276 pp. May 1972
paper, ISBN 978-0-8248-0771-9, $21.99
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Keywords: |
Hawaii
Polynesia
culture
language
history
anthropology |
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The Kumulipo: A Hawaiian Creation Chant
ed. by Martha Warren Beckwith
trans. by Martha Warren Beckwith
"A rare find in ancient Hawaiian literature, a Hawaiian composition not only rich in its poetic power but an authentic source of information concerning pre-European Hawaiian religion, mythology, and way of life... Beckwith rightly compares it to the Greek creation chants and Genesis in the Bible." --Pacific Islands Monthly
The Kumulipo is the sacred creation chant of a family of Hawaiian alii, or ruling chiefs. Composed and transmitted entirely in the oral tradition, its 2000 lines provide an extended genealogy proving the family's divine origin and tracing the family history from the beginning of the world.
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