Star-Bulletin archive
A new book takes another look at the work of David Malo.
Antiquities
re-examinedBy Catherine Kekoa Enomoto
Star-BulletinThe first modern translation of a century-and-a-half-year-old manuscript on early Hawaiian culture makes its debut at a Thursday reception and book signing. Translator Malcolm Naea Chun, a native Hawaiian author and cultural specialist at Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, unveils "Ka Mo'olelo Hawai'i - Hawaiian Traditions" (First People's Productions, 1997, $29.95). The event is free and open to the public from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Bishop Museum.
Native Hawaiian historian David Malo (1795-1853) wrote the definitive treatise on wide-ranging subjects, such as the 30 names of the daily moon phases, food taboos, etiquette and the Kauwa slave caste. Malo was a member of the court of High Chief Kuakini, attended Lahainaluna School and served as a schoolteacher and minister on Maui.
Chun's 325-page scholarly work features the Hawaiian-language text, his own English translation with footnotes, and Malo's never-before-published 1827 treatise on Hawaiian genealogy.
The original translator, Nathaniel Bright Emerson, finished the work as "Hawaiian Antiquities (Mo'olelo Hawai'i)" in 1898. Bishop Museum Press plans to reprint "Antiquities," which currently is out of print.
Emerson was the son of missionary parents who spoke Hawaiian. He authored "Pele and Hi'iaka," a collection of traditional chants.
"Ka Mo'olelo Hawai'i - Hawaiian Traditions" will be available at Thursday's reception at a preview price of $25. The program also will honor several individuals, according to Henry Iwasa, executive secretary of the hosting organization, the University of Hawaii Committee for the Preservation and Study of Hawaiian Language, Art and Culture. The committee is a long-time supporter of Malo projects.
The book also will be available Thursday at Barnes & Noble, Borders and Native Books.
