Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 9, 1 September 1987 — Book Review [ARTICLE]

Book Review

'Ka Moolelo Hawaii'

By Maleolm Naea Chun, Cultural Officer The Hawaiian text to David Malo's, "Ka Moolelo Hawaii," has finally been published after nearly 140 years since it was probably written. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs provided an important role in coordination with the Hawaiian Studies Program and the Committee for the Preservation of Hawaiian Language, Arts and Culture at the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus and Kapiolani Community College's Folk Press. The Office provided transcription and word processing services to hasten the publication process, while grant monies were provided by the University Committee and printing services were done by Folk Press.

According to Folk Press, there were only a limited press run of 1,000 copies whieh was also done in honor of Ho'olako 1987: the Year of the Hawaiian. Copies are $12.95 and ean be purchased by contacting KCC's Folk Press at the Diamond Head campus, 735-3511. Any profits from the publication will be used by the Hawaiian Studies Program to create a publication fund for Hawaiian language books. Malo's text had been translated in the early part of this century into English, but in the 1950s scholars eompared the Hawaiian with the translation and found several ommissions and incorrect translations. Since Malo's writings are considered to be quite early "eyewitness" accounts of Hawaiian life before and after Western contact, they have provided us with insight into what our "traditional" life was like.

Unlike other early histories, Malo's accounts appear to be written from a Hawaiian perspective. Compared with the Rev. Sheldon Dibble's earlier history book, also entitled "Ka Moolelo Hawaii," Malo's account eoneentrates more upon the culture andcustoms of Hawaiians than historical events, such as Captain Cook's arrival. Another important aspect in having the Hawaiian text to "Ka Moolelo Hawaii" is in reading the Hawaiian language as written in the 1840's. It is interesting to note the ehoiee of words he used, the grammatical construc-

tion of sentences, as well as the spelling of Hawaiian. The publication of "Ka Moolelo Hawaii" in Hawaiian should provide those who are familiar and those who are learning the language with another interesting book in the language to read. This is even furthered by the fact that "Ka Moolelo Hawaii" is probably the largest (by pages) Hawaiian language book printed since the early part of this century. Lastly, there is also an updated biography of David Malo's life provided in the front of the book in English whieh is full of interesting bits of information about him, mueh of it taken from Hawaiian language materials.