Voices of Fire: Reweaving the Literary Lei of Pele and Hi‘iaka

Description

Stories of the volcano goddess Pele and her youngest sister Hi‘iaka, patron of hula, are most familiar as a form of literary colonialism—first translated by missionary descendants and others, then co-opted by Hollywood and the tourist industry. But far from quaint tales for amusement, the Pele and Hi‘iaka literature published between the 1860s and 1930 carried coded political meaning for the Hawaiian people at a time of great upheaval. Voices of Fire recovers the lost and often-suppressed significance of this literature, restoring it to its primary place in Hawaiian culture. ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui takes up mo‘olelo (histories, stories, narratives), mele (poetry, songs), oli (chants), and hula (dances) as they were conveyed by dozens of authors over a tumultuous sixty-eight-year period characterized by population collapse, land alienation, economic exploitation, and military occupation. Her examination shows how the Pele and Hi‘iaka legends acted as a framework for a Native sense of community. Freeing the mo‘olelo and mele from colonial stereotypes and misappropriations, Voices of Fire establishes a literary mo‘okū‘auhau, or genealogy, that provides a view of the ancestral literature in its indigenous contexts. The first book-length analysis of Pele and Hi‘iaka literature written by a Native Hawaiian scholar, Voices of Fire compellingly lays the groundwork for a larger conversation of Native American literary nationalism. Cover Papa Kuhikuhi / Contents Ka Pule Wehe / The Opening Prayer: Kūnihi ka Mauna (Steep Stands the Mountain) Ka Pane / The Response ‘Ōlelo Ha‘i Mua / Preface Nā Mahalo / Acknowledgments ‘Ōlelo Mua / Introduction: Ke Ha‘a lā Puna i ka Makani (Puna Dances in the Breeze) Mokuna / Chapter 1. Mai Kahiki Mai ka Wahine, ‘o Pele (From Kahiki Came the Woman, Pele): Historicizing the Pele and Hi‘iaka Mo‘olelo Mokuna / Chapter 2. ‘O nā Lehua Wale i Kā‘ana (The Lehua Blossoms Alone at Kā‘ana): Weaving the Mo‘okū‘auhau of Oral and Literary Traditions Mokuna / Chapter 3. Lele ana ‘o Ka‘ena i ka Mālie (Ka‘ena Soars Like a Bird in the Calm): Pele and Hi‘iaka Mo‘olelo as Intellectual History Mokuna / Chapter 4. Ke Lei maila ‘o Ka‘ula i ke Kai ē (Ka‘ula Is Wreathed by the Sea): Pele and Hi‘iaka Mo‘olelo and Kanaka Maoli Culture Mokuna / Chapter 5. ‘O ‘Oe ia, e Wailua Iki (It Is You, Wailua Iki): Mana Wahine in the Pele and Hi‘iaka Mo‘olelo Mokuna / Chapter 6. Hulihia Ka Mauna (The Mountain Is Overturned by Fire): Weaving a Literary Tradition—the Polytexts and Politics of the Pele and Hi‘iaka Mo‘olelo Mokuna / Chapter 7. Aloha Kīlauea, ka ‘Āina Aloha (Cherished Is Kīlauea, the Beloved Land): Remembering, Reclaiming, Recovering, and Retelling—Pele and Hi‘iaka Mo‘olelo as Hawaiian Literary Nationalism Ka Pule Pani / The Closing Prayer: He Pule no Hi‘iakaikapoliopele (Hi‘iakaikapoliopele’s Prayer) ‘Ōlelo Wehewehe Hope / Notes Papa Wehewehe ‘Ōlelo / Glossary A E H K L M O P W Papa Kuhikuhi o nā Mea Kūmole ‘ia / Works Cited Papa Kuhikuhi Hō‘ike / Index A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U V W