The book cover illustration of Hi'iakapoliopele by Solomon Enos.

“Ka Mo'olelo o Hi'iakaikapoliopele”

"The Epic Tale of Hi'iakapoliopele"

By the OHA Education Hale

Mākaukau ka mo'olelo o Hi'iakaikapoliopele no ka lehulehu a no nā kānaka puni i ka mo'okalaleo, ka mō'aukala, a i ka mo'omeheu Hawai'i. 'Akahi a ho'opuka 'ia e ka Hui Pa'i Puke 'o Awaiaulu a ua unuhi 'ia kēia mau 'ao'ao mai ka 'ōlelo kanaka ma nā nūpepa kahiko mai a i ka 'ōlelo Pelekania e Kauka Puakea Nogelmeier me kāna pū'ulu hui unuhi a loa'a kēia momi linohau he 'elima haneli mau 'ao'ao ka lō'ihi.

He hō'ike ua ho'okō 'ana lā i ka 'i'ini a me ka mana'olana o nā kānaka Hawai'i o ke au i hala e mālama i nā mo'olelo a me nā ka'ao kupuna i ho'oilina no nā hanauna e hiki mai ana. E like me kā Kauka Nogelmeier i 'ōlelo ai, “ 'O Hawai'i wale nō ke aupuni Pākīpika nāna i noho kū'oko'a a 'ane'ane i ka hopena o ke kenekulia 'umikūmāiwa a i hi'ipaka i kānaka puni mo'okalaleo me ka hiki ke heluhelu puke a ke kākau ho'i. No kēlā me kēia hanauna, ua ho'opalapala lākou i ko lākou 'ike ku'una a me ka mō'aukala. Ua hana lākou pēlā me ka no'ono'o a me ka 'ike le'a i ka pō'ino o ke au hulihuli a me ke emi o ka heluna kanaka māoli, a kākau pinepine lākou, “i 'ike lākou, nā hanauna e hiki mai ana.”

Ho'omaka 'o Hi'iakaikapoliopele me ka hikina 'ana mai o Pele mā i Hawai'i a me ka huaka'i moe'uhane a Pele e 'imi i kahi ipo. Helupapa 'ia nā māhele like 'ole o ka huaka'i a Hi'iaka ma ke ki'i 'ana i ua ipo lā, 'o Lohi'au kona inoa, a ho'ākāka 'ia nā hakakā me nā mo'o a me nā weliweli like 'ole, a me ka hopena pō'ino o ua ipo ala. Ma awaiulu.org kēia huliko'a: “He mo'olelo pili kanaka ia o ke aloha a me ke kuko, ka lili a me ka pono kaulike, a ua piha i nā akua, nā kupua, nā ali'i a me nā maka'ainana.” Ua pena kupaianaha 'ia nā ki'i no ia puke e ke kanaka pāheona 'ōpio 'ōiwi, 'o Solomon Enos no Wai'anae mai.

'O ka pahuhopu o ka papahana, wahi a ka luna kuhikuhi 'o Nogelmeier, 'a'ole ka ho'ohanohano o ka mo'okalaleo Hawai'i wale nō, akā, 'o ke 'ailolo 'ana i kānaka e hiki ai ke lilo 'o lākou nā po'e ho'okumuwaiwai nāna e “Kūkulu i uapo e 'auamo i ka 'ike Hawai'i mai ka wā kahiko a i kēia wā a i nā hanauna o mua a'e nei,” i 'ōlelo ai 'o Nogelmeier. 'A'ole lākou e pa'i ana i puke wale nō mai nā nūpepa kahiko mai, akā, aia lākou ke ho'ohui nei i ka 'ike ku'una i loko o ka 'ike o kēia wā i mea e maopopo ai i nā kānaka a puni ka honua ka waiwai o ua 'ike ku'una lā. 'O nā kānaka unuhi i kēia mo'olelo, 'o Hi'iaka, 'o ia 'o Sahoa Fukushima me Kamaoli Kuwada, a ke hana pū nei 'o Beau Bassett, a me 'Emalani Case i nā papahana hou. Aia me lākou nā kāko'o, 'o Aloha Knaefler, Mālie Goodhue, a me Dee Dee Doi.

Ma ka pā'ina ho'olaha o ka Hui Pa'i Puke 'o Awaiaulu ma Awaiaulu, ka home o Nākila lāua 'o Marti Steele kahi i kapa 'ia ai ka inoa o ka hui pa'i puke, ua hō'ike 'ia ka po'omana'o o ka hanana, “Ma o ke kuilima o kekahi i kekahi, kūkulu kākou i uapo ikaika.” He wahi kūpono nō ia, no ka mea, na Nākila i hana pū me Puakea e ho'omaka i ua papahana nei a e kūkulu i ua “'uapo” i pani no ke kōā ma waena o ka 'ike mō'aukala a me ka 'ike o ka po'e o kēia wā.
Waiwai a piha nā mo'olelo o Hi'iaka i nā mele a me nā hula. E hiki ana i nā kumu hula a me nā kānaka 'ē a'e ke huli a loa'a ua mau mele a hō'ike i hula no ka lehulehu ma nā wahi like 'ole e like me ka Meli Manaka a me ka Ho'okūkū Hula a Oli 'o Kamehameha. Eia hou kekahi, 'oiai ua pa'akikī ka huli 'ana i ua 'ike ma mua, e ho'oulu ana nō ua mau 'ike i ka haku mele hou 'ana a me ka haku hula hou 'ana I la'ana, ua hō'ike 'ia kekahi hula hou, 'o Pili o Ke Ao, na Nogelmeier ma ka pā'ina ho'opuka puke.

Ho'opuka 'ia 'o Hi'iakaikapoliopele ma 'ekolu 'ano pukana. 'O ka pukana hiehie loa, ua ho'opa'a 'ia me ka 'ilikao lahilahi a ho'okomo 'ia nā puke 'elua i ka pahu li'ulā 'ōma'oma'o. Hana 'ia 'ekolu haneli o ia kūlana, a ua mana'olana 'ia e waiho 'ia ana ua mau puke ma nā hale waihona puke a me nā kula nui hanohano o ke ao nei i mea e hō'ike i ka maiau a me ka maika'i o ka 'ike Hawai'i, ka mo'okalaleo Hawai'i, a me ka ho'oilina manomano o nā Hawai'i i ke ao nei. Aia kekahi kūlana a'e ma ka wahī li'ulā 'ōma'oma'o no ke kumu kū'ai $300. Li'ili'i iho ke kūlana ma'amau no nā hale kū'ai puke, he 'ili pa'a ma ke kumu kū'ai kūpono no ka lehulehu, he $40 no nā puke pākahi. Loa'a ma nā pukana 'ekolu nā ki'i miomio a ua pa'i 'ia lākou a pau ma ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i a me ka Pelekania.

'O kēia puke ho'okahi o nā mana he 'umi a 'oi o ka mo'olelo no Hi'iaka a he māhele nō ia o ka ho'okahi pākēneka wale nō o nā mea i 'unuhi 'ia no ka lehulehu. Ua ho'opuka 'ia kēia mana 'o Hi'iaka na Ho'omāhiehie mai ka makahiki 1905 a i ka makahiki 1906 ma ka nūpepa 'o Ka Na'i Aupuni. Mahalo iā Awaiaulu no kēia hana po'okela ma ka ho'opuka pukemo'okalaleo Hawai'i.

“The Epic Tale of Hi'iakapoliopele”

"Ka Mo'olelo o Hi'iakapoliopele"

By the OHA Education Hale

The epic 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 Nogelmeier 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. Nogelmeier states, “Hawai'i, the only nation in the Pacific to remain independent through most of the 19th century, fostered a completely literate population 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 encounters 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 commoners.” 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 Nogelmeier, was not only to present the best in Hawaiian literature but also to train fluent speakers in Hawaiian to become translators and researchers. These trainees, it is hoped, will become the resource people who can “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 Fukushima 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 launch 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 primary force in encouraging Nogelmeier 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 enable kumu hula and others to give voice and form to these chants and stories for public appreciation through venues like Merrie 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 Nogelmeier premiered at the launch, Pili O Ke Ao, is an example of that.

Hi'iakaikapoliopele is available in three issues. The Centennial Edition, designed by the award- winning Barbara Pope, is a green moiré boxed two-volume collector's set bound by hand in fine goatskin and moiré. Three hundred of these sets were made, which 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 can be made online at www.awaiaulu.org. The two-volume slipcase set is available in green moiré 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 Aupuni. Many kudos and mahalo to Awaiaulu on this milestone in Hawaiian literature
production.