Moʻolelo are the narrative stories of the

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

people. These fiction and nonfiction narratives were exclusively oral at first, but began to be disseminated through writing in the 1800s after the development of the written

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

. The 1896 ban on Hawaiian language instruction in schools prevented several generations of Native Hawaiians from reading moʻolelo that were not translated into English.

Etymology

The word ''moʻolelo'' is a compound, formed from ''moʻo'' (a series or succession) and ''ʻōlelo'' (spoken language). ''Moʻolelo'' thus means "a succession of spoken language", as the Hawaiian language was originally

oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...

. However, the term can also refer to written narratives.

Characteristics

There are various traditional

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s of moʻolelo, as well as contemporary moʻolelo written in nontraditional genres. Features of traditional moʻolelo include ''kaona'' (a Hawaiian

rhetorical device In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, ...

involving

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

s, and

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

, translated as "underlying meaning") and the use of cultural imagery such as kalo. Mo'olelo can be both

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al and

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

al narratives; the term refers specifically to a fictional story, while ''kaʻao'' refers to a fictionalized story that may still be true. All moʻolelo are

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

in specific and identifiable locations.

History

Before Western contact

Before Western contact, moʻolelo were passed down through

oral storytelling Oral storytelling is the human activity and tradition of intimate storytelling, dating back before ancient times, in which a speaker verbally relates a story to an audience in physically close proximity. Often, the participants are seated toge ...

(including song and chant) and

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...

. Some

epics Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

took multiple days to tell in full.

After Western contact

In the 1800s, moʻolelo that affirmed the history and spiritual power of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

became popular as a response to the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

narrative of Hawaii as a place of spiritual darkness. In the 1820s, white

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

developed a system of written Hawaiian that used the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

. This system was used by the native Hawaiians to preserve more oral literature in native-language writing than almost any other

colonized 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

indigenous people. Moʻolelo were written down and

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

in Hawaiian-language

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s such as '' Ke Kumu Hawaii'' and '' Ka Nonanona'' as

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

in the written Hawaiian language became widespread. In the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s, there was a concerted effort to write down and preserve aspects of Hawaiian tradition including moʻolelo. In 1896, three years after the

overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Americ ...

, the use of the Hawaiian language for instruction in schools was

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...

. This caused several generations of Native Hawaiians to grow up without knowledge of the language, making them unable to read moʻolelo that had not been translated into English.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Refend Storytelling Hawaiian language Hawaiian studies