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

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 ...

writer and historian of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited 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 Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

's death and before the arrival of the American missionaries 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, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesians ...

to receive a Western education by the American missionaries. In 1834, he began his education at Lahainaluna Seminary 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 a judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works ...

and

Sheldon Dibble Sheldon Dibble (January 26, 1809 – January 22, 1845) was a missionary to Hawaii who organized one of the first books on Hawaiian history, and inspired students to write more. Early life Dibble was born in Skaneateles, New York on January 26, 1 ...

, 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 (birth name: 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 Hawaii ...

, John Papa ʻĪʻī 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 who was the first chair in folklore at any university or college in the U.S. Early life and education Beckwith was born in Wellesley Hei ...

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, 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 ʻEwa was one of the original districts, known as ''moku'', of the island of Oʻahu in Ancient Hawaii history. The word ''ʻewa'' means "crooked" or "ill-fitting" in Hawaiian. The name comes from the myth that the gods Kāne and Kanaloa threw a ...

. An obituary in the '' Pacific Commercial Advertiser'' 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. 1810s births 1866 deaths Writers from Hawaii Historians of Hawaii Hawaiian literature People from Maui Hawaiian Kingdom Protestants Lahainaluna School alumni People from Hawaii (island) Hawaiian Kingdom people