Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 12, 1 December 2007 — "The Epic Tale of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele" [ARTICLE]

"The Epic Tale of Hiʻiakaikapoliopele"

The epie saga of Hi'iakaikapoliopele is now available for all aficionados of Hawaiian literature, history and culture. Produced by Awaiaulu Press, these pages of text from old newspapers have been translated from Hawaiian into English by Dr. Puakea Nogehneier and a team of translators to create the 500-page masterpiece. This literary accomplishment reflects the aspiration and foresight 19th century Hawaiians had to preserve the oral traditions of old for future generations. As Dr.

Nogehneier states, "Hawai'i, the only nation in the Pacific to remain independent through most of the 19th century, fostered a completely literate populahon who loved to read and write. For generations, they carefully documented their cultural knowledge and history. They did so with intention, fully aware of the sweep of change and their diminishing population, often stating that "those in the future will need to know." Hi'iakaikapoliopele begins with the arrival of goddess Pele in Hawai'i and moves to her

spirit's search for a lover. The saga recounts Hi'iaka's errand to fetch Pele's match in Lohi'au and graphically depicts the eneounters with mo'o and other inhospitable forces, the quest to retrieve Lohi'au from death, and the inevitable tragedy befalling him. In the awaiaulu.org website description, "It is a very human account of love and lust, jealousy and justice, peopled with deities, demons, chiefs and coimnoners." It is wonderfully illustrated in color by the young but accomplished Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos of Wai'anae. The goal of the project, says director Nogehneier, was not only to present the best in Hawaiian literature but also to train fluent speakers in Hawaiian to heeome translators and researchers. These

trainees, it is hoped, will heeome the resource people who ean "bridge that Hawaiian knowledge from the past to the present and the future." Because it will take a long time, "our bridge has to span generations," says Nogelmeier. They are not just making new books out of old material but also reintegrating older knowledge into what we know today and to let people here and around the world know what that knowledge portrays. The translators who worked on Hi'iaka are Sahoa Fukushhna and Kamaoli Kuwada, and they've now been joined by Beau Bassett, and 'Emalani Case on new projects. Support staff include Aloha Knaefler, Mālie Goodhue and Dee Dee Doi. At the Awaiaulu Press launeh

party held at Awaiaulu, the home of Nākila and Marti Steele and source of the project's name, the theme was "Connecting with one another, we build strong bridges." It was an appropriate site for the occasion since Nākila was the prhnary force in encouraging Nogehneier to produce this project and to build that "bridge" to close the gap between historical knowledge and the knowledge of people today. The Hi'iaka stories are rich sources for chants and dances. The knowledge found within them will enahle kumu hula and others to give voice and fonn to these chants and stories for puhlie appreeiahon through venues like Merrie See EPIC ĪALE on page 19

EPIC ĪALE

CūntinuEd fram page 18 Monarch or the Kamehameha Hula and Chant Competition. Moreover, this store of previously hard to access chants is sure to provide inspiration for the creation and the composition of new songs and dance choreographies. A new song by Nogehneier premiered at the launeh, Pili O Ke Ao, is an example of that. Hi'iakaikapoliopele is available in three issues. The Centennial Edition, designed by the awardwinning Barbara Pope, is a green moirē boxed two-volume eolleetor's set bound by hand in fine goatskin and moirē. Three hundred of these sets were made, whieh will hopefully end up in libraries and universities around the globe as a

symbol of the quality of Hawaiian knowledge, Hawaiian literature and the legacy contained in massive Hawaiian language archive. Orders for the Centennial Edition ean be made online at www.awaiaulu.org. The two-volume slipcase set is available in green moirē for $300. A smaller bookstore edition has also been released, in hardback for $40 per volume. All editions have the high-quality color illustrations and available in both Hawaiian and English. This book represents only one of 10 versions and makes up a fraction of the only 1 percent of the Hawaiian written material that is available today in translation. The Ho'oulumāhiehie version ran from 1905 to 1906 in the Hawaiian language newspaper, Ka Na 'i Aupimi. Many kudos and mahalo to Awaiaulu on this milestone in Hawaiian literature production. E3