Ka Papakū Makawalu: He Inoa No Hiʻiaka

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2021-12

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The Papakū Makawalu Methodology: Invoking Hiʻiaka

Abstract

Papakū Makawalu (PM), a methodology developed in 2005 by Dr. Pualani Kanahele Kanakaʻole, is rooted in a Hawaiian worldview of akua – the elemental energies of our environment. Kanakaʻole, of pure Hawaiian ancestry, is the daughter of renowned kumu hula (hula instructor) Edith Kanakaʻole and her husband Luka of Keaukaha, Hawaiʻi. Kanakaʻole was raised in the hula tradition, and after the passing of her mother, she and her sister Nālani became kumu hula of Hālau o Kekuhi, a traditional dance company celebrated for its mastery of the ʻai haʻa style of chant and dance. The mele oli (chants) of this hula background form the basis of Kanakaʻole’s interpretation of the word akua as an elemental energy, along with the realization that the akua nomenclature reveals its form and/or function in the environment. The PM methodology is a portal through which cultural practitioners form relationships with these akua through their practice. PM also allows practitioners and scholars alike to study indigenous Hawaiian lore as a record of observation made over millennia and deconstruct the indigenous knowledge of traditional mele oli and kaʻao (myth) in order to apply lessons relative to living sustainably in our modern island environment. The dissertation is presented in two parts. Part 1 is an articulation of PM: its history, the background for this research and the steps involved in the PM process. Part 2 takes the reader through the PM process, a step-by-step deconstruction of the akua Hiʻiaka through the analysis of the Hawaiian language Hiʻiaka literature. This dissertation aims to identify and articulate the mechanisms at work in the PM methodology and how PM is being used to deconstruct and revitalize the knowledge system of indigenous lore. Through PM, practitioners and scholars can unlock the mysteries of akua, mele oli and kaʻao and see our world through the eyes and mindset of our kupuna who left behind a vast repository of intellectual Hawaiian knowledge.

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Language, Hiʻiaka, Papakū Makawalu

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184 pages

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