The study of these kaaos or legends would demonstrate that the Hawaiians possessed a language not only adapted to their former necessities but capable of being used in introducing the arts of civilized society and especially of pure morals, of law, and the religion of the Bible.”

The above quotations are from Lorrin Andrew’s Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language, containing some 15,500 Hawaiian words, printed in Honolulu in 1865.

Hawaiian vowelsa is sounded as in father
e is,, sounded,, as,, in,, they
i is,, sounded,, as,, in,, marine
o is,, sounded,, as,, in,, note
u is,, sounded,, as,, in,, rule or as oo in moon
ai when sounded as a diphthong resembles English ay
au when sounded as a diphthong resembles ou as in loud

The consonants are h, k, l, m, n, p, and w. No distinction is made between k and t or l and r, and w sounds like v between the penult and final syllable of a word. [[ix]]

[[Contents]]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
[Foreword] iii
[Introduction]xi
PART I—[LEGENDS]
I. [Ai-laau, The Forest Eater]1
II. [How Pele came to Hawaii]4
III. [Pele and the Owl Ghost-god]14
IV. [The Hills of Pele]19
V. [Pele and the Chiefs of Puna]27
VI. [Pele’s Tree]35
VII. [Pele and Kaha-wali]37
VIII. [Pele and Kama-puaa]45
IX. [Pele and the Snow-goddess]55
X. [Genealogy of the Pele Family]63
XI. [Pele’s Long Sleep]72
XII. [Hopoe, the Dancing Stone]87
XIII. [Hiiaka’s Battle with Demons]96
XIV. [How Hiiaka found Wahine-omao]104
XV. [Hiiaka Catching a Ghost]111
XVI. [Hiiaka and the Seacoast Kupuas]117
XVII. [Lohiau]126
XVIII. [The Annihilation of Keoua’s Army]139
XIX. [The Destruction of Kamehameha’s Fish Ponds]146
XX. [Kapiolani and Pele] 152
PART II—[GEOLOGICAL FACTS]
I. [The Crack in the Floor of the Pacific]165
II. [Hawaiian Volcanoes]170
III. [Volcanic Activity]177
IV. [Changes in Kilauea Crater]189
V. [Foundation of the Observatory] 194

[[x]]

[[Contents]]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS