--------------------------------------------------------- Hey! Greetings to everyone from one end of the earth to the other! How's everyone today? Good?? =) When I first started writing a journal online, I was in several Hawaiian language and Hawaiian history classes. So almost on a daily basis, I would write all my thoughts in Hawaiian and talk about the things that I learned, in addition to including certain excerpts that sparked my interest. And now that I think about it, I liked doing that. It also brought several comments of interest from others because people were shocked that Hawaiian history was so detailed and complex... So I think I should start that again. Especially for a few select people who constantly wonder why I have issues with certain people in this world, and they wonder where all that comes from (and you know who you are!! *smirk*). So I think I should start writing about Hawaiian history again... and not to worry, my entries won't be MEGA long like today, only once a week or so ;). Ok, so where should I start... well, probably best to start from the beginning. Before the mid-1800s, Hawaiian life was that of an oral culture. We didn't have a written language so everything was passed down through discussion and chants and dances that were memorized verbatim from generation to generation. When Hawaiian did become a written language, there were several Hawaiian historians that came to prominence... among them were Samuel M. Kamakau, John Papa I'i, Kepelino, some of the royalty, and this man, David Malo. Malo lived during the early 1800s and was raised in the royal court of the age so he wrote a lot about court life, the creation genealogies, about the way Hawaiians organized and categorized everything in life... from fishing and farming, to different levels of the sky and earth... he also specialized in the description of the different kinds of temples and ceremonies that were taking place in those sacred areas. Although David Malo converted to Christianity when the American Calvinist missionaries arrived in 1820 and many of his opinions of the stories of our ancestors reflect his new Christian faith, his knowledge of the traditional ways and of the stories of thousands of years ago are invaluable. Ok, having said that... this first entry comes from "Hawaiian Antiquities" which David Malo (the English translation of the above "Mo'olelo Hawai'i")had penned in the 1830s and 40s. It may sound a little confusing because of the style in which he writes, but I'll do my best to make it simple.

Chapter 2 Formation of the Land
1. The brain becomes befuddled and confused when hearing the opinions of the aged about the creation of the land here in Hawai'i, they are constantly contradicting each other, none is the same. 2. Within their genealogies we are able to see differences in opinion between each and every person. 3. in the genealogy referred to as Puanue, it is said that the foundations of the earth and sky were born. 4. It was Kumukumukekaa who gave birth to them, Paiaalani was her husband. And in another genealogy, it si said that Kamaieli gave birth to the foundations, Kumuhonua was the father. 5. In the genealogy of Wakea, it is said that Papa gave birth to this archipelago, another account says that these island were not born, but rather hand-made by Wakea himself. 6. We today can see their misgivings, if indeed women gave birth to islands in the past, such would be true today, if Wakea did make these islands with his own two hands, that would still happen today. 7. Here is something, in the genealogy referred to as the Kumulipo, it is said in there , that the land merely grew, it wasn't born, it wasn't made by hand. 8. Perhaps this theory is true, that these islands did grew by itself, after which it became populated by the Hawaiians, perhaps this is where the ancestors have erred, and the islands did grow in this way, who knows? 9. These days, several scholars have researched into the creation of the Hawaiian island, and perhaps their theories are true, perhaps not scientific fact, for everything is mere theory. 10. These accomplished foreign scientists have researched, and they theorize that perhaps this land was not here in prehistoric days, there was only ocean, they feel are of the opinion that teh land arrived directly from the ocean, volcanoes were the catalyst. 11. Their reasons for this opinion are that certain islands are known which have risen out of the ocean and bear many similar characteristics to that of Hawai'i, as in this explanation, this island chain is a volcanic one, and have been melted in such a volcanic way that is unlike the rock composition of those where are found on the continents around the world. 12. These rocks are wholly volcanic, these days most of the volcanoes are extinct, but, in the ancient days, there was a volcanic presence on Maui island and all of the other islands, therefore, it is believed that the islands were thurst forth from the sea, but perhaps this theory is not true, for it is a theory nonetheless. 13. It is possible that there was land here from the very beginning, but we cannot be sure because the traditions of the ancients are senseless babble and differ greatly amongst each other.

As you all can see, David Malo was trained as a Western scholar, and thusly has shunned the ideas of his ancestors in an attempt to be accepted by Western society, yet he is careful to explain that there is no exact truth, that everything is a matter of theory... So, while I know all of this sounds like nonsense and confusing because of how he will explain and then refute everything, this passage does give certain cultural theories as to the beginning of life here... from Kumukumukeka'a, or the story of Wakea and Papa, to the cosmic genealogy called the Kumulipo. Next installment will talk about the first recorded people in Hawaiian history according to the Kumulipo genealogy and how Wakea and Papa fit into that story... stay tuned! --- We now return to your regularly scheduled program... feel free to comment! ----