S. N. Haleʻole ( – October 22, 1866) was a leading

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai ...

writer and historian of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He is noted for authoring ''The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai'', the first fictional work of literature produced by a Native Hawaiian.

Biography

Haleʻole was born around 1819 in Kohala during the time of King

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Th ...

's death and before the arrival of the

American missionaries American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

who arrived in Hawaii in 1820. He was one of the first generation of

Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai ...

to receive a Western education by the American missionaries. In 1834, he began his education at

Lahainaluna Seminary Lahainaluna High School is a public high school with the grades 9-12 located in Lahaina (on the island of Maui). Lahainaluna High School is also a public boarding school. It was founded in 1831 as a Protestant missionary school, originally name ...

and graduated after four years in 1838. Taught by

Lorrin Andrews Lorrin Andrews (April 29, 1795 – September 29, 1868) was an early American missionary to Hawaii and judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works o ...

and Sheldon Dibble, Haleʻole developed a strong interest in the ancient history of his people. Some of his classmates included early Hawaiian historians

David Malo David Malo or Davida Malo (1795–1853) was a chiefly counselor, a Hawaiian intellectual, educator, politician and minister. He is remembered by subsequent generations of Hawaiian people and scholars primarily as a Native Hawaiian historian of the ...

John Papa ʻĪʻī John (Ioane) Kaneiakama Papa ʻĪʻī (1800–1870) was a 19th-century educator, politician and historian in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life ʻĪʻī was born 1800, in the month of Hilinehu, which he calculated to be August 3, in later life. He was ...

and

Samuel Kamakau Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau (October 29, 1815 – September 5, 1876) was a Hawaiian historian and scholar. His work appeared in local newspapers and was later compiled into books, becoming an invaluable resource on the Hawaiian people, Hawaiian ...

. After graduating from Lahainaluna, he became a teacher. According to the Lahainaluna rosters, he was working as a teacher in Haiku, Maui in the year 1858. He also later became an editor. In the early 1860s, Haleʻole began writing ''Ke Kaao o Laieikawai'' (later translated as ''The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai''), based on a traditional ''kaʻao'' about the princess Lāʻieikawai, a narrative rehearsed in prose and interspersed with songs handed down orally by ancient Hawaiian storytellers. It was first printed as a serial in the Hawaiian newspaper '' Ka Nupepa Kuokoa'' and later published in 1863 as a book. It was the first fictional work of literature produced by a

. After his death, it was revised in 1885 and translated by

Martha Warren Beckwith Martha Warren Beckwith (January 19, 1871 – January 28, 1959) was an American folklorist and ethnographer, appointed to the first chair in Folklore established in the U.S. Early life and education Beckwith was born in Wellesley Heights, Mass ...

in 1918. Beckwith stated:

The romance of Laieikawai therefore remains the sole piece of Hawaiian imaginative writing to reach book form. Not only this, but it represents the single composition of a Polynesian mind working upon the material of an old legend and eager to create a genuine national literature. As such it claims a kind of classic interest.

Haleʻole also wrote extensively on Hawaiian culture and history. A member of the first

Hawaiian Historical Society The Hawaiian Historical Society, established in 1892, is a private non-profit organized by a group of prominent citizens dedicated to preserving historical materials, presenting public lectures, and publishing scholarly research on Hawaiian history. ...

, a precursor to the modern institution, he was writing a history of the life of Kamehameha I before his death. Many of his works were later used by Kamakau.

Death

On October 22, 1866, Haleʻole died suddenly at ʻEwa. An obituary in the ''

Pacific Commercial Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and In ...

'' noted: "For a Hawaiian, he possessed rare literary talent, and the story of Laieikawai. one of the ancient Hawaiian princesses, will long remain a fit monument of his genius."

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haleole, S. N. 1819 births 1866 deaths Writers from Hawaii Historians of Hawaii Native Hawaiian people Hawaiian literature People from Maui Hawaiian Kingdom Protestants Lahainaluna School alumni People from Hawaii (island)