What do you think?
Rate this book
Hawaiian Mythology
Ku and Hina-man and woman-were the great ancestral gods of heaven and earth for the ancient Hawaiians. They were life's fruitfulness and all the generations of mankind, both those who are to come and those already born.
The Hawaiian gods were like great chiefs from far lands who visited among the people, entering their daily lives sometimes as humans or animals, sometimes taking residence in a stone or wooden idol. As years passed, the families of gods grew and included the trickster Maui, who snared the sun, and fiery Pele of the volcano.
Ancient Hawaiian lived by the animistic philosophy that assigned living souls to animals, trees, stones, stars, and clouds, as well as to humans. Religion and mythology were interwoven in Hawaiian culture; and local legends and genealogies were preserved in song, chant, and narrative.
Martha Beckwith was the first scholar to chart a path through the hundreds of books, articles, and little-known manuscripts that recorded the oral narratives of the Hawaiian people. Her book has become a classic work of folklore and ethnology, and the definitive treatment of Hawaiian mythology.
With an introduction by Katherine Luomala.
The Hawaiian gods were like great chiefs from far lands who visited among the people, entering their daily lives sometimes as humans or animals, sometimes taking residence in a stone or wooden idol. As years passed, the families of gods grew and included the trickster Maui, who snared the sun, and fiery Pele of the volcano.
Ancient Hawaiian lived by the animistic philosophy that assigned living souls to animals, trees, stones, stars, and clouds, as well as to humans. Religion and mythology were interwoven in Hawaiian culture; and local legends and genealogies were preserved in song, chant, and narrative.
Martha Beckwith was the first scholar to chart a path through the hundreds of books, articles, and little-known manuscripts that recorded the oral narratives of the Hawaiian people. Her book has become a classic work of folklore and ethnology, and the definitive treatment of Hawaiian mythology.
With an introduction by Katherine Luomala.
608 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1940
243 people are currently reading
989 people want to read
About the author
Martha Warren Beckwith
39 books4 followersMartha Warren Beckwith (January 19, 1871 – January 28, 1959) was an American folklorist and ethnographer who was the first chair in folklore at any university or college in the U.S.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 8, 2025
Hawaii’s classical mythology is rich, complex, and multi-layered – and all of those qualities certainly come through in Martha Warren Beckwith’s book Hawaiian Mythology. This study is not for the casual reader, but the serious student of mythology, or of Polynesian culture, will draw much from it.
Mythology, as we all know, often involves stories of great heroes who accomplish seemingly impossible feats; and author Beckwith had heroic qualities of her own. Born in Massachusetts in 1871, Beckwith moved with her parents to Hawaii when she was still a young girl; there, she heard many of the tales of the indigenous Hawaiians’ religious and cultural lore. She returned to the mainland, to earn degrees at Mount Holyoke College and Columbia University. And her skill as a folklorist led to her becoming the first person ever to be named the chair of a Department of Folklore, at Vassar College. Hawaiian Mythology, originally published by Yale University Press in 1940 (two years after Beckwith’s retirement from her full professorship at Vassar), was the result of 30 years of research on Beckwith’s part, and it is unquestionably thorough.
The reader of Hawaiian Mythology, before setting forth on a voyage through the book’s 626 densely packed pages, must understand that this book is not a book like, say, Edith Hamilton’s classic Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (1953) – i.e., a book that emphasizes the colour and drama of the myths, with a time-efficient focus on storyline and character. Beckwith, who studied anthropology with Franz Boas at Columbia, is looking at the myths the way another anthropologist might look at bowls or spoons or spear-points or the doors of houses – as an artifact that might contribute toward greater understanding of a culture that is different from one’s own. If you’re up for that, then your surfboard is ready. If not, you may want to wait and catch the next wave.
The early chapters of Hawaiian Mythology introduce the reader to major gods like Kane (the creator), Ku (the god of war), Lono (the god of fertility), and Kanaloa (the octopus-shaped god of the underworld, and no doubt a favourite of many modern-day students of Hawaiian myth).
I was particularly intrigued by the way Beckwith revealed how the Hawaiian cosmology contains a multi-layered, complex afterlife - one that involves more than one heaven! For instance, there is Kuaihelani, an earthly paradise like the Elysian Fields, where “spirits may live in the bodies of human beings and enjoy the delights of earth.” The highest heaven of all, one that is more purely spiritual, is Nu‘umea-lani (the “sacred raised place of the heavenly ones”), but the floating islands of perfect earthly delight do sound like more fun.
Beckwith notes in this connection that “We say, of men who live on a scale beyond that enjoyed by most, that they ‘live like gods’; the Polynesians say of their gods that they live like men in the enjoyment of earthly abundance” (p. 102). As with Achilles’ statement to Odysseus in the underworld of the Odyssey that “I’d rather be a peasant pushing a plow on Earth, than be the lord of all Hades,” these myths encourage those who hear them to appreciate and savour the joys of life here in the world of the living.
Among the deities that are likely to be best-known to the modern reader, one will find the fire-goddess Pele. Pele is both creator (because the lava that she pushed up from the core of the earth formed the Hawaiian Islands) and destroyer (because we all know the destruction that a volcanic eruption can wreak).
Fascinating stories of Pele abound throughout Hawaiian Mythology. I was struck by the story of how Pele travelled from her homeland “to Ni‘ihau, island of the chiefess Fire-thrower (Ka-o-ahi), where she is handsomely entertained. Thence she visits Kauai and appears in the midst of a hula festival in the form of a beautiful woman. Falling desperately in love with the young Kauai chief Lohiau, she determines to take him for a husband” (p. 200). As with the story of Venus and Adonis from Roman myth, the Hawaiian myths tell stories of a world where a human can be loved, loved beyond distraction, by a divinity. And what mere human mortal wouldn’t fantasize about such a rapturous turn of events?
Another figure from Hawaiian mythology whom modern people may know rather well is Maui, a culture hero who burst upon the contemporary world stage as a character voiced by Dwayne Johnson in the Disney animated film Moana (2016). The film’s many fans will recall how the film’s Maui, in the song “You’re Welcome,” chronicles his exploits:
Hey!
What has two thumbs and pulled up the sky
When you were waddling yay-high?
This guy!
When the nights got cold,
Who stole you fire from down below?
You're lookin' at him -- yo!
Oh, also I lassoed the sun --
You're welcome --
To stretch your days and bring you fun.
Also I harnessed the breeze --
You're welcome --
To fill your sails and shake your trees….
He is a figure rather like Prometheus – one who plays tricks on the gods themselves, but does so with the intent of benefitting humankind, even while amusing himself. And while the filmmakers took some liberties, they clearly studied Maui’s recorded exploits in developing the character. Indeed, the reader of Hawaiian Mythology can learn some additional details regarding Maui’s exploits, as when Beckwith adds some details regarding how Maui lassoed the sun: “Maui, on his way to snare the sun, is directed by his mother Hina to his old blind grandmother who is roasting bananas for the sun, at a place up Kaupo Valley where there is a large wiliwili tree. The old woman gives him another snaring rope and an axe, and hides him by the tree until the sun appears” (p. 301). And thus the mischievous and powerful Maui lassoes the sun, so that we have longer days in which to get our work done and enjoy life. You’re welcome!
Like many other mythological traditions, Hawaiian mythology abounds in stories of minor gods or spirits who have power to help or harm humankind; in the Hawaiian tradition, these gods or spirits are called kupua. While many kupua are malicious, there are also other kupua who have been great benefactors of the Hawaiian people. For instance, “Kupua-huluena is a famous kupua who travels to foreign lands, names vegetables introduced at Keauhou, Hawaii, offers them upon the heiau [altars] of Kamauai erected to Kane, and distributes them for planting. Thus vegetable foods are introduced into these islands” (p. 500). It makes sense that, for an island nation where resources are limited, the provider of such valuable and necessary food resources is to be recognized and thanked.
Beckwith also provides fascinating insights into familiar Hawaiian traditions like the hula. The commercialized version of hula that one sees being presented for tourists at places like the rooftop stage at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki could not have less to do with the realities of this complex and magnificent cultural ritual:
Closely connected with the knowledge…of the shape and motion of clouds is that which governs the art of the hula or dance. The movements of the dance are definitely related…to the motions of leaves and blossoms swaying in various ways, according to the particular wind that blows. It is by watching the dancing trees, the shifting clouds, and the shadows which they cast that the girl learns their motions. (p. 600)
Those who might think of hula as nothing more than “Hawaiian belly dancing” are profoundly misinformed. Beckwith makes clear elsewhere that the erotic qualities of hula have nothing to do with idle titillation; rather, hula is a celebration of the life principle, the procreative and regenerative power of all living things.
I read Hawaiian Mythology on a trip to Hawaii, and therefore I had the chance to see where the picture of classical Hawaiian people and institutions drawn by Beckwith’s research might differ from other sources. I was struck, for example, by Beckwith’s portrayal of the “Olohe, or Ha‘a people…a well-recognized class in old days, skilled in wrestling and bone-breaking (lua) and with hairless bodies. It is said that they used to pull out their hair and smear their bodies with oil in order to give no hold to an antagonist” (p. 399). So far, that jibes with what I had read elsewhere.
But the picture of olohe that emerges in Beckwith’s book is quite a negative one: “Legend represents them as professional robbers or even with man-eating habits, who used to station themselves at a narrow pass along the highway and kill and rob travelers. Many such robber stations are pointed out today. Makua, one of the most western valleys in Waianae, is a traditional haunt on Oahu” (p. 399). The story of “Kapuaeuhi, an olohe of Ola‘a,” who “uses his two strong daughters to decoy travelers to his cave, where he has a stone, or, as most say, a beam, which he causes to fall and kill the traveler as he enters” (p. 401), is characteristic in that regard.
And yet, by contrast, the history of the Hawaiian kapa kuialua martial art that emerges from the training and scholarship of modern practitioners of the art is quite different. The ʻōlohe practitioners of the art were drawn solely from the nobility, and like the samurai of medieval Japan they used their training and skill to defend their people in time of war.
What caused the ʻōlohe, over time, to take on negative rather than positive associations in Hawaiian folklore? Did these stories reflect ordinary people’s resentment against elite warriors drawn from the aristocracy? Or did political and economic instability in the Hawaii of an earlier time force the ʻōlohe to become mercenaries fighting for themselves, like the ex-samurai rōnin (Japanese for “wanderer” or “drifter”), masterless social outcasts who had to fend for themselves as best they might? It is, to say the least, interesting to wonder about.
Beckwith’s Hawaiian Mythology truly takes the reader back to the Hawaii of an earlier time. It was published when Hawaii was still a territory, not a state - when the Pearl Harbor attack that brought Hawaii to the world's attention was still one year in the future. As mentioned above, it is not for light vacation reading at lagoon-side, or at the 19th hole; but for the serious student of Hawaii’s indigenous culture, history, and society, it is essential.
Mythology, as we all know, often involves stories of great heroes who accomplish seemingly impossible feats; and author Beckwith had heroic qualities of her own. Born in Massachusetts in 1871, Beckwith moved with her parents to Hawaii when she was still a young girl; there, she heard many of the tales of the indigenous Hawaiians’ religious and cultural lore. She returned to the mainland, to earn degrees at Mount Holyoke College and Columbia University. And her skill as a folklorist led to her becoming the first person ever to be named the chair of a Department of Folklore, at Vassar College. Hawaiian Mythology, originally published by Yale University Press in 1940 (two years after Beckwith’s retirement from her full professorship at Vassar), was the result of 30 years of research on Beckwith’s part, and it is unquestionably thorough.
The reader of Hawaiian Mythology, before setting forth on a voyage through the book’s 626 densely packed pages, must understand that this book is not a book like, say, Edith Hamilton’s classic Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (1953) – i.e., a book that emphasizes the colour and drama of the myths, with a time-efficient focus on storyline and character. Beckwith, who studied anthropology with Franz Boas at Columbia, is looking at the myths the way another anthropologist might look at bowls or spoons or spear-points or the doors of houses – as an artifact that might contribute toward greater understanding of a culture that is different from one’s own. If you’re up for that, then your surfboard is ready. If not, you may want to wait and catch the next wave.
The early chapters of Hawaiian Mythology introduce the reader to major gods like Kane (the creator), Ku (the god of war), Lono (the god of fertility), and Kanaloa (the octopus-shaped god of the underworld, and no doubt a favourite of many modern-day students of Hawaiian myth).
I was particularly intrigued by the way Beckwith revealed how the Hawaiian cosmology contains a multi-layered, complex afterlife - one that involves more than one heaven! For instance, there is Kuaihelani, an earthly paradise like the Elysian Fields, where “spirits may live in the bodies of human beings and enjoy the delights of earth.” The highest heaven of all, one that is more purely spiritual, is Nu‘umea-lani (the “sacred raised place of the heavenly ones”), but the floating islands of perfect earthly delight do sound like more fun.
Beckwith notes in this connection that “We say, of men who live on a scale beyond that enjoyed by most, that they ‘live like gods’; the Polynesians say of their gods that they live like men in the enjoyment of earthly abundance” (p. 102). As with Achilles’ statement to Odysseus in the underworld of the Odyssey that “I’d rather be a peasant pushing a plow on Earth, than be the lord of all Hades,” these myths encourage those who hear them to appreciate and savour the joys of life here in the world of the living.
Among the deities that are likely to be best-known to the modern reader, one will find the fire-goddess Pele. Pele is both creator (because the lava that she pushed up from the core of the earth formed the Hawaiian Islands) and destroyer (because we all know the destruction that a volcanic eruption can wreak).
Fascinating stories of Pele abound throughout Hawaiian Mythology. I was struck by the story of how Pele travelled from her homeland “to Ni‘ihau, island of the chiefess Fire-thrower (Ka-o-ahi), where she is handsomely entertained. Thence she visits Kauai and appears in the midst of a hula festival in the form of a beautiful woman. Falling desperately in love with the young Kauai chief Lohiau, she determines to take him for a husband” (p. 200). As with the story of Venus and Adonis from Roman myth, the Hawaiian myths tell stories of a world where a human can be loved, loved beyond distraction, by a divinity. And what mere human mortal wouldn’t fantasize about such a rapturous turn of events?
Another figure from Hawaiian mythology whom modern people may know rather well is Maui, a culture hero who burst upon the contemporary world stage as a character voiced by Dwayne Johnson in the Disney animated film Moana (2016). The film’s many fans will recall how the film’s Maui, in the song “You’re Welcome,” chronicles his exploits:
Hey!
What has two thumbs and pulled up the sky
When you were waddling yay-high?
This guy!
When the nights got cold,
Who stole you fire from down below?
You're lookin' at him -- yo!
Oh, also I lassoed the sun --
You're welcome --
To stretch your days and bring you fun.
Also I harnessed the breeze --
You're welcome --
To fill your sails and shake your trees….
He is a figure rather like Prometheus – one who plays tricks on the gods themselves, but does so with the intent of benefitting humankind, even while amusing himself. And while the filmmakers took some liberties, they clearly studied Maui’s recorded exploits in developing the character. Indeed, the reader of Hawaiian Mythology can learn some additional details regarding Maui’s exploits, as when Beckwith adds some details regarding how Maui lassoed the sun: “Maui, on his way to snare the sun, is directed by his mother Hina to his old blind grandmother who is roasting bananas for the sun, at a place up Kaupo Valley where there is a large wiliwili tree. The old woman gives him another snaring rope and an axe, and hides him by the tree until the sun appears” (p. 301). And thus the mischievous and powerful Maui lassoes the sun, so that we have longer days in which to get our work done and enjoy life. You’re welcome!
Like many other mythological traditions, Hawaiian mythology abounds in stories of minor gods or spirits who have power to help or harm humankind; in the Hawaiian tradition, these gods or spirits are called kupua. While many kupua are malicious, there are also other kupua who have been great benefactors of the Hawaiian people. For instance, “Kupua-huluena is a famous kupua who travels to foreign lands, names vegetables introduced at Keauhou, Hawaii, offers them upon the heiau [altars] of Kamauai erected to Kane, and distributes them for planting. Thus vegetable foods are introduced into these islands” (p. 500). It makes sense that, for an island nation where resources are limited, the provider of such valuable and necessary food resources is to be recognized and thanked.
Beckwith also provides fascinating insights into familiar Hawaiian traditions like the hula. The commercialized version of hula that one sees being presented for tourists at places like the rooftop stage at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki could not have less to do with the realities of this complex and magnificent cultural ritual:
Closely connected with the knowledge…of the shape and motion of clouds is that which governs the art of the hula or dance. The movements of the dance are definitely related…to the motions of leaves and blossoms swaying in various ways, according to the particular wind that blows. It is by watching the dancing trees, the shifting clouds, and the shadows which they cast that the girl learns their motions. (p. 600)
Those who might think of hula as nothing more than “Hawaiian belly dancing” are profoundly misinformed. Beckwith makes clear elsewhere that the erotic qualities of hula have nothing to do with idle titillation; rather, hula is a celebration of the life principle, the procreative and regenerative power of all living things.
I read Hawaiian Mythology on a trip to Hawaii, and therefore I had the chance to see where the picture of classical Hawaiian people and institutions drawn by Beckwith’s research might differ from other sources. I was struck, for example, by Beckwith’s portrayal of the “Olohe, or Ha‘a people…a well-recognized class in old days, skilled in wrestling and bone-breaking (lua) and with hairless bodies. It is said that they used to pull out their hair and smear their bodies with oil in order to give no hold to an antagonist” (p. 399). So far, that jibes with what I had read elsewhere.
But the picture of olohe that emerges in Beckwith’s book is quite a negative one: “Legend represents them as professional robbers or even with man-eating habits, who used to station themselves at a narrow pass along the highway and kill and rob travelers. Many such robber stations are pointed out today. Makua, one of the most western valleys in Waianae, is a traditional haunt on Oahu” (p. 399). The story of “Kapuaeuhi, an olohe of Ola‘a,” who “uses his two strong daughters to decoy travelers to his cave, where he has a stone, or, as most say, a beam, which he causes to fall and kill the traveler as he enters” (p. 401), is characteristic in that regard.
And yet, by contrast, the history of the Hawaiian kapa kuialua martial art that emerges from the training and scholarship of modern practitioners of the art is quite different. The ʻōlohe practitioners of the art were drawn solely from the nobility, and like the samurai of medieval Japan they used their training and skill to defend their people in time of war.
What caused the ʻōlohe, over time, to take on negative rather than positive associations in Hawaiian folklore? Did these stories reflect ordinary people’s resentment against elite warriors drawn from the aristocracy? Or did political and economic instability in the Hawaii of an earlier time force the ʻōlohe to become mercenaries fighting for themselves, like the ex-samurai rōnin (Japanese for “wanderer” or “drifter”), masterless social outcasts who had to fend for themselves as best they might? It is, to say the least, interesting to wonder about.
Beckwith’s Hawaiian Mythology truly takes the reader back to the Hawaii of an earlier time. It was published when Hawaii was still a territory, not a state - when the Pearl Harbor attack that brought Hawaii to the world's attention was still one year in the future. As mentioned above, it is not for light vacation reading at lagoon-side, or at the 19th hole; but for the serious student of Hawaii’s indigenous culture, history, and society, it is essential.
February 15, 2021
I will be reading bits and pieces of this book for a while yet. Looking at other reviews, it seems that others have ordered this book hoping for fairy tales to read cover to cover. This is not just that. These are folktales and traditions recorded as well as some cultural analysis and historical context. There are plenty of stories in this book, but they are not told in typical storytelling ways. For those who picked up the book and didn’t see what they expected: Think more akin to Joseph Campbell than Andrew Lang.
July 30, 2012
I interloaned this from my local library thinking it would be a fun read. For the record, I love mythology. Especially that which is non-Greek (which is overdone, although still cool). Plus, I'd just returned from a 10-day visit to Hawaii. I've been interested in culture and customs of Hawaii since that social studies unit in first grade. So... A good choice in books, right?
Not so much.
What I was hoping for was a quick, easy to read volume about the gods and godesses of Hawaii. Stories. Legends. Stuff like that. What I got instead was more like a college textbook. And a very dry college textbook at that! Something I've seen more than enough of! Don't get me wrong. It seems to be highly informative. But I wanted stories! Not pages upon pages of scholarly analysiszzzzzzz. I picked around at it, but in the end wound up returning it to the library without finishing it. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a more digestable collection of Hawaiian myths. If anyone knows of any, feel free to recommend!
Not so much.
What I was hoping for was a quick, easy to read volume about the gods and godesses of Hawaii. Stories. Legends. Stuff like that. What I got instead was more like a college textbook. And a very dry college textbook at that! Something I've seen more than enough of! Don't get me wrong. It seems to be highly informative. But I wanted stories! Not pages upon pages of scholarly analysiszzzzzzz. I picked around at it, but in the end wound up returning it to the library without finishing it. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a more digestable collection of Hawaiian myths. If anyone knows of any, feel free to recommend!
November 5, 2019
Only got about 40% through, very dry and academic text which I was not expecting. Poorly organised (each chapter is centralised around a deity it group but then each legend is split into succinct accounts from many subcultures, leading to repetitions)
August 6, 2024
A little dry at times, and I had trouble with the names, but it was fascinating enough to keep me reading. I particularly appreciated the way the author gave parallel stories from different islands.
November 28, 2008
Most comprehensive and informative book on the subject of Hawaiian Mythology. Tremedous book.
www.LindaBallouAuthor.com
www.LindaBallouAuthor.com
November 6, 2008
Although this book contained exhaustive examples and research, it was poorly organized in places.
September 10, 2018
Mahalo nui loa to UH and OHA for the online resources on Ulukau!
http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/li...
Definitely more useful as a reference work, and much more an anthropological study than a retelling of myths. Fantastic, detailed, and clear. A difficult read, but well worth it!
I've been eyeing this book for several years, so I'm happy to finally have read it (though I will need to reread it at least a few times to actually absorb any large percentage of the information - even though the majority of the stories were familiar, the use of multiple versions and comparison with Polynesian mythology was very new!).
http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/li...
Definitely more useful as a reference work, and much more an anthropological study than a retelling of myths. Fantastic, detailed, and clear. A difficult read, but well worth it!
I've been eyeing this book for several years, so I'm happy to finally have read it (though I will need to reread it at least a few times to actually absorb any large percentage of the information - even though the majority of the stories were familiar, the use of multiple versions and comparison with Polynesian mythology was very new!).
February 12, 2020
I tried so hard to read this. I love mythology and I don't know much about Hawaiian myths and folklore so I was excited to learn about them, but it is not a good introduction to these stories.
It's clearly an academic text. Super dry. But in addition to that it feels incoherent and disorganized. It's like reading an Old Spice commercial. The chapters don't lead you through a coherent narrative at all. I got maybe 1/5 through it.
It's clearly an academic text. Super dry. But in addition to that it feels incoherent and disorganized. It's like reading an Old Spice commercial. The chapters don't lead you through a coherent narrative at all. I got maybe 1/5 through it.
January 5, 2023
An exceptional book - impeccably researched and rigorously set out.
A fascinating dive into the interplay between different versions of Hawaiian myths, their relationships with the myths of other South Pacific Islands, and their corruption by contact with colonial settlers.
Thought-provoking in addressing the interplay between myth and history - one that I'll go back to again and again.
A fascinating dive into the interplay between different versions of Hawaiian myths, their relationships with the myths of other South Pacific Islands, and their corruption by contact with colonial settlers.
Thought-provoking in addressing the interplay between myth and history - one that I'll go back to again and again.
January 21, 2025
This history was recommended by my Hawaiian tour guide in Kona last week.
Learning so much! Had no idea, but then, why would I? This is one of the reasons I love traveling so much: never know what you're going to learn about the history of a place. Nothing is ever as simple or easily explained as one might think or imagine. Nothing.
Learning so much! Had no idea, but then, why would I? This is one of the reasons I love traveling so much: never know what you're going to learn about the history of a place. Nothing is ever as simple or easily explained as one might think or imagine. Nothing.
January 27, 2019
This is a fairly comprehensive flying overview of Hawaiian mythology, but it is very dense and written from an anthropological perspective (so more discussing the myths than truly retelling them). I would not recommend this as an introductory book to Hawaiian mythology.
January 11, 2021
Intelligent and well-researched, but very dry.
May 28, 2024
DNF (at Chapter 3)
This book is fascinating at times and worth trying to finish someday but the style is hard to read and my EPUB copy is formatted so badly it’s distracting.
This book is fascinating at times and worth trying to finish someday but the style is hard to read and my EPUB copy is formatted so badly it’s distracting.
August 3, 2024
An interesting and comprehensive collection but rather repetitive and not easy to follow.
October 8, 2025
Comprehensive and incredible in scope. This is the source for Hawaiian mythology. My only complaint is it feels disorganized, and some of the language/sentence structure is very outdated. Sometimes very vague in how it’s worded. I think the organization suffers due to how complex Hawaiian mythology is. I think a modernization of this book is well overdue. I would also have loved the stories to be told as stories and not as summaries of stories. At least tell the most common/preserved/accepted version of the story, then summaries of all its variations. If that had been done this would have been a more interesting read. This book does also suffer from being dry, but its first and foremost a historical record of Hawaiian myth and it does its job well at that, so again the dryness is almost expected. A more modern version with stories and chants would really set this book apart and I think broaden its readership.
July 16, 2008
Textbook containing a lot of analysis and some mythology. Breaks down the structures of a very complex mythology. I would've liked to see more mythology and a little less academic process--sometimes you just have to trust the reader with the information and fill in the blanks when needed. Then again, it's a fucking textbook, so I really shouldn't be complaining. Still, nothing but a big sigh for this one.
July 26, 2013
The most thorough compendium of Hawaiian mythology outside of formal scholarly literature. A good library addition for anyone with interest in the Polynesian islands.
June 16, 2014
A vintage academic work, which I read as background for an upcoming trip to Hawaii. It is not an easy read, but a good reference for sites, legends, etc.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews