S. N. Haleʻole (1819–1866)

I'm stretching things and giving this 4****. This is a reprint – public domain, it would seem – of Ke Kaao o Laieikawai by S.N. Hale'ole {Wikipedia} (c.1819-1866) and is the first fictional work published in the Hawai'ian language. It was translated under the title The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai in 1917 by target="_top">Martha Warren Beckwith, a fairly prolific author in the field of native Hawai'ian myth, folklore, and legend.

Caution, this is a fairly difficult piece of work. Don't expect a middle-reader or young-adult mythological adventure à la Rick Riordan. It's a scholarly endeavor with over fifty pages of prefatory commentary, 130-some pages of translation with twenty-two pages of endnotes on the translation, over forty pages of appendix with short (and not generally very satisfactory) summaries of numerous Hawai'ian myths, and concluding with 130-some pages of the original Hawai'ian-language work for anyone who actually knows the indigenous language of Hawai'i – and don't count me among that number, because I don't go much beyond aloha, mahalo, and ohana.

Again, as I've already noted, this seems to be just a reprint of a century-old public-domain production by a scholar in the myths, legends, and folklore of indigenous Hawai'i. As a very devout Tulsicrat, I've become intrigued by all things Hawai'ian and thus requested this book on Early Review. I'm glad I did, because it's an interesting introduction for me to native Hawai'ian mythology and I have some other books on TBR to read.

I'm not going to bother summarizing the story, other than to say that it entails the mythologized life of the princess Laieikawai, who with her twin sister is subjected to post-natal infanticide but (with her sister Laielohelohelo) is rescued and the two put out separately for care by different adoptive parents, with the story following Laieikawai's courting by various island chiefs. It can get confusing, but one fortunate inclusion in Beckwith's introduction is a two-page listing of the various characters in the story, which will help you keep these difficult indigenous names straight!

From my own point of view, a grateful 4**** and a thank-you to the publisher for this review copy, but unless you have some particular interest in this subject like I do, I don't recommend it for the general reader.

(Interestingly, noting the dates of the various reviews posted, I see that the starred ratings tend to rise on a slightly upward curve by date-of-posting. Assuming we all received this ER book at about the same time from the publisher, this may indicate that it's a bit of a "slog" but becomes a bit more rewarding when additional effort is put into it. But that's just a perhaps presumptuous guess on my part.)… (más)

This book would be appreciated by persons interested in other cultures, the study of indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands, and/or desiring to learn the Hawaiian language. Anyone without that interest could skip the introduction and go directly to the story. As an English speaker, however, I found it difficult to keep track of names which were lengthy and sometimes very similar except for, perhaps, the ending.
It consists of 4 sections: a lengthy introduction which explains the reason the book was originally written,the author's competence, places the story in its cultural and historical setting, and compares it to other Polynesian traditions; the story (in English) of a woman from birth through pursuit by suitors and resulting events; the same story in Hawaiian; extensive notes giving more particular explanation of some terms and customs as they arise in the story. All this contributes to a good understanding of Hawaiian culture pre-colonization.
I admit to being a bit disappointed that the bibliography was not included. However the likelihood of my being able to retrieve sources over 100 years old, and the clues given about authors, made this irrelevant after all.
It must be remembered that the story told was created by Hale'ole and, while he drew upon his knowledge of traditional tales, is not itself a traditional myth.… (más)