Why Hawaiian language newspapers?
Cover Image: Masthead of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, printed on February 11, 1871.
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 in their own language. They became storehouses for traditional Hawaiian knowledge. It is within these pages that moʻolelo and kaʻao were submitted, printed, and faced critique from the readership. Sage advice came from J. H. Kanepuu who reminded all those who submitted information to the newspapers to make it complete and accurate, because those generations of Hawaiians of 1870, and 1880, and 1890, and 1990, they will want it.
The first kaʻao to be taken from the newspapers and made into a book was S. N. Haleole’s Laieikawai which ran in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa from November 29, 1862 to April 4, 1863. N. B. Emerson takes the story, “Mooolelo no Hiiakaikapoliopele” as told by M. J. Kapihenui, which appears in Ka Hoku o ka Pakipika from December 26, 1861 to July 17, 1862, and publishes “Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth from Hawaii” in 1915.
Translations were done by native- and non-native-speakers who were immersed in the Hawaiian language of generations ago.
Image: Excerpt from “Koraka,” Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, February 11, 1871, p. 1.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
THE RAVEN
ONCE upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“ʻTis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this, and nothing more.”
Z. P. K. Kawaikaumaiikamakaokaopua Kalokuokamaile wrote a series on how to carve a waʻa and the different kinds of waʻa, in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, from October 26, 1922 to February 15, 1923. There were many serials on fishing and farming traditions.
In the March 29, 1879 issue of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, the editor prefaces a list of kalo names and their descriptions.
“Because of our great desire that the names of the familiar kalo of their native land do not disappear from the knowledge of the younger generation of Hawaiʻi nei, therefore we put before you the list of kalo names and their descriptions that we publish below.”
There were travelogues describing journeys here in Hawaiʻi, as well as journeys across the globe. Thomas K. Maunupau’s travels to Kaupō first appear in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, June 1, 1922 to March 15, 1923. It gets translated, edited, and made into a book in 1998.
Image: Many of the familiar resources we rely upon today were taken from Hawaiian language newspapers and turned into books. Some of these publications are pictured above. Photo taken by He Aupuni Palapala staff.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
There have been many books published that were taken from serials in the Hawaiian-language newspapers. The latest is John Papa ʻĪʻī’s historical reminiscences. Our partner, Awaiaulu, has just published “Nā Hunahuna ʻIke Hawaiʻi.” The book launch is set for Wednesday, July 29, 2026, from 6:00 to 9:00 in the evening at Bishop Museum Atherton Hālau.
Image: Awaiaulu’s latest publication: “Nā Hunahuna ʻIke Hawaiʻi | Hawaiian Insights,” by John Papa ʻĪʻī, translated by Puakea Nogelmeier.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
Image: Awaiaulu’s latest publication: “Nā Hunahuna ʻIke Hawaiʻi | Hawaiian Insights,” by John Papa ʻĪʻī, translated by Puakea Nogelmeier.
Image sharing on social media is welcome. For all other uses please contact Archives@BishopMuseum.org.
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
