Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 12, 1 December 2005 — The gods be praised [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The gods be praised

Attention to cultural detail helps the new children's book Akua Hawai'i break new ground in telling the stories of Hawaiian deities

By Sterling Kini Weng Publicatiūns Editūr the almost 30 AHawaiian deities author Kimo Armitage touches on in his new keiki book Akua Hawai'i, there is a hidden reason - the kaona - as to why he chose the lesser known iishing god 'Ai'aiakū'ulakai to grace the book's cover. Just as 'Ai'aiakū'ulakai traveled throughout the islands to teach Hawaiians fishing prayers and protocols, Armitage said he wants Akua Hawai'i to teach ehildren about the gods of Hawai'i and to help them understand that Hawaiians are a very spiritual people. "I want this book to be a springboard for kids' interests," he said. "But this isn't only for kids, it's for everyone. I see it as a reierence a book, something that will incite dialogue." The book is sort of an encyclopedia on Hawaiian gods, featuring

short biographies and stories on the divine beings, some better known than others, all hand-picked by Armitage. Perhaps what will most appeal to keiki are Solomon Enos' dramatic watercolor paintings, whieh capture the warmth, dignity and power of the gods. Standout images include a ferocious Kamapua'a, in his pig form, about to raze chief 01opana's army; a procession of people emerging from Haumea, the goddess of childbirth; and the war god Kū, whose startled eyes hint at his humanness. But Akua Hawai'i isn't a eonventional Hawaiian culture-themed children's book. Armitage said that with Akua Hawai'i he and Enos wanted to reassess how Hawaiian gods were portrayed in previously published books. "The images of the gods aren't always accurate," Armitage said. "In a lot of books, authenticity was sacrificed for aesthetics." To avoid the trap of basing their

Akua llawai i Written by Kimo Annitage Illustrated by Solomon Enos Bishop Museum Press; $16.95

book on flawed depictions of gods, the author and illustrator looked to the original records of Hawaiian history: the ancient chants and prayers. In addition, to ensure the accuracy of the gods' clothes, they visited with Betty Kam, collections speciahst at Bishop Museum, to view the museum's eaehe of traditional kapa. As a result, the book's characters are presented wearing pre-contact malo, or loincloth, whieh do not have the extra frontal flap over the garment. In total, Armitage spent four years researching the book, an amazing amount of time for a children's book, but something he said was a necessity. "I think everyone who writes a book on Hawaiian culture, even a children's book, should do the same [amount of research]." Akua Hawai'i' s cultural authenticity carries the book into some sensitive areas not normally addressed in children's books, such as incest, war and nudity. Armitage recalls discussing with Enos where to plaee a leaf on one of the figures in the book. "It felt like we were talking about Adam and Eve," he said. "But we didn't want that to be an issue. Our main goal was to be as accurate as possible. These aren't my stories; they were culled from other sources. This is our culture, this is who we are." Armitage said that if there is enough interest in Akua Hawai'i, he would like to do an entire series on Hawaiian gods, grouping them by the disciplines they are associated with, such as eanoe gods or hula gods. Considering the thousands of gods Hawaiians had, this could be the first book in a very long series. E3

Growing Native Hawaiian Plants Heidi Leiānuenue Bornhorst Bess Press; $14.95 Growing Hawai'i's Native Plants Kerin E. LilleengRosenberger Mutual Publishins: $44.95

Always wanted to grow native Hawaiian plants but thought they were too diffieult to raise in your home garden? Well, bus' out your gardening hat and the lepo gloves, the just-starting-fo-rust pruning sheers and the - nail elippers? At least hunt down your reading glasses, beeause two books (yes, they are two separate books with nearly identieal titles) have been released that foeus on growing native Hawaiian plants in your garden. In their respeetive books, longtime hortieulturalists Heidi Bornhorst and Kerin Lilleeng-Rosenberger explain that with just the right amount of work, your baekyard could be filled with such plants as the endangered native gardenia, several rare native hibiscus species, maile or even a koa tree. And for the truly ambitious gardener, LilleengRosenberger even teaches how to get those stubborn native seeds to germinate. (That's when you'll need the nail clippers.)

Learn Hawaiian at Home Kahikāhealani Wight . Bess Press; $24.95 Illustrated Hawaiian Dictionary Kahikāhealani Wight Bess Press; $9.95

If you kept your cassette player just so you could do the oral exercises in Kahikāhealani Wight's popular 1992 Hawaiian instructional book, you ean finally throw it out. Bess Press just released the updated version of the course, whieh comes with a book and two CDs. It's like taking one of Wight's 'ōlelo Hawai'i classes at Kapi'olani Community College without leaving your home. A helpful supplement to the course is Wight's new Illustrated Hawaiian Dictionary.

'O Kawika Kalākaua Written by Ruby Hasegawa Lowe Illustrated by Robin Yoko Racoma

Kamehameha Schools Press; $9.95

Princess Pauahi Written by Julie Stewart Williams Illustrated by Robin Yoko Racoma

Kamehameha Schools Press; $9.95 Kamehameha Schools Press continues to educate keiki about Hawai'i's ali'i with the release of its two newest books. 'O Kāwika Kalākaua is the Hawaiian translation of the 1999 biography of Kalākaua, published in the school's Hawaiian Monarchy Series. Translated by Kamakānealoha Hopkins, this book is an outstanding introduction for young Hawaiian language immersion students to the life and accomplishments of the seventh monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Writing for a slightly younger audienee, Kamehameha Schools alumna Julie Stewart Williams chronicles the life of her alma mater's founder in Princess Pauahi. See B00KS ūn page 18

— nā puke • books

The HūWūiian god of fhe sky, Wōkeo, wormly embraces his wohine, Papūhūnaumoku, the goddess of the earth. - Phoio: courtesy ofBishop Museum Press

BŪOKS Cūntinued fram page IG

I Hawai'i: | A Sense of Plac( 1 Mary Philpotts McGrath I with Kaui Philpots I Mutual Publishino; ] $45

From lauhala mats to rattan couches, from mounted Hawaiian quilts to Japanese shoji screens, from koa bowls to the most delicate China, high-end interior design in Hawai'i reflects the islands' multi-ethnic history. In Hawai'i: A Sense of Plaee, interior designer Mary Philpotts McGrath traces the evolution of the idealized island home, and describes how it has been influenced by nearly every group of people that arrived in Hawai'i. The

book is packed with more than 300 pictures of island dream homes by noted photographer David Duncan Livingston. Tf Rich Budnick doesn't want I Xto read another word about Hawai'i's history in the last century, who could blame him? To write Hawai'i's Forgotten History, Budnick pored over 300 books and 8,000 newspapers to filter out some of the most important and little-known events that occurred in Hawai'i during the 20,h century. The result is a compressed timelinestyle book that spotlights 2,001 Hawai'i events - many of whieh you may not know happened.^B

Hawai'i's Forgotten History Rich Budnick Aloha Press; $14.95