Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 1988 — Book Review [ARTICLE]

Book Review

Kaahumanu Molder of Change By Jane L. Silverman In school courses, history books and even general tourist pamphlets about Hawaiian history, the name of Kaahumanu is to be found. It is a name that invokes the word "change" but strangely enough there has been no in-depth or lengthy biography written and published about this woman'slife. In contrast there have been several books, art' - . fi!ms about her husband, Kamehamehal thioi id yet when one considers the history ot r : heyearsoftransitionfrom chiefdom to Ki''gc : e : humanu who hasaparamount role.

Whether this negiect w as due to a laek of available information or perhaps because Kaahumanu was a woman in a man's world of history, the publication of Jane Silverman's biography of Kaahumanu is an attempt to revise and rectify our inherited view of Hawaiian history. Certainly there have been biographies of other women chiefs, such as Lili'uokalani, Ka'iulani, and Princess Ruth, but our understanding of the role of women in pre-European and post-contact has been through the eyes and perhaps the bias of male historians.

Silverman writes her biography as a historian/story teller. It is a narrative account through the eye-witness views of both Hawaiians (John Papa Ii and Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau) and many haole (missionaries, trades, Captains and other visitors). And although Silverman has noted these sources, her writing is still fluid from one account to another that the reader sees all of this information as one account. Silverman has done excellent research in using haole journals and accounts to document the life of Kaahumanu. It was interesting to leam that there were two Niihau women taken to the Northwest so early and that they were returned back,

or of the two Aleut women who became companions of Kaahumanu. The use of these sources is probably the strongest point to encourage people to read this biography of one of Hawaii's most remarkable women. However, there are some regrets to be said. Although Silverman points out from the beginning that she is a historian and not an anthropologist, it is regretful that explanations to the cultural importance of familial ties, the traditional background of rank and status from the time of the woman paramount chief Keakeaiani, and eommentary of cultural practices and events during Kaahumanu's life are not detailed. Also, as noted before

Silverman s style of writing is most enjoyable to read as it is so fluid, but that style ean also lead a reader to wonder whose account one is reading and whose eommentary follows. Is it the sources noted in the footnotes or is it Silverman's? This point is the most difficult to present in what some critics have termed as pyscho-his-tory, in whieh sometime the writer or compiler of the various accounts puts in his or her own thoughts so that a reader may read those personal thoughts as actual historical accounts. Silverman appears to avoid doing so in her biography and still keeps the story-telling style for the reader to enjoy.

Kaahumanu is well worth the price for those interested in this early period of the development of the Hawaiian Kingdom, because of the use of haole sources. They lend us new vision as to how haole(s) viewed the post-contact society and the people who made the crucial decisions for the society. In this light, Silverman's book truly contributes to the overall understanding of our Kingdom's deve!opment. The book is well illustrated with period pictures and portraits, it contains documented footnotes and an index. The book is being published by the F riends of the Judiciary and is a limited edition of 2,000 copies. — Maleolm Naea Chun.