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Mary Kawena Pukui

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Mary Kawena Pukui
Background information
Birth nameMary Abigail Pukui
Born(1895-04-20)20 April 1895
Kaʻū,Island of Hawaiʻi,Republic of Hawaii
Died21 May 1986(1986-05-21)(aged 91)
Occupation(s)Scholar, dancer, composer, educator

Mary Abigail Kawenaʻulaokalaniahiʻiakaikapoliopele Naleilehuaapele[1]Wiggin Pukui[2][3][4](20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known asKawena,[5]was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator.

Life[edit]

Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in her grandmother's home, named Hale Ola, in Haniumalu, Kaʻu, onHawaiʻiIsland, to Henry Nathaniel Wiggin (originally fromSalem, Massachusetts,of a distinguished shipping family descended fromMassachusetts Bay ColonygovernorSimon Bradstreetand his wife, the poetAnne Bradstreet)[6]and Mary Paʻahana Kanakaʻole, descendant of a long line ofkahuna(priests) going back centuries. Pukui's maternal grandmother, Naliʻipoʻaimoku, was akahunalaʻau lapaʻau(medicinal expert) andkahuna pale keiki(midwife) and ahula dancerin Queen Emma's court.[7]She had delivered the child, and asked Pukui's parents for the child to raise in the traditional way, and her request was granted. Kawena was born into the Fire Clan of Kaʻu. Kawena and her grandmother were inseparable, and the child was taught many things she needed to know. Upon the death of her grandmother, Kawena returned to live with her parents. Her mother continued her education in things Hawaiian and her father, who spoke Hawaiian fluently, spoke to her in English and taught her of his New England heritage.[7]

Pukui was educated in theHawaiian Mission Academy,and taughtHawaiianaatPunahou School.Pukui was fluent in theHawaiian language,and from the age of fifteen collected and translatedfolk tales, proverbs and sayings.She worked at theBernice P. Bishop Museumfrom 1938 to 1961 as anethnologicalassistant and translator. She also taught Hawaiian to several scholars and served as an informant for numerousanthropologists.She published more than 50 scholarly works. Pukui is the co-author of the definitiveHawaiian-English Dictionary(1957, revised 1986),Place Names of Hawaii(1974), andThe Echo of Our Song(1974), a translation of old chants and songs. Her book,ʻŌlelo Noʻeau,contains nearly 3,000 examples of Hawaiian proverbs and poetical sayings, translated and annotated. The two-volume setNānā i ke Kumu, Look to the Source,is a valuable resource on Hawaiian customs and traditions.[8]

In addition to her published works, Pukui's knowledge was also preserved in her notes, oral histories, hundreds of audiotape recordings from the 1950s and 1960s, and a few film clips, all collected in the Bishop Museum. She is often credited with making theHawaiian Renaissanceof the 1970s possible.[9]

She was named a "Living Treasure of Hawaiʻi"by theHonpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻiin 1977. In 1995, she was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.[10]In March 2017,Hawaiʻi Magazineranked her among a list of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.[11]

Bibliography (selected)[edit]

In order of first publication:

  • 1933:Hawaiian Folk Tales, Third Series
  • 1934:Outline of Hawaiian Physical Therapeutics;with Handy and Livermore
  • 1943:Introduction to the Hawaiian Language;with Henry P. Judd and John F. G. Stokes
  • 1957:Hawaiian-English Dictionary;withElbert(1957, rev. and enl. 1986)PDF Version
  • 1957:The Polynesian Family System in Ka'u, Hawaii;with Handy, Edward Smith Craighill *Elbert, Samuel H;Pūkui, Mary Kawena(1999) [1957].Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English; English-Hawaiian(10th ed.). Honolulu, HI:University of Hawaii Press.ISBN978-0-8248-0703-0.OCLC247864894.PDF Version
  • 1966:Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H; Mookini, Esther T. (1984) [1966 (suppl. to the 3d. ed. of the Hawaiian-English dictionary)].Place Names of Hawaii(Rev. and enl. ed.). Honolulu, HI:University Press of Hawaii.ISBN978-0-8248-0524-1.OCLC740956610.PDF Version
  • 1972:Nānā i ke Kumu, Look to the Source,Vol. 1andVol. 2;with Haertig and Lee. PDF Versions:Vol. 1andVol. 2
  • 1972:Native Planters in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore, and Environment;with Edward Smith Craighill Handy; Elizabeth Green Handy. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press; Revised edition (1991).ISBN0-910240-11-6.
  • 1974:Place Names of Hawaii;withElbertand Mookini
  • 1974:The Echo of Our Song: Chants and Poems of the Hawaiians
  • 1979:Elbert, Samuel H; Pūkui, Mary Kawena (2001) [1979].Hawaiian Grammar.Honolulu, HI:University of Hawaii Press.ISBN978-0-8248-2489-1.OCLC248939168.PDF Version
  • 1980:Hula: Historical Perspectives;with Dorothy B. Barère and Marion Kelly
  • 1983:‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian proverbs & poetical sayingsHonolulu, Hawai'i: Bishop Museum PressISBN0-910240-92-2
    • Nā Wahine: Hawaiian proverbs and inspirational quotes celebrating women in Hawai'i.Honolulu: Mutual, 2002ISBN1-56647-596-1
    • Hula: Hawaiian proverbs and inspirational quotes celebrating hula in Hawai'iHonolulu: Mutual, 2003ISBN1-56647-638-0
  • 1989:Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H; Mookini, Esther T. (1989).Pocket Place Names of Hawai'i.Honolulu, HI:University of Hawaii Press.ISBN978-0-8248-1187-7.OCLC18497487.
  • 1990:Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H; Mookini, Esther T.; Nishizawa, Yū (1990).Hawaigo-Nihongo jitenハワイ ngữ - nhật bổn ngữ từ điển[Hawaiian-Japanese dictionary]. Honolulu, HI:University of Hawaii Press.ISBN9784805106150.OCLC23039378.
  • 1992:Pukui, Mary Kawena;Elbert, Samuel H; Mookini, Esther T.; Nishizawa, Yu Mapuana (1992).New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian.Honolulu, HI:University of Hawaii Press.ISBN978-0-8248-1392-5.OCLC24064961.
»Partial preview ofNew Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian.atWorldCat.OCLC24064961.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)

References[edit]

  1. ^Often written in hyphenated form as Kawena-ʻula-o-ka-lani-a-Hiʻiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele-ka-wahine-ʻai-honua Na-lei-lehua-a-Pele, which translates as "The rosy glow in the sky made byHiʻiakain the bosom ofPele,the earth-consuming woman. "Dye 1998,pp. 109–110
  2. ^Dye, Bob (1998).Hawaiʻi Chronicles Two.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. pp. 109–110.ISBN978-0-8248-1984-2.OCLC249244077.
  3. ^Handy, Edward Smith Craighill; Pukui, Mary Kawena (1950).The Polynesian Family System in Ka-'u, Hawaii.C. E. Tuttle Company. p. xvii.ISBN978-0-8048-1031-9.
  4. ^Hawaiian spelling: Pūkuʻi; herThe Water of Kāne,1994: t.p. (Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi) p. 4 of cover
  5. ^Chad Blair (September–October 2007)."Kawena's Legacy".Hana Hou!Vol. 10, No. 4.
  6. ^Dye 1998,pp. 109–110
  7. ^abBoomer, Lee."Life Story: Mary Kawena Pukui, 1895–1986".Women & the American Story.RetrievedMay 21,2023.
  8. ^Pukui, Mary Kawena; Haertig, E. W.; Lee, Catherine A. (2014).Nānā i Ke Kumu.Hui Hanai.ISBN978-0-9616738-2-6.
  9. ^Burl Burlingame (November 1, 1999)."Author aided revival of Hawaiian tongue".Honolulu Star-Bulletin.RetrievedMarch 9,2010.
  10. ^"1995 Hall of Fame Honoree: Mary Kawena Pukuʻi".Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived fromthe originalon March 3, 2016.RetrievedOctober 20,2009.
  11. ^Dekneef, Matthew (March 8, 2017)."15 extraordinary Hawaii women who inspire us all. We can all learn something from these historic figures".Hawaiʻi Magazine.Honolulu.Archivedfrom the original on August 28, 2018.RetrievedJune 12,2020.

Further reading[edit]

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