Hawaii Books

These stories, based on the ancient legends of the Hawaiian people, are among the first writing to reach the U.S. on surfing as a sport, and the legends behind it, with photographs depicting Hawaiian scenes at the turn of the last century.

This book truly speaks to the soul of a being, child and adult. It is full of character, love, lessons and truth. The pictures inspire the imagination and make the words come alive. A wonderful story for children of all ages.

Kepelino was a Hawaiian man born around 1830. He was schooled by Catholic missionaries, traveled to Tahiti in 1847 to open a mission, and became a prolific contributor to Catholic newspapers and Hawaiian language newspapers. He also sided with Queen Emma in her fight for the Hawaiian throne; this effort had him jailed and sentenced to hang for treason (the first person so sentenced).

He was eventually pardoned, and died in 1878.

At one point in his life he sat down with his missionary friends and dictated his recollections of life, legends, and customs as a Hawaiian. This volume, in English and Hawaiian, is that compilation.

Some tidbits:

"Special persons called 'Poe-o-kahi-kapu' attended to the private parts of a chief when he was ill and of the chiefess during her menstruating period. They alone had the right to do this service, no one else. If another stepped into the position he would be put to death. This was a post handed down in a family" (p. 130).

"The commoners comprise only those people who have no chiefly blood. A chief is known by his name. This is a peculiarity of Hawaii. The name of a chief is tabu and cannot be given to a commoner or he would die. Hence the chiefs are distinguished by their names from the commoners and the commoners from the chiefs. This is a custom peculiar to Hawaii. Among the white people names are not significant, but to the Hawaiian the name is important. Many are the strange things to be learned about Hawaii. However diligently the foreigner seeks he cannot find out all. He gets a fragment here and there and goes home. A heap of absurdities is all he has to show from great Hawaii" (p. 142).

"There are many ways of planting taro. One way is called 'prodding,' another 'steering', another 'covering', another 'mounding', another 'stopping up', another 'leaf filling'" (p. 152; they are described in turn).

"There were many kinds of dances in Hawaii: There was the chest-slapping dance, the dance in which time was beaten with sticks, the dance with marionettes, and so on. All these things were sinful. Eyes, hands, feet and body ensnared the onlooker. The dance taught the young people to sin. he who had known no wrong would quickly learn it in the dance. There was no dance, not a single chant of Hawaii, that was not filthy. Hawaiian chants were all bad, even the name chants. They were all filthy. But the calling chants and some of the genealogical chants of gods and chiefs contained no double meanings, and the ancestral chants were almost free of them. All the rest of the chants were made by Lucifer" (p. 164, 166).

"Kane, Lono, Kanaloa were the Gods who made Heaven and Earth. These three Gods were one in their nature as God, that is, a very holy One-God-in-three, 'Akua-kahi-kolu.' Before them there was no Heaven and no Earth. ...They saw the light and the darkness and they were good. ...They said, 'Let us make a man, a being like ourselves, knowing all things.' ...They said, 'Let us make women to be a companion for the man, to bear seed for the broad earth.' ...They ceased making the earth and blessed it. This was the sixth period" (p. 174, 176, 178; written by G. M. Keone and T. C. Polikapa and included as appendix).

Clearly, it is difficult to tell what was truly Hawaiian and what was a "missionary Hawaiian" interpretation. That there is a European influence on Kepelino's window to his world I have no doubt. The notes on dancing are a good example. However, I would assume the farming notes are more accurate.

Giving the absolute and radical decimation of the Hawaiian race and its customs throughout the late 18th and all the 19th centuries, even Kepelino is missing information.

In a forward written by Noelani Arista, Arista stated "Kepelino's position within that changing tradition cannot be understood without considering the different kinds of education and training he received and the particular ways in which these influenced his intellectual production" (p. ix). I agree.

Arista also noted "While foreign missionaries expressed an urgent interest in preserving Hawaiian traditions, which they believed would soon be lost as a result of the decline of the Hawaiian population, some of the same missionaries tried to radically change, and even destroy the very traditions that they had asked the Hawaiian historians to commit to writing" (p. x). I see this as well.

Finally, the original translator of this work, Martha Warren Beckwith, wrote in 1931 that "...we must accept this record for what it is worth, an attempt by a Hawaiian of exceptional inheritance and training to explain the beliefs and traditions of the past as they had been handed down to those Hawaiians of his own time who interested themselves in these matters" (p. 7). She added, "Even those who demand more rigorous proof of the historical accuracy of the Kepelino manuscript as an exact replica of antiquity, may grant its value as the genuine thought about his own ancient heritage of a native Hawaiian who grew up during the stirring days of the missions and the monarchy in Hawaii" (p. 7).

But the evidence indicates a profound loss of Hawaiian cultural traditions within decades of the coming of whalers, European businessmen, and missionaries. Because of this, we depend on the accounts of Kepelino, Malo, and others to give us insight.

But this is almost the best we have, this glimpse into a Hawaiian life.

This book grabs your attention right from the start and is a joy and pleasure to read. I couldn't put it down till finished. I highly commend the authors on their good taste and wonderful imagination. I personally can't wait for the next book to come out.

Great job!

Valeri's Kingship and Sacrifice is a well researched and thoroughly documented study of the ritual practices and beliefs of the state religion of Hawai'i prior to Christianization and subsequent colonization (you make the connection). This classic is an essential for those interested in the indigenous religious practices of Kanaka Maoli (the Native Hawaiian), specifically those of the ruling class or ali'i and consequently the participation required by the maka'ainana (watcher of the land). He relies extensively on oral histories recorded and/or translated by Native speakers, as well as other documents authored by Native Hawaiians primarily in the 1800's. These written sources are unique because Kanaka Maoli are rare among indigenious peoples as they were able to record their history in their mother tongue and English. In fact prior to the American backed coup that toppled the legitimate government of Hawaii in 1893, Native Hawaiians were the most literate nation in the world. Today Kanaka Maoli Nation is considered the most illiterate ethnic group in the American colony known as the State of Hawai'i. Politics aside, to Valeri's credit he consistantly avoids judgement of what might appear to be questionable cultural practices/values to some Western eyes (although let that reader first take the log out his own). On a metaphysical plane, Kingship and Sacrifice is a study of an alternative and (in its a time) viable reality. We are reminded that reality is not arbitrary construct or an absolute, but rather a mutable creation of the human mind and as such any reality functions because as an individuals within a society we give our conscious or unconscious consent. We are also given opportunity to reflect upon how Spirit was made manifest or channeled within a particuliar society, and noteworthy is the belief that mystery of Spirit imbued every aspect of life. The influence of this ancient way of being is still felt within contemporary Hawaiian culture.

A great deal of care was putting into writing the first edition for the centennial in 1935 and the information presenbted is almost always reliable. It was written by an engineer who was precise about details. So, if that is what you want, it's a five-star book, although stuffy in style.

The brief addenda written by Grove Farm and McBryde for the sesquintenntial add almost nothing over the next 50 years. Those were dramatic years and if you want a complete and balanced story up to the present, this omission drops the 1985 revised edition to two stars or less.

An excellent alternate choice has just been published by Mutual titled "The Story of Kola" that brings the story up-to-date and also includes Poipu. Much more readable and just as accurate.

I just finished reading Kona Snow and I must say that this book was even better than the first (Taka). You can really see the improvement in the writers style. I look forward to the third one in the series. If you like a good thriller that will actually allow you to use your brain then you will enjoy this book.

A prospective school teacher finally finds a position privately teaching a young girl in Hawaii who's recently been injured in a car accident. She naturally takes the all expense paid trip and finds her environment and the young pupil greatly to her liking. She also happens to take notice of her employer's nephew who is in and out of the house. :o)

This happens to be one of my all time favorite romance novels--and I've lost my taste for most. It's because of this book I want to go to Hawaii--preferably for my honeymoon. ;o) There's no sex if, by chance, you don't care for its over abundance in romances, which I can easily understand--but there is kissing and some groping. Just enough, in fact. I think it's well written and that the sexual tension keeps the main character's relationship a juicy read. The tidbits about Hawaii are fascinating. The plot is purely romance--no mystery thriller involved here.

I first read this when I was very young, but now that I've matured, I realize that some of the characters probably could use a little more development. I realize that the main characters' "relationship" could use more development as well, but you have to go with the flow. If you do, I think you might enjoy it. Try it!

The wait for a succinct yet comprehensive history of modern Korea is over. This volume, deftly written by Michael Robinson (Indiana University), comes as a welcome alternative to histories of Korea too long or complex for the typical undergraduate. His book is divided into an introduction, eight chapters (none longer than twenty-five pages), and an epilogue, each of which may be profitably read or assigned on its own. The first chapter surveys traditional Korea, and argues that the seeds of Korean modernity were present even in the Choson dynasty. In Chapters Two through Four, Robinson -- a specialist in Korea's colonial period -- surveys the brutal decades of Japanese rule, elucidating the unique features of Japan's colonizing efforts from the 1910s to the 1940s. He also draws attention to the ideological divisions within Korean society during this period that led to the eventual bifurcation of the peninsula into two confrontational nation-states after WWII. The remaining chapters examine Korea's postwar split, devoting space to developments in both North and South Korea, while a thought-provoking epilogue explores the peninsula's role in East Asian geopolitics in the twenty-first century. Striking photographs throughout confirm this volume's status as the new standard in the field.

Chinul has been called the "Dogen of Korea", and Robert Buswell's masterpiece makes it clear why. All of the surviving Korean schools of Zen trace their lineage through this uniquely gifted Zen master.

Born in 1158, Chinul almost single-handedly reformed and re-vitalized Zen in Korea by the time of his death in 1210 (when Dogen was 10 years old). An intellectual prodigy, and deeply compassionate man, Chinul's huge effect on Buddhism in Korea parallels that of the greatest masters of all time.

Buswell's massive effort offers us much more than the usual examination of a Zen master. After providing us with a thorough account of the history of Buddhism in Korea, The Korean Approach to Zen: The Collected Works of Chinul, presents an extensive account of Chinul's remarkable life, including detailed examinations of all his three of major awakenings that shaped the future course of Chinul's teachings.

Buswell then walks us through a meticulous examination of the Chinul's thought and teaching. From Chinul's exposition and integration of Huayen Buddhism, especially as presented by Tsung-mi, to his understanding of original enlightenment and gradual cultivation, and his view on koan practice, and more.

Perhaps the greatest treasure is Buswell's inclusion of translations from all of Chinul's major works including Secrets on Cultivating the Mind, Straight Talk on the True Mind, The Complete and Sudden Attainment of Buddhahood, Excerpts from the Dharma Collection and Special Practice Record, and more...

All the extras of a great scholarly work, including an extensive glossary and a detailed, easy to use index. This massive text will be a source of Zen wisdom for decades to come. Highly recommended!!