One of the last surviving authentic traditional Hawaiian dwellings was reconstructed at the turn of the century (1902) and is preserved at Bishop Museum. The posts and rafters are from an abandoned house built before 1800 in Miloli‘i Valley, Kaua‘i. Other materians used in the house are from var [...]
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The J.S. Emerson collection of Hawaiian artifacts is among Bishop Museums's largest Hawaiian ethnological collections and includes some of the finest examples of pre- and post-contact objects. Much of its value lies in Emerson's faithful recording of circumstances in which he recollected the objects [...]
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Huakai Makaikai a Kaupo, Maui is a narrative of a journey to a time and place little known in our histories. It is the record of a 1922 trek through rural maui by Bishop Museum anthropologist Kenneth P. Emory and his native Hawaiian guide, Thomas K. Manunupau. Written in the Hawaiian language by Man [...]
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A tidal wave sweeps the South Pacific island of Huahine and destroys a coastal village of Polynesian canoe builders. The craftsmen and a canoe nearing completion are swept inland and then back to sea by the receding wave. But a strange twist of fate preserves the canoe under tons of swampy soil for [...]
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Winner of numerous awars for design, photography, and writing, Discovery chronicles the dramatic saga of Polynesian exploration, celebrating the genius of anicent navigators and the triumph of Hawaiian civilization. As the world traveled closer to the distant archipelago, and many travelers landed o [...]
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Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum was founded in Honolulu in 1889. Today, as the museum moves into its second century, this unique institution continues its commitment to gather and share knowledge of Hawai‘i and Pacific with all the world. Hawai‘i is the most isolated land on earth, yet neither its [...]
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The renaissance of Hawaiian culture has revived many traditional arts, including hula, music, lei, and herbal medicine. In one way or another, all of these arts are intimately related to plant life, and their resurgence has called attention to the vital link between the flora and culture of Hawaii. [...]
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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 [...]
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Before the arrival of Captain Cook in1778, the Hawaiians fastened things with cordage, for they had no nails, bolts, or screws. They used cordage to bind the parts of their houses and canoes, their two-piece fishhooks and hafted adzes, to mend cracks in wood and gourd articles. They also used it to [...]
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