He Aupuni Palapala
Cover Image: Detail of front page of the January 1, 1862 issue of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. Photo by David Franzen, ©2009 Bishop Museum Archives. QM 204791.
He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers is an ambitious, multi-year collaboration between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu, supported by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority and with contributions from Kamehameha Schools. Its goals are to catalog the existing nūpepa (Hawaiian language newspapers) in public repositories in Hawaiʻi, recording the condition of each page. It will also redigitize and partner with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Papakilo Database to make word searchable the clearest pages available and to upload them online for free public access.
The Hawaiian language newspapers total more than 100,000 pages of text, encompassing practically all aspects of Hawaiian life, culture, literature, environment, and history—told in the words of Hawaiians of the day.
Aole o’u makemake e paio aku, he makemake ko’u e pololei ka moolelo o ko’u one hanau, aole na ka malihini e ao mai ia’u i ka mooolelo o ko’u lahui, na’u e ao aku i ka moolelo i ka malihini.
[I have no desire to argue, I want the history of my homeland to be accurate; it is not for the foreigner to teach me the history of my people, it is for me to teach it to the foreigner.]
—S. M. Kamakau, “Hooheihei ka Nukahalale…” Ke Au Okoa, 10/16/1865, p. 1
Aole o’u makemake e paio aku, he makemake ko’u e pololei ka moolelo o ko’u one hanau, aole na ka malihini e ao mai ia’u i ka mooolelo o ko’u lahui, na’u e ao aku i ka moolelo i ka malihini.
[I have no desire to argue, I want the history of my homeland to be accurate; it is not for the foreigner to teach me the history of my people, it is for me to teach it to the foreigner.]
—S. M. Kamakau, “Hooheihei ka Nukahalale…” Ke Au Okoa, 10/16/1865, p. 1
Detail of front page of the January 1, 1862 issue of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. Photo by David Franzen, ©2009 Bishop Museum Archives. QM 204791.
A Fascination with Tarzan.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” was first serialized in a magazine in 1912. Five years later, it was being translated and serialized in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa.
Bits of News from a Hundred Years Ago.
In many of the Hawaiian language newspapers, there was a column of short news items of all sorts: descriptions of neighborhood parties, the latest weather, fundraiser announcements, and who took whom to court and for what.
Business Advertisements.
Just as advertisements are sought after by newspapers today to help pay expenses, the old Hawaiian language newspapers did so as well back then.
Nūpepa Kākau Lima—Handwritten Newspapers.
When the desire to disseminate news hits you, but managing a press with type filled drawers is just not practical, there remains the option to produce a handwritten newspaper. And indeed there were a good number of Hawaiian language handwritten papers.
Inoa Kapakapa, Pen Names.
While we do not limit our celebration of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to the month of February, we will not let go of this opportunity to say, “E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!”
King Kalākaua’s voyage around the world. 1881.
The Bicentennial of Printing exhibit on the third floor of Hawaiian Hall is coming down in a couple of weeks. The newspaper pages now on view are the second and third pages of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, April 23, 1881.
What is lost perhaps can be found, with everyone’s help. 1907–2023.
Hawaiian language newspapers were the most practical means for people of the day to have their words (and sometimes pictures) disseminated all across the Hawaiian Islands and even farther beyond that.
Views of the Eruption, 1907.
Just as the Mauna Loa eruption this past year did not last very long, so too was the 1907 eruption which only lasted about two weeks.
A Fascination with Tarzan.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” was first serialized in a magazine in 1912. Five years later, it was being translated and serialized in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa.
Bits of News from a Hundred Years Ago.
In many of the Hawaiian language newspapers, there was a column of short news items of all sorts: descriptions of neighborhood parties, the latest weather, fundraiser announcements, and who took whom to court and for what.
Business Advertisements.
Just as advertisements are sought after by newspapers today to help pay expenses, the old Hawaiian language newspapers did so as well back then.
Nūpepa Kākau Lima—Handwritten Newspapers.
When the desire to disseminate news hits you, but managing a press with type filled drawers is just not practical, there remains the option to produce a handwritten newspaper. And indeed there were a good number of Hawaiian language handwritten papers.
Inoa Kapakapa, Pen Names.
While we do not limit our celebration of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to the month of February, we will not let go of this opportunity to say, “E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi!”
King Kalākaua’s voyage around the world. 1881.
The Bicentennial of Printing exhibit on the third floor of Hawaiian Hall is coming down in a couple of weeks. The newspaper pages now on view are the second and third pages of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, April 23, 1881.
What is lost perhaps can be found, with everyone’s help. 1907–2023.
Hawaiian language newspapers were the most practical means for people of the day to have their words (and sometimes pictures) disseminated all across the Hawaiian Islands and even farther beyond that.
Views of the Eruption, 1907.
Just as the Mauna Loa eruption this past year did not last very long, so too was the 1907 eruption which only lasted about two weeks.
