Anthropologist and folklorist Katharine Luomala's (1907-1992) "The Menehune of Polynesia ..." was published as a bulletin of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in 1951. This paper examined the stories and myths of little people in Hawaii and other island cultures throughout Oceania. She discusses potential origins for these tales and notes shared characteristics between the folk stories of different people groups. Students of folklore will find much of interest, as will anthropological mystery enthusiasts.
" . . . Dundes has produced a work which will be useful to both students and teachers who wish to broaden their understanding of modern folklore." —Center for Southern Folklore Magazine "It is impossible ever to remain unimpressed with [Dundes'] excursuses, however much one may be in disagreement (or not) with his conclusions." —Forum for Modern Language Studies Often controversial, Alan Dundes's scholarship is always provocative, perceptive, and intelligent. His concern here is to assess the material folklorists have so painstakingly amassed and classified, to interpret folklore, and to use folklore to increase our understanding of human nature and culture.
An accessible, concise reference source on Polynesia's complex mythology, product of a culture little known outside its home. Encounters with the West introduced Polynesian mythology to the world—and sealed its fate as a casualty of colonialism. But for centuries before the Europeans came, that mythology was as vast as the triangle of ocean in which it flourished, as diverse as the people it served, and as complex as the mythologies of Greece and Rome. Students, researchers, and enthusiasts can follow vivid retellings of stories of creation, death, and great voyages, tracking variations from island to island. They can use the book's reference section for information on major deities, heroes, elves, fairies, and recurring themes, as well as the mythic implications of everything from dogs and volcanoes to the hula, Easter Island, and tattooing (invented in the South Pacific and popularized by returning sailors).
The stories of Kauai's ruling chiefs were passed from generation to generation in songs and narratives recited by trained storytellers either formally at the high chief's court or informally at family gatherings. Their chronology was ordered by a ruler's genealogy, which, in the case of the pua alii (flower of royalty), was illustrious and far reaching and could be traced to one of the four great gods of Polynesia--Käne, Kü, Lono, and Kanaloa. In these legends, Hawaiians of old sought answers to the questions "Who are we?" "Who are our ancestors and where do they come from?" "What lessons can be learned from their conduct?" Nä Pua Alii o Kauai presents the stories of the men and women who ruled the island of Kauai from its first settlement to the final rebellion against Kamehameha I's forces in 1824. Only fragments remain of the nearly two-thousand-year history of the people who inhabited Kauai before the coming of James Cook in 1778. Now scattered in public and private archives and libraries, these pieces of Hawaii's precontact past were recorded in the nineteenth century by such determined individuals as David Malo, Samuel Kamakau, and Abraham Fornander. All known genealogical references to the Kauai alii nui (paramount chiefs) have been gathered here and placed in chronological order and are interspersed with legends of great voyages, bitter wars, courageous heroes, and passionate romances that together form a rich and invaluable resource.
“An imaginative and thought-provoking study of clowning in Rotuma, especially of ritual clowning in contexts of marriage ceremonies and the weaving of fine mats.... Completely fascinating.” —Canberra Anthropology “A challenge to readers both in its form and content.... This book conveys the lively, complex and often hilarious elements, both of daily life and celebratory rituals, as they are expressed in contemporary culture.” —Journal of Intercultural Studies
This reference work analyzes and classifies the story themes of Polynesian myths, tales, and legends according to an internationally employed system developed by Stith Thompson in his Motif Index of Folk-Literature ( 1955-1958). Thousands of tales, including those from almost all of the major original collections from the Polynesian area, have been examined and their thematic contents cataloged in this work. In his introduction, the author explains the concept of the motif as a basis for cataloging. He quotes from Professor Thompson's definition of a motif: “the smallest element in a tale having the power to persist in tradition,” for example, gods, marvelous creatures, magic objects, and certain kinds of incidents. The author believes “the function of an index of motifs is to cite bibliographical sources of narratives containing these viable (often irreducible) story elements, and thus to provide the investigator of specific story ideas with comparative Information.” The present work is an attempt to survey thoroughly the totality of Polynesian oral tradition and to indicate the distribution and relationships of narrative materials. Not since the publication of Roland B. Dixon's work on Oceanic mythology in 1916 has this been attempted. This index will be an invaluable reference tool for anyone doing research in Oceanic ethnology and folklore.
Hawaii's growth and its outlook for the future are viewed in light of recent demographic data and current events and trends in the completely revised and updated edition of The Peopling of Hawaii. With simplicity and candor, author Eleanor Nordyke describes how Hawaii was settled--first by Polynesians and later by successive waves of new arrivals from nations in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. Nordyke presents a concise analysis of current demographic data, accompanied by discussions of each major ethnic group. Well illustrated with photos and graphics, along with a complete appendix of statistical tables, the second edition of The Peopling of Hawaii presents the fascinating history of an island state's population, and underlines Hawaii's greatest challenge--how to share the finite resources of a fragile island environment. Foreword by Robert C. Schmitt
This ground-breaking bibliography by distinguished Pacific researcher Nicholas Goetzfridt examines mathematical concepts and practices in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. It covers number systems, counting, measuring, classifying, spatial relationships, symmetry, geometry, and other aspects of ethnomathematics in relation to a wide range of activities such as trade, education, navigation, construction, rituals and festivals, divination, weaving, tattooing, and music. In compiling nearly five hundred citations, Goetzfridt makes use of the vast resources of writing about the Pacific from the 1700s to the present. In addition to discussing Pacific knowledge systems in general, his introductory chapter includes a helpful overview of the relatively new field of ethnomathematics and important theoretical reflections on the discipline as a research program. Extensive subject and geographic indexes provide numerous ways to experience the rich heritage and history of Pacific ethnomathematical concepts covered in this book, including: the 256 possible knotted fates enabled by the Carolinian sky god Supwunumen, etak segmentation concepts in stellar based voyaging, the highly diverse counting systems of Papua New Guinea, the alignment of stone structures with stars to mark the appearance of the equinox and solstice, and contemporary educational issues in the standardized teaching of Western mathematics.
