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.
Generous in Death as in Life
John Papa ʻĪʻī is known for his generosity—while alive and beyond.
Ke Kumu Hawaii
Ke Kumu Hawaii was the first newspaper printed in Honolulu. It was published by the Sandwich Island Mission, edited by Reuben Tinker, and ran from November 12, 1834 to May 22, 1839.
Why Hawaiian language newspapers?
Hawaiian language newspapers not only served to spread local and international news across the archipelago and beyond, but likewise they extended greatly the reach of a person’s voice speaking their own language.
A Well-Made House.
A 104-year-old article from Nupepa Kuokoa describes the practices and steps involved in building a house.
More Access
The Library of Congress defines newspapers as: a serial publication, which is mainly designed to be a primary source of written information on current events, local, national, or international in scope. Newspapers contain a broad range of news on all subjects and activities and are not limited to any specific subject matter. Such news is intended either for the general public or for a particular ethnic, cultural, or national group.
Hawaiian Names for Political Candidates.
In the Hawaiian-language newspapers, most political candidates had a Hawaiian name in their advertisements whether their given name was in Hawaiian or another language. This was to appeal to Hawaiian-speaking voters, because ballots were printed in both Hawaiian and English.
News from correspondents afar.
Orramel Hinckley Gulick, or Oramela (Oremela) H. Kulika, as he was known in Hawaiian, was the publisher of the Alaula, a newspaper1 intended to educate children. He is ordained in 1862 and in 1870 was assigned by the American Board to teach in Japan. He leaves Hawaiʻi with his wife Ann Eliza (Clark) on June 23, 1870 aboard the Ekake (Ajax). He writes to his Alaula and the Kuokoa of his impressions along the way.
A hundred years since the passing of King Kamehameha I, 1919.
The commission for the Kamehameha Day celebrations in 1919 strove to make the centenary celebration memorable–but most of all to instill a great aloha within all Hawaiians for the day honoring their nation’s founder –Kamehameha I.
The “gold mines” of Kahului, 1899.
J. P. Iwa reports on a new source of salt on Maui.
Prince Kūhiō’s Birthday to be Added to the Holidays Celebrated in Hawaiʻi, 1923.
In the House of Representatives Session of 1923, a legislative bill was introduced so that Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole’s birthday, March 26th, would be assigned a holiday and added to the holidays celebrated in Hawaiʻi.
Bits of News from Lāʻie, Those Passed On and Kūlolo Peddled from Kauaʻi.
In many of the Hawaiian language newspapers, there was a column of short, random news items sent in by local correspondents: descriptions of neighborhood parties, extreme weather, fundraiser announcements, and so forth.
Sad tidings from faraway Washington Territory, 139 years ago.
People were not only subscribing to the Hawaiian newspapers here in Hawaiʻi nei, but from across the Pacific and beyond as well. The newspaper could spread information quickly, and it was the most efficient means to announce marriages, births, and deaths. Here, word of the passing of Mr. Keawehaku, a native of Waiākea Hilo and the only old-timer left in Keomolewa (Columbia River), reaches all over Hawaiʻi only a month later.
An unfamiliar feast. 1916
Today we step back 110 years with a light-hearted description of an encounter by a group of tourists with Hawaiian food.
Rev. C. M. Hyde’s call for epithets, 1886.
Rev. C. M. Hyde urges readers to send in epithets to be published in the newspaper.
On this day 247 years ago, HMS Resolution left Kealakekua for the second time.
The following account of Captain James Cook’s demise 247 years ago was retold by J. A. Naui, 164 years ago, based on “Ka Mooolelo Hawaii,” written at Lahainaluna 188 years ago.
Happy Year of the Horse!
“Konohī!” is the Hawaiian word for the lunar new year as well as the greeting used on the occasion. It is said to have come from the Cantonese congratulatory expression, “Gong Hei.”
