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.
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.
Woodcut images to grow interest: Ka Hae Hawaii, 1856–1861.
In an earlier post we spoke of the first Hawaiian language newspaper, Ka Lama Hawaii and the introduction of foreign animals to its readers using text along with woodcuts engraved by Dr. Alonzo Chapin.
Election of William Charles Lunalilo, the People’s King, 1873.
150 years ago, William Charles Lunalilo became the first elected monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Campaign mele for William Heen
Election time is upon us once again. While we still see sign waving and posters hung in shop windows and on the next-door neighbor’s fence, campaign mele have all but disappeared.
What was black and green and read all over?
The answer to the riddle above is the Kuokoa of May 23, 1863.
Rules for Writing to the Newspaper
The newspaper business was difficult enough without having to worry about people following the basic rules for submissions to be published.
Wilikoki’s Account of his Travels in Rome, the Wondrous City.
Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox (Wilikoki) was enrolled in the Royal Military Academy in Turin, Italy, as one of the youths sent abroad by Kalākaua to be educated in faraway lands, so that they may return and bring what they learned back home to serve their nation. This is the first part of Wilikoki’s account of his travels in Rome, a place he calls Ke Kūlanakauhale Kamahaʻo (The Wondrous City).
Abbreviations
How do you save space, time, and money? One way the Hawaiian language newspapers accomplished this was by using abbreviations.
Rev. E. Bailey’s Mission to Micronesia, 149 Years Ago.
The Hoku Ao leaves Honolulu for Micronesia on July 5, 1876 carrying aboard: Rev. Edward Bailey, representative of the Hawaiian Board; J. W. Kanoa & wife for Butaritari; Pilipo for the Gilbertese Islands; and John Smith who was returning to Wellington Island.
Aesop’s Fables by David Kaluhi Baker
Davida Kaluhi Beka [David Kaluhi Baker] (1863–1927) translates Aesop Romance, a fictional account of the life of Aesop. “He Wahi Moolelo Pokole no Esopa,” runs in Ko Hawaii Pae Aina from August 27 to October 29, 1881. Baker also translates and submits fables as well.
Be Prepared
We have been having a lot of bad weather lately. We, however unlike Hawaiʻi in 1918, have the Central Pacific Hurricane Center to keep us forewarned. Be prepared, and watch out for your family, friends, and neighbors.
