Hawaiian Myth

In this now classic text, Martha Beckwith skillfully navigated an expansive collection of books, articles, and manuscripts to compile the definitive collection of mythological narratives of the native Hawaiian peoples. In addition to its importance for Hawaiian folklore and ethnology proper, Beckwith situates these stories within their broader regional context, offering comparisons to the traditions of Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa and other island nations.

Five centuries before Kamehameha the Great, Kalaunui was the first person to attempt uniting all the islands under one rule. He led an army of 12,000 warriors in conquest, capturing the kings of Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu. This war campaign became a rescue operation when the army of Kauaʻi defeated the invaders and took King Kalaunui hostage. Queen Kaheka ordered a second invasion to free her husband, but the prophetess Waahia suggested another option.

Fitted with a bionic tail and prosthetic feet, our shapeshifting dolphin Misty must choose between a life on land with her billionaire lover and remaining in the ocean as a dolphin. While visiting her family on Kaua'i, Misty encounters the shark that bit off her tail. Following this deadly encounter, Misty makes a choice that changes her life forever.

After healing her wounds, our shapeshifting dolphin, Misty, has no feet or a tail. She must rely on her daughter's father, Chris, to help her. Chris is a billionaire who owns a company specializing in prosthetic limbs. While creating new feet and a tail for Misty helps heal Misty physically, it also allows Chris and Misty's estranged relationship to heal.

In book #1, A Man Eater Is Born, you met Aunty Momi, who adopts several shapeshifters, which include a dolphin, a frigate bird, an owl, and a baby shark. Aunty Momi and her two sons, Martin and Paul, are shapeshifting eels. When Aunty Momi takes the baby shark to the ocean for the first time, Leila, the shapeshifting dolphin, searches for her mother, Misty. What Leila finds changes her life forever.

In 1995 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores is saved from drowning by a shiver of sharks. His family, struggling to make ends meet amidst the collapse of the sugar cane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favour from ancient Hawaiian gods. But as time passes, this hope gives way to economic realities, forcing Nainoa and his siblings to seek salvation across the continental United States, leaving behind home and family.

世界の神話を収めた「世界の神話」シリーズ。
今回紹介するのは、ハワイ神話です。