This is a facsimile reprint of the 1838 Lahainaluna history of Hawai‘i. It is called by David Forbes in his
Hawaiian National Bibliography (2000), "one of the most important books on Hawaii. This is the first Hawaiian history written and published in Hawaii, and the first from a Hawaiian viewpoint. Sometimes catalogued as the work of David Malo, it is rather the cooperative effort of a select group of Lahainaluna students and their instructor, Sheldon Dibble."
Ke Kupu Hou (Hawaiian Language Reprint Series)
Distributed for
Hawaiian Historical Society
"Ka Mooolelo Hawaii holds a distinguished position in Hawaiian history as the first book credited to Hawaiian writers, the first history of the islands published in the native language, and the first concerted effort to bring Hawaiian oral tradition into writing. Once printing began in Hawai‘i in 1822, early Hawaiian texts relied on native resources and Hawaiians contributed articles with historical and legendary content to the first newspapers, Ka Lama Hawaii and Ke Kumu Hawaii, but Ka Mooolelo Hawaii, published in 1838, was the first body of native writings to come into print. Intended as a classroom text, it included questions for reading comprehension and discussion, providing a new resource for Hawaiian curriculum as well as a model and foundation for subsequent writings." —from the Introduction by M. Puakea Nogelmeier