Cultural Knowledge
by chapter
This is by no means a comprehensive list, as there is so much koana embedded in the moʻolelo, but it is a place to begin---a sort of index to the cultural tidbits included in Lāʻieikawai. It is really just a running list of notes I kept while reading through the book. The editors have done a wonderful job at annotating the text already in their notes, but here is another resource. I hope to expand it and create more annotations for the text at some point. If you have ideas to add, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Chapter 1
birthing of aliʻi-- infanticide
hānai
pregnancy cravings
hōʻailona
Chapter 2
manners in boating-- “canoe fillers”
dream visions (hihiʻo)
mokomoko matches
heirarchy of society-- kaukaualiʻi, nīʻaupiʻo and the wohi
Chapter 3
building heiau
nights of the gods-- lunar calendar
praying to the Kauai
worth of feathers
moʻolelo of Kauakahialiʻi and Kaʻiliokalauokekoa
uplands of Pihanakalani
bird sounds
Chapter 4
moeʻuhane
ʻawa
Iwikuamoʻo (personal attendants)
omens
soothsayers (kilokilo)
some navigation-- “canoe-guiding star”
paddling-- how many people he took
surfing
“our woman” --spouse sharing
kōnane
mokomoko match
tying malo
Chapter 5
praying to Akua
women picking ʻopihi
welcoming vs. fighting-- being smart
Chapter 6
respect for aliʻi
pūloʻuloʻu- sign of kapu
being sure-- waiting for rain to stop to see rainbow
feather cloaks-- value of feathers
Chapter 7
Poliʻahu-- Mauna Kea
exchange of kapa
Chapter 9
family dynamics-- abandonment
Chapter 10
protocol of waiting to be called on board a canoe
entreaties
not pono to leave
touching noses
Chapter 11
pū lāʻī
Chapter 12
communal living
hospitality
cousins = siblings
vow of virginity
mana
Chapter 13
makawalu-- changing of perspectives and nonlinear narrative
shame
dangers of ʻawa and drunkenness-- letting the secret out
male boasting-- betting/wagering**
watching surfings-- wiliwili wood for surfboard
Chapter 14
shame
courtship
lei giving
guardians- Maile sisters guarding Lāʻieikawai
trickster- Hauaʻiliki getting past the Maile sisters
moeʻuhane
honi (touch noses)
betting
Chapter 15
canoes needed for a grand journey
Kihanuilūlūmoku
kapu posts covered in fine white kapa
Chapter 16
“Don’t think of us as your sisters any longer” - ʻohana
Kalahukomu: ʻAiwohikupua’s big strong dog
use of envoys
Chapter 17
ancestral guardians
releasing from vow- Akua Lanipipili
lunar calendar
Chapter 18
lunar calendar
canoes for travel
fine dressings
hula kāʻeke performers
selecting suitable traveling companions
kilu- love games
virginity
“Poliʻahu was furious, and she went back to Mauna Kea, where she continues to live to this day” (50).
Chapter 19
punalua
kilu
ʻohe- bamboo flute
Chapter 20
canoes for voyage
iʻaloa (embalmed bodies
lunar calendar
“Ola no hoʻi nā iwi” “the bones will live”
surfing
touching noses
love magic
moeʻuhane
Chapter 21
surfing
Chapter 22
“‘I will take care of you until the defilement from bleeding has stopped.’ This care was customary with a favorite daughter” (59)
dutiful (pono)
disowning of children
“the man to make these bones live”
offerings
wearing umbilical cord around neck
loyalty of the Maile sisters
Chapter 23
Wailing mourning
moeʻuhane
pū lāʻī (kī-leaf whistle)
nose flute (hano)
honi
Chapter 24
Kāhuli (endemic land snails)
Chapter 25
“[Kaʻōnohiokalā] dwells past Keʻalohilani on the kapu side (peʻa kapu) of the borders of Tahiti
hōʻailona
praying for guidance
watching surfing
Chapter 26
the Makāula hānai adopts Lāʻieikawai and the Maile sisters
taking care of bones
kauila ceremony
Chapter 27
Keʻalohilani
Nuʻumealani
lunar calendar
genealogy of Moanalihaikawaokele
hānai relations (mother’s brother = makua rank)
wailing greeting
menstruation- maʻi- menstrual house (hale peʻa)
Chapter 28
menstruation
pāʻū-- mana
lunar calendar
Chapter 29
lunar calendar
responsibility of Makāula to travel around the island
Makāula’s love for his people
Chapter 31
importance of ruling justly
drawing lots
“I know we each have our Akua - no one is without one…”
Chapter 32
duties of the Mōʻī- traveling around the islands
need to repay those who have done good for you
menstruation
Chapter 34
uses of ʻawa
Kaipuokaʻike
Kawahineokaliʻulā
love for siblings
repaying those who cared for you -- Makāula
birthing of aliʻi-- infanticide
hānai
pregnancy cravings
hōʻailona
Chapter 2
manners in boating-- “canoe fillers”
dream visions (hihiʻo)
mokomoko matches
heirarchy of society-- kaukaualiʻi, nīʻaupiʻo and the wohi
Chapter 3
building heiau
nights of the gods-- lunar calendar
praying to the Kauai
worth of feathers
moʻolelo of Kauakahialiʻi and Kaʻiliokalauokekoa
uplands of Pihanakalani
bird sounds
Chapter 4
moeʻuhane
ʻawa
Iwikuamoʻo (personal attendants)
omens
soothsayers (kilokilo)
some navigation-- “canoe-guiding star”
paddling-- how many people he took
surfing
“our woman” --spouse sharing
kōnane
mokomoko match
tying malo
Chapter 5
praying to Akua
women picking ʻopihi
welcoming vs. fighting-- being smart
Chapter 6
respect for aliʻi
pūloʻuloʻu- sign of kapu
being sure-- waiting for rain to stop to see rainbow
feather cloaks-- value of feathers
Chapter 7
Poliʻahu-- Mauna Kea
exchange of kapa
Chapter 9
family dynamics-- abandonment
Chapter 10
protocol of waiting to be called on board a canoe
entreaties
not pono to leave
touching noses
Chapter 11
pū lāʻī
Chapter 12
communal living
hospitality
cousins = siblings
vow of virginity
mana
Chapter 13
makawalu-- changing of perspectives and nonlinear narrative
shame
dangers of ʻawa and drunkenness-- letting the secret out
male boasting-- betting/wagering**
watching surfings-- wiliwili wood for surfboard
Chapter 14
shame
courtship
lei giving
guardians- Maile sisters guarding Lāʻieikawai
trickster- Hauaʻiliki getting past the Maile sisters
moeʻuhane
honi (touch noses)
betting
Chapter 15
canoes needed for a grand journey
Kihanuilūlūmoku
kapu posts covered in fine white kapa
Chapter 16
“Don’t think of us as your sisters any longer” - ʻohana
Kalahukomu: ʻAiwohikupua’s big strong dog
use of envoys
Chapter 17
ancestral guardians
releasing from vow- Akua Lanipipili
lunar calendar
Chapter 18
lunar calendar
canoes for travel
fine dressings
hula kāʻeke performers
selecting suitable traveling companions
kilu- love games
virginity
“Poliʻahu was furious, and she went back to Mauna Kea, where she continues to live to this day” (50).
Chapter 19
punalua
kilu
ʻohe- bamboo flute
Chapter 20
canoes for voyage
iʻaloa (embalmed bodies
lunar calendar
“Ola no hoʻi nā iwi” “the bones will live”
surfing
touching noses
love magic
moeʻuhane
Chapter 21
surfing
Chapter 22
“‘I will take care of you until the defilement from bleeding has stopped.’ This care was customary with a favorite daughter” (59)
dutiful (pono)
disowning of children
“the man to make these bones live”
offerings
wearing umbilical cord around neck
loyalty of the Maile sisters
Chapter 23
Wailing mourning
moeʻuhane
pū lāʻī (kī-leaf whistle)
nose flute (hano)
honi
Chapter 24
Kāhuli (endemic land snails)
Chapter 25
“[Kaʻōnohiokalā] dwells past Keʻalohilani on the kapu side (peʻa kapu) of the borders of Tahiti
hōʻailona
praying for guidance
watching surfing
Chapter 26
the Makāula hānai adopts Lāʻieikawai and the Maile sisters
taking care of bones
kauila ceremony
Chapter 27
Keʻalohilani
Nuʻumealani
lunar calendar
genealogy of Moanalihaikawaokele
hānai relations (mother’s brother = makua rank)
wailing greeting
menstruation- maʻi- menstrual house (hale peʻa)
Chapter 28
menstruation
pāʻū-- mana
lunar calendar
Chapter 29
lunar calendar
responsibility of Makāula to travel around the island
Makāula’s love for his people
Chapter 31
importance of ruling justly
drawing lots
“I know we each have our Akua - no one is without one…”
Chapter 32
duties of the Mōʻī- traveling around the islands
need to repay those who have done good for you
menstruation
Chapter 34
uses of ʻawa
Kaipuokaʻike
Kawahineokaliʻulā
love for siblings
repaying those who cared for you -- Makāula