:Mary Kawena Pukui

{{Short description|Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert and educator}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Mary Kawena Pukui

| image = Mary Kawena Pukui.png

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| background = non_performing_personnel

| birth_name = Mary Abigail Pukui

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1895|04|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Kaʻū, Island of Hawaiʻi, Republic of Hawaii

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| death_date = {{death date and age|1986|05|21|1895|04|20|df=y}}

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| occupation = Scholar, dancer, composer, educator

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Mary Abigail Kawenaʻulaokalaniahiʻiakaikapoliopele NaleilehuaapeleOften written in hyphenated form as Kawena-ʻula-o-ka-lani-a-Hiʻiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele-ka-wahine-ʻai-honua Na-lei-lehua-a-Pele, which translates as "The rosy glow in the sky made by Hiʻiaka in the bosom of Pele, the earth-consuming woman." {{harvnb|Dye|1998|pages=109–110}} Wiggin Pukui{{cite book|last=Dye|first=Bob|title=Hawaiʻi Chronicles Two|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05rWaT-JJ6YC|year=1998|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|location=Honolulu|isbn=978-0-8248-1984-2|oclc=249244077|pages=109–110}}{{cite book|last1=Handy|first1=Edward Smith Craighill|last2=Pukui|first2=Mary Kawena|title=The Polynesian Family System in Ka-'u, Hawaii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHh0AAAAMAAJ|year=1950|publisher=C. E. Tuttle Company|isbn=978-0-8048-1031-9|page=xvii}}Hawaiian spelling: Pūkuʻi; her The Water of Kāne, 1994: t.p. (Mary Kawena Pūkuʻi) p. 4 of cover (20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known as Kawena,{{cite web |url= http://www.hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=609&MagazineID=38 |title= Kawena's Legacy |author= Chad Blair |work= Hana Hou! Vol. 10, No. 4 |date= September–October 2007 }} was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator.

Life

Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in her grandmother's home, named Hale Ola, in Haniumalu, Kaʻū, on Hawaiʻi Island, to Henry Nathaniel Wiggin (originally from Salem, Massachusetts, of a distinguished shipping family descended from Massachusetts Bay Colony governor Simon Bradstreet and his wife, the poet Anne Bradstreet){{harvnb|Dye|1998|pages=109–110}} and Mary Pa{{okina}}ahana Kanaka{{okina}}ole, descendant of a long line of kahuna (priests) going back centuries. Pukui's maternal grandmother, Nali{{okina}}ipo{{okina}}aimoku, was a kahuna la{{okina}}au lapa{{okina}}au (medicinal expert) and kahuna pale keiki (midwife) and a hula dancer in Queen Emma's court.{{Cite web |last=Boomer |first=Lee |title=Life Story: Mary Kawena Pukui, 1895–1986 |url=https://wams.nyhistory.org/confidence-and-crises/great-depression/mary-kawena-pukui/ |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=Women & the American Story |language=en-US}} She had delivered the child, and asked Pukui's parents for the child to raise in the traditional way, and her request was granted. Kawena was born into the Fire Clan of Kaʻū. Kawena and her grandmother were inseparable, and the child was taught many things she needed to know. Upon the death of her grandmother, Kawena returned to live with her parents. Her mother continued her education in things Hawaiian and her father, who spoke Hawaiian fluently, spoke to her in English and taught her of his New England heritage.

Pukui was educated in the Hawaiian Mission Academy, and taught Hawaiiana at Punahou School. Pukui was fluent in the Hawaiian language, and from the age of fifteen collected and translated folk tales, proverbs and sayings. She worked at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum from 1938 to 1961 as an ethnological assistant and translator. She also taught Hawaiian to several scholars and served as an informant for numerous anthropologists. She published more than 50 scholarly works. Pukui is the co-author of the definitive Hawaiian-English Dictionary (1957, revised 1986), Place Names of Hawaii (1974), and The Echo of Our Song (1974), a translation of old chants and songs. Her book, {{okina}}Ōlelo No{{okina}}eau, contains nearly 3,000 examples of Hawaiian proverbs and poetical sayings, translated and annotated. The two-volume set Nānā i ke Kumu, Look to the Source, is a valuable resource on Hawaiian customs and traditions.{{Cite book |last1=Pukui |first1=Mary Kawena |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1grfAAAACAAJ&q=N%C4%81n%C4%81+i+ke+Kumu,+Look+to+the+Source |title=Nānā i Ke Kumu |last2=Haertig |first2=E. W. |last3=Lee |first3=Catherine A. |date=2014 |publisher=Hui Hanai |isbn=978-0-9616738-2-6 |language=en}}

In addition to her published works, Pukui's knowledge was also preserved in her notes, oral histories, hundreds of audiotape recordings from the 1950s and 1960s, and a few film clips, all collected in the Bishop Museum. She is often credited with making the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s possible.{{cite news |title= Author aided revival of Hawaiian tongue |newspaper= Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date= November 1, 1999 |author= Burl Burlingame |url= http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/01/news/story8.html |access-date= 2010-03-09 }}

She was named a "Living Treasure of Hawai{{okina}}i" by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai{{okina}}i in 1977. In 1995, she was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=1995 Hall of Fame Honoree: Mary Kawena Pukuʻi |url=http://www.hmhof.org/honorees/1995/pukui.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173019/http://www.hmhof.org/honorees/1995/pukui.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-03-03 |publisher=Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame |year=1995 |access-date=2009-10-20 }} In March 2017, Hawai{{okina}}i Magazine ranked her among a list of the most influential women in Hawaiian history.{{cite news|last=Dekneef|first=Matthew|title=15 extraordinary Hawaii women who inspire us all. We can all learn something from these historic figures|magazine=Hawaiʻi Magazine|location=Honolulu|date=March 8, 2017|url=https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/15-extraordinary-hawaii-women-who-inspire-us-all |access-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828170325/https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/15-extraordinary-hawaii-women-who-inspire-us-all |archive-date=August 28, 2018|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}

Bibliography (selected)

In order of first publication:

1933: [https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991000887199706532 Hawaiian Folk Tales, Third Series]
1934: [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.32106000757994?urlappend=%3Bseq=9 Outline of Hawaiian Physical Therapeutics]; with Handy and Livermore
1943: Introduction to the Hawaiian Language; with Henry P. Judd and John F. G. Stokes
1957: [http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0ped-000Sec--11en-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 Hawaiian-English Dictionary]; with Elbert (1957, rev. and enl. 1986) [http://ulukau.org/elib/collect/ped/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf PDF Version]
1957: [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0pfs01-000Sec--11haw-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 The Polynesian Family System in Ka'u, Hawaii]; with Handy, Edward Smith Craighill *{{cite book |last1=Elbert |first1=Samuel H |last2=Pūkui |first2=Mary Kawena |author-link2=Mary Kawena Pukui |title=Hawaiian Dictionary : Hawaiian-English; English-Hawaiian |edition=10th |year=1999 |orig-year=1957 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |location=Honolulu, HI |isbn=978-0-8248-0703-0 |oclc=247864894}} [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/collect/pfs01/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf PDF Version]
1966: {{cite book |last1=Pukui |first1=Mary Kawena |last2=Elbert |first2=Samuel H |last3=Mookini |first3=Esther T. |title=Place Names of Hawaii |url=http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0pepn-000Sec--11haw-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 |edition=Rev. and enl. |year=1984 |orig-year=1966 (suppl. to the 3d. ed. of the Hawaiian-English dictionary) |publisher=University Press of Hawaii |location=Honolulu, HI |isbn=978-0-8248-0524-1 |oclc=740956610}} [http://ulukau.org/elib/collect/pepn/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf PDF Version]
1972: Nānā i ke Kumu, Look to the Source, [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0qlcc1-000Sec--11haw-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 Vol. 1] and [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0qlcc2-000Sec--11en-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0.2&toc=0 Vol. 2]; with Haertig and Lee. PDF Versions: [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/collect/qlcc1/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf Vol. 1] and [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/collect/qlcc2/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf Vol. 2]
1972: Native Planters in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore, and Environment; with Edward Smith Craighill Handy; Elizabeth Green Handy. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press; Revised edition (1991). {{ISBN|0-910240-11-6}}.
1974: Place Names of Hawaii; with Elbert and Mookini
1974: The Echo of Our Song: Chants and Poems of the Hawaiians
1979: {{cite book |last1=Elbert |first1=Samuel H |last2=Pūkui |first2=Mary Kawena |url= http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0hawaiiangrammar-000Sec--11en-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 |title=Hawaiian Grammar |year=2001 |orig-year=1979 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |location=Honolulu, HI |isbn=978-0-8248-2489-1 |oclc=248939168}} [http://ulukau.org/elib/collect/hawaiiangrammar/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf PDF Version]
1980: Hula: Historical Perspectives; with Dorothy B. Barère and Marion Kelly
1983: ‘Ōlelo No‘eau: Hawaiian proverbs & poetical sayings Honolulu, Hawai'i: Bishop Museum Press {{ISBN|0-910240-92-2}}
Nā Wahine: Hawaiian proverbs and inspirational quotes celebrating women in Hawai'i. Honolulu: Mutual, 2002 {{ISBN|1-56647-596-1}}
Hula: Hawaiian proverbs and inspirational quotes celebrating hula in Hawai'i Honolulu: Mutual, 2003 {{ISBN|1-56647-638-0}}
1989: {{cite book |last1=Pukui |first1=Mary Kawena |last2=Elbert |first2=Samuel H |last3=Mookini |first3=Esther T. |title=Pocket Place Names of Hawai'i |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |location=Honolulu, HI |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-8248-1187-7 |oclc=18497487}}
1990: {{cite book|last1=Pukui|first1=Mary Kawena|last2=Elbert|first2=Samuel H|last3=Mookini|first3=Esther T.|first4=Yū|last4=Nishizawa|trans-title=Hawaiian-Japanese dictionary|script-title=ja: ハワイ語-日本語辞典|title=Hawaigo-Nihongo jiten|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|location=Honolulu, HI|year=1990|isbn=9784805106150|oclc=23039378}}
1992: {{cite book |last1=Pukui |first1=Mary Kawena |author-link1=Mary Kawena Pukui |last2=Elbert |first2=Samuel H |last3=Mookini |first3=Esther T. |first4=Yu Mapuana |last4=Nishizawa |title=New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |location=Honolulu, HI |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-8248-1392-5 |oclc=24064961 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newpockethawaiia00puku }}

::»Partial preview of {{cite book |title=New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary with a Concise Grammars and Given Names in Hawaiian |others=at WorldCat |oclc=24064961 }}

1994: [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0water-000Sec--11en-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 The Water of Kāne; and other legends of the Hawaiian Islands]; retold by Caroline Curtis; rev. ed. Honolulu, Hawaiʻi: Kamehameha Schools Press {{ISBN|0-87336-020-6}} [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/collect/water/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf PDF Version]
1995: Handy Hawai‘ian Dictionary; with Judd and Stokes {{ISBN|1-56647-112-5}}
1996: [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0hil-000Sec--11en-50-20-frameset-book--1-010escapewin&a=d&d=D0&toc=0 Hawai‘i Island Legends: Pikoi, Pele and Others]; compiler; retold by Caroline Curtis. [http://www.ulukau.org/elib/collect/hil/index/assoc/D0.dir/book.pdf PDF Version]

:Mary Kawena Pukui

Life

Bibliography (selected)

References

Further reading