ʻĀina Hānau: Birthland

 

My Thoughts:

This second collection of poetry by ʻōiwi poet Brandy Nālani McDougall takes a more academic and political stance (kū) on Hawaiʻi poetry by Hawaiian poets. In the vein of Haunani Kay Trask, this poetry is a message to and about lāhui builders and scholars. But what I find most poignant are her more personal poems, especially "The Map," for Clifford and "This Island on Which I Love You" for her husband Chamorro poet Craig Santos Perez.  I understand that political poems move us forward, but the personal poems move my gut. 

From the Publisher:

‘Āina Hānau / Birth Land is a powerful collection of new poems by Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) poet Brandy Nālani McDougall. ‘Āina hānau—or the land of one’s birth—signifies identity through intimate and familial connections to place and creates a profound bond between the people in a community. McDougall’s poems flow seamlessly between ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i and English, forming rhythms and patterns that impress on the reader a deep understanding of the land. Tracing flows from the mountains to the ocean, from the sky to the earth, and from ancestor to mother to child, these poems are rooted in the rich ancestral and contemporary literature of Hawaiʻi —moʻolelo, moʻokūʻauhau, and mele —honoring Hawaiian ʻāina, culture, language, histories, aesthetics, and futures.

The poems in Āina Hānau / Birth Land cycle through sacred and personal narratives while exposing and fighting ongoing American imperialism, settler colonialism, militarism, and social and environmental injustice to protect the ʻāina and its people. The ongoing environmental crisis in Hawaiʻi, inextricably linked to colonialism and tourism, is captured with stark intensity as McDougall writes, Violence is what we settle for / because we’ve been led to believe / green paper can feed us / more than green land. The experiences of birth, motherhood, miscarriage, and the power of Native Hawaiian traditions and self-advocacy in an often dismissive medical system is powerfully narrated by the speaker of the titular poem, written for McDougall’s daughters.

‘Āina Hānau reflects on what it means to be from and belong to an ʻāina hānau, as well as what it means to be an ‘āina hānau, as all mothers serve as the first birth lands for their children.

Publication Information:

Author: Brandy Nālani McDougall

Publisher: University of Arizona Press (June 13, 2023)

Kapaemahu (Picture Book)

 

My Thoughts:

This month is Pride Month (June) and this is the perfect book to bring in, whether your classroom is in Hawai'i or on the continent. This is the mo'olelo of the Kapaemahu stones that currently are fenced in on Kuhio Beach near the Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki, O'ahu. Although there is signage on the rocks, what it does not say, and what this book focuses on are the four mahu healers and what the decolonized original meaning of mahu is without the colonial, puritan stigma from a western lens. Instead, these four figures from Tahiti are only referred to as "healers." 

This story has been hidden in personal accounts and the nupepa (Hawaiian language newspapers). The stones were even buried under a bowling alley for a time, but this is a time for this over 700 year old story to come back into the light. The fact that the stones are so accessible makes this a treasure like the naha stone outside of the Hilo Public Library. 

Will there be push back, even in Hawai'i? Perhaps. There are strategies for that, starting with taking advantage of the launch of this book, the short film, as well as the Bishop Museum display. Start with the website: Kapaemahu.com where you will find resources, including the short film, history, portraits, and news.

As a middle school teacher, I also found the archives valuable as this is a way again to help students find research about other hidden mo'olelo in their own community like the Kapaemahu healer stones.  If this 700-year old story is brought back into circulation, how many other stories are there that need to be unearthed. 

Finally, this is a bilingual story, but this is the first book and film in ʻōlelo Niʻihau. "Ola, ola, ola, e ola loa tō  moʻolelo ʻo Kapaemahu."

From the Publisher:

An Indigenous legend about how four extraordinary individuals of dual male and female spirit, or Mahu, brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii, based on the Academy Award–contending short film.

In the 15th century, four Mahu sail from Tahiti to Hawaii and share their gifts of science and healing with the people of Waikiki. The islanders return this gift with a monument of four boulders in their honor, which the Mahu imbue with healing powers before disappearing.
 
As time passes, foreigners inhabit the island and the once-sacred stones are forgotten until the 1960s. Though the true story of these stones was not fully recovered, the power of the Mahu still calls out to those who pass by them at Waikiki Beach today.

With illuminating words and stunning illustrations by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Daniel Sousa, KAPAEMAHU is a monument to an Indigenous Hawaiian legend and a classic in the making.

Author: Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson

Illustrator: Daniel Sousa

Publisher: Kokila

Publication Date: June 7, 2022