning of our ancestral language over one hun-

dred years ago, which cut us off from self expression; writing, because a

foreign introduction, is often viewed as a colonial tool of oppression

rather than an Indigenous tool of empowerment; the resistance to literacy

(reading and writing) equals resistance to colonialism. Generations of

Kanaka Maoli who have been indoctrinated by a colonial education sys-

tem to believe that anything Native is never “good enough” has led to a

lack of confidence in the ability to write anything worthwhile at all. Yet as

these views and attitudes toward the creation of new Kanaka Maoli liter-

ature have prevailed, a small but determined group of Kanaka Maoli writ-

ers have continued to struggle against overwhelming odds to perform,

write, and publish Kanaka Maoli literature.

For at least two thousand years and numerous generations before

Western contact in 1778, our mo’olelo were passed down orally from ha’i

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mo’olelo (storyteller) to ha’i mo’olelo, from kumu hula (dance master) to

kumu hula, from kanaka (person) to kanaka. Tradition tells us that while

some of our great epics took days to recount, audiences were enthusias-

tic recipients of our ancestral mo’olelo, particularly when they took the

form of hula, our traditional dance form practiced by men and women

alike.

Hula is and always has been an important storytelling vehicle for

Hawaiian mo’olelo, so much so that in the nineteenth century Ali’i Nui

(king) David La’amea Kalākaua proclaimed it “the heartbeat of the

Hawaiian people.” In fact, hula is so inextricably tied to storytelling that

it is impossible to choreograph any dance movement without ’ōlelo,

without words, as each motion is meant to illustrate the mo’olelo itself.

Branded “lewd and lascivious” by Calvinist missionaries, it was officially

banned as a cultural practice in the 1830s. Yet many hālau hula (hula

schools /dance troupes) continued to practice and perpetuate hula in se-

cret despite missionary protest. Fortunately, their efforts kept hula alive,

and today it is a flourishing art.

Together with the chanting of oli (chant) and the singing of mele

(songs), the practice of hula is empowering for many Kanaka Maoli

today in a myriad of ways —first and foremost because it continues to

link us to our ancestors, particularly through the use of ’ōlelo Hawai’i

(Hawaiian language) texts both old and new. By practicing our ’ōlelo

makuahine, we continue to value the mana’o (thoughts, expressions) of

our ancestors through our common language, allowing us a glimpse of

their worldview, which often contradicts or refutes the colonial perspec-

tives taught in schools that ignores, demeans, and /or suppresses our

pilina (connections) and kulena (responsibilities) to the ’āina (land) and

each other. For example, Western science teaches that the formation of

the earth and the evolution of humans were separate occurrences, while

the Kumulipo, a foundational Hawaiian creation epic, recounts the birth

of the universe, earth, and all living creatures, including Kanaka Maoli,

who are thus genealogically related to the land. In addition, the mo’olelo

of Papahānaumoku, our Earth Mother, and Wākea, our Sky Father, re-

minds us that the kalo plant is our elder sibling, and it is our responsi-

bility to cultivate and care for it, as it feeds and sustains us in return.

By learning, understanding, and perpetuating the mo’olelo of our

kūpuna (elders, ancestors), Kanaka Maoli are empowered with tradi-

tional ’ike (knowledge). This ’ike inspires us to continue to kū’ē, to resist

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and to stand in opposition against colonization and against foreign dom-

ination, suppression, and appropriation of who we are and what our cul-

ture is and means to us. Our great ali’i Kamehameha encouraged his

warriors with these words: I mua e nā pōki’i, a inu i ka wai ’awa’awa, “go

forth young brethren, and drink of the bitter waters,” a sentiment echoed

by many modern Kanaka Maoli writers in our mo’olelo today.

African American writer Toni Morrison has written that “the best art

is political.” 4 One of the foremost elements of politics, of course, is

power. Thus, the fact that Kanaka Maoli are performing traditional hula

as well as composing and choreographing new hula is a political act of

cultural empowerment. In a similar way, the perpetuation of traditional

mo’olelo, through hula or otherwise, inspires us to create and haku

(compose) new stories, which allows us to communicate our thoughts,

feelings, and experiences of our time with our contemporaries. Simulta-

neously, it enables us to leave a record of these experiences for future gen-

erations, as our ancestors have left a record (through their stories) of

their mana’o and experiences. One of the best examples of this is the pro-

liferation of voyaging-related mele composed from the late 1970s through

1990s, inspired by the launching of Hōkūle’a, the first modern-day long-

distance Polynesian voyaging canoe. The success of Hōkūle’a re-instilled

pride in our rich voyaging traditions across Polynesia, inspiring the cre-

ation of dozens of other voyaging canoes and voyages across the Pacific,

as well as the reestablishment of an older genre of mo’olelo, the mele

honoring the wa’a kaulua (double-hulled canoe) and the crew who

sailed them.

Beginning in the 1960s Kanaka Maoli began to once again write and

publish as our ancestors had done a hundred years prior. This time,

however, the dominant languages of choice were English and Hawai’i

Creole English (hce), popularly referred to in Hawai’i as “pidgin.” Yet

despite our ancestral language being forcibly removed from our memo-

ries and tongues, Kanaka Maoli writers have successfully manipulated

this colonial language as a tool of empowerment and cultural expression

in a way described by African writer Chinua Achebe when he pro-

claimed, “I have been given the language, and I intend to use it.” 5 Con-

temporary Kanaka Maoli writers such as Haunani-Kay Trask, ’Īmai-

kalani Kalahele, Joseph Puna Balaz, and Mahealani Kamau’u are but a

few of the more well-known poets who are recognized for their biting in-

terrogation of colonization through the word images in their works, best

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summarized by Trask’s metaphor of Kanaka Maoli writing as the “rope

of resistance” for “unborn generations.” 6

Regardless of language (Hawaiian, English, hce), time period (pre-

contact until today), and sociopolitical circumstances, Kanaka Maoli

have always been, and continue to be, empowered by our mo’olelo in two

primary ways: practice and theme, which includes kaona (metaphor). By

practice I mean the actual art of composing, performing, publishing,

and perpetuating mo’olelo. As Morrison suggests, the very act of creat-

ing Kanaka Maoli mo’olelo, as opposed to mimicking Western writing,

is political, and thus empowering, as the composer asserts a cultural-

political stance that our literature is important and worthy of being shared

and perpetuated. The composition of mo’olelo ranges from writing in

traditional genres of literature, such as pana (stories celebrating place), to

working in Western and other genres of fiction, poetry, and drama.

Thematically, Kanaka Maoli literature values the use of kaona (under-

lying meaning) and the use of traditional metaphors. Contemporary

Kanaka Maoli writers strive to keep these important features of our tra-

ditional mo’olelo prominent in our writing today regardless of the lan-

guage in which we are composing. The continued upholding of central

cultural images such as kalo (taro), the staple crop and elder sibling of

Kanaka Maoli, and ideas such as hulihia (to overturn) illustrate aspects

of our culture and traditions that continue to sustain us physically, spir-

itually, emotionally, and creatively.

Relatively new, ’Ōiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal (established in 1998)

is the first journal in contemporary times dedicated to the expression of

Kanaka Maoli writers and artists in all genres and languages.7 As an edi-

tor for the journal, I am always humbled by the positive feedback and

kind words of appreciation from the Kanaka Maoli communities across

the pae’āina (islands) and abroad. In this capacity, I have experience

firsthand how our mo’olelo continues to empower and encourage our

lāhui. And so we go on. Kanaka Maoli writer Kau’i Goodhue states:

Hawaiians say “hāweo” to refer to a glow of light that makes things

visible. It is in the light of knowledge that the darkness and confu-

sion of the past . . . are now being destroyed and the heroic deeds of

our ancestors are being revealed. The responsibility is now ours to

carry on where they left off. From resistance to affirmation, we are

who we were.8

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In this sense, Kanaka Maoli today are sustained, fed, and empowered by

our ’ōlelo, by the mo’olelo of our ancestors, by the literary ropes of re-

sistance we weave for future generations who will, in turn, continue to

travel the path of our ancestors i ka wā pono, when the time is right.

notes

1. Mary Kawena Pukui, ’Ōlelo No’eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Say-

ings (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1986), 129.

2. Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, rev. ed.

(Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1986), 284.

3. Pukui and Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, 253, 254.

4. Quoted in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, ed. Henry

Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay (New York: W. W. Norton, 1997), 2094.

5. Quoted in Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Lan-

guage in African Literature (London: James Currey, 1981), 7.

6. Haunani-Kay Trask, Light in the Crevice Never Seen (Corvallis or: Calyx

Books, 1994), 56.

7. Information about the journal is available at www.hawaii.edu /oiwi.

8. Kau’i P. Goodhue, “We Are Who We Were: From Resistance to Affirma-

tion,” ’Ōiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal 1 (1998): 39.

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