Books with title Legends of Hawaii

Nineteen bright and charming fairy tales of Hawaii have been skillfully retold by this gifted storyteller. Padraic Colum brings to them a rare feeling for the things of the imagination, and he tells them with poetry, imagery, and enchantment. These legends have been treasured by Hawaiians from time immemorial and are perhaps our best approach to the cultural background of the Hawaiian people. “A selection of native stories such as this, so skillfully retold by a gifted storyteller, is perhaps… the best approach to the actual cultural background of the Hawaiian people…. Altogether a notable selection, valuable to the adult as to the child, and delightfully told.” –Martha Beckwith, New York Times “Padraic Colum… has never combined charm and delicate adventure more effectively than in this set of nineteen Hawaiian tales. They are powerfully imagined, rich in character and atmosphere.” –Charles J. Finger, New York Herald Tribune “Those who know Colum’s retelling of old stories need not be told here that this is a beautiful book. His most distinctive gift as a man of letters is his feeling for the folk mind, his ability not to put it on, but to be it. In prose lovely, simple, vocal, he tells these stories, leaving you to feel the symbolism for yourself.” –Horace Reynolds, Christian Science Monitor “This is a fine book for children, because the stories are so entertaining; and it is a good book for anybody, because one learns so much of the folklore of these loveliest of gardens.” –William Lyon Phelps

Nineteen native stories or legends from the Hawaiian islands. With decorative cuts. Pádraic Colum (8 December 1881 - 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. In 1922 he was commissioned to write versions of Hawaiian folklore for young people. This resulted in the publication of three volumes of tales from the islands.

Moe‘uhane, the Hawaiian word for dream, means "soul sleep." Hawaiians of old believed they communicated with ‘auma-kua, their ancestral guardians, while sleeping, and this important relationship was sustained through dreaming. During "soul sleep," people received messages of guidance from the gods; romantic relationships blossomed; prophecies were made; cures were revealed. Dreams provided inspiration, conveying songs and dances that were remembered and performed upon waking. Specialists interpreted dreams, which were referred to and analyzed whenever important decisions were to be made. Having no written language, Hawaiians passed their history and life lessons down in the form of legends, which were committed to memory and told and retold. And within these stories are a multitude of dreams--as in a famous legend of the goddess Pele, who travels in a dream to meet and entrance the high chief Lohi‘au. Dreams continue to play an important role in modern Hawaiian culture and are considered by some to have as powerful an influence today as in ancient times. In this companion volume to her award-winning Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits, artist Caren Loebel-Fried retells and illuminates nine dream stories from Hawai‘i's past that are sure to please readers young and old, kama‘aina and malihini, alike.

Moe‘uhane, the Hawaiian word for dream, means "soul sleep." Hawaiians of old believed they communicated with ‘auma-kua, their ancestral guardians, while sleeping, and this important relationship was sustained through dreaming. During "soul sleep," people received messages of guidance from the gods; romantic relationships blossomed; prophecies were made; cures were revealed. Dreams provided inspiration, conveying songs and dances that were remembered and performed upon waking. Specialists interpreted dreams, which were referred to and analyzed whenever important decisions were to be made. Having no written language, Hawaiians passed their history and life lessons down in the form of legends, which were committed to memory and told and retold. And within these stories are a multitude of dreams--as in a famous legend of the goddess Pele, who travels in a dream to meet and entrance the high chief Lohi‘au. Dreams continue to play an important role in modern Hawaiian culture and are considered by some to have as powerful an influence today as in ancient times. In this companion volume to her award-winning Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits, artist Caren Loebel-Fried retells and illuminates nine dream stories from Hawai‘i's past that are sure to please readers young and old, kama‘aina and malihini, alike.

Bright and charming fairy tales of Hawaii have been skillfully retold by this gifted storyteller. Padraic Colum brings to them a rare feeling for the things of the imagination, and he tells them with poetry, imagery, and enchantment. These legends have been treasured by Hawaiians from time immemorial and are perhaps our best approach to the cultural background of the Hawaiian people.