Sites of Oahu is widely considered the definitive study of archaeological and historical sites of Oahu. In addition to the locating of archaeological sites, the material consists of history, tradition, legends, place names, and land descriptions because of the great importance of these things to the [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

In this book, Samuel M. Kamakau examines aspects of the material culture of his ancestors. The text is a translated and edited version of a series of articles published in the Hawaiian language newspaper Ke Au ‘Oko‘a in 1969 and 1870. Kamakau wrote of practices that were fast disappearing with i [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Sites of Maui is a single resource for information on the prehistory of Maui. Over a decade-long span, Elspeth P. Sterling combed Hawaiian-and English-language written records of Maui, talked with kupuna, and traveled the island with anthropologists and local informants to rediscover the sites named [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Nihoa and Necker mark the transition from the southeastern high islands of the Hawaiian archipelago to the atolls scattered throughout the northwestern part. According to Hawaiian oral traditions and the archaeological record, these islands were the northwestern frontier of the lands populated by th [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Born a living god, Kamehameha III (r. 1825-1854) was the last traditional king of the Hawaiian Islands. His preferred domicile was a tiny, silty island within a large, freshwater fishpond at Lahaina, Maui. This sacred island of Moku‘ula was also home to the supernatural guardian of the royal famil [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

In 1995 Hawai‘iloa and five other double canoes, reconstructions of ancient Polynesian craft, set sail from the rugged Marquesas archipelago and headed north across the equator to Hawai‘i. Their Polynesian crews were sailing to commemorate the original discovery of Hawai‘i some fifteen centuri [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Lilikala Kame‘eleihiwa, a rigorous scholar and an impassioned writer, presents the first detailed analysis of the Mahele from a contemporary Hawaiian perspective. Her fascinating account of this pivotal period in the history of Hawai‘i offers historians material for reflection and interpretation [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

In almost every part of the world where early mankind has lived, he has made pictures by carving into natural rock surfaces. In a general way, all of these petroglyphs have a common character throughout the world, but it is also true that each culture has produced distinct petroglyphs that can be re [...]
Read the rest of this entry »

Hawaiian Antiquities is a singular account of Hawaiian culture and society in pre-Christian times. David Malo's engrossing work, completed in 1839, tells of the material world, and activities of his people, as well as their origins, myths and beliefs. David Malo stands with Samuel Kamakau and John P [...]
Read the rest of this entry »