‘Fornander Collection’ chronicles Hawaiian histories

In the 1860s and ’70s, Hawaiian writers such as Samuel M. Kamakau and S. N. Haleole traveled throughout the islands listening to storytellers born before western contact, and transcribing their moolelo, which had been handed down in an unbroken oral tradition.

Their research, conducted for Abraham Fornander, a Maui circuit court judge, became the “Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore: The Hawaiian account of the formation of their islands and origin of their race with the traditions of their migrations, etc., as gathered from original sources.” The bilingual books, with texts in English and Hawaiian set on facing pages, was published by Bishop Museum in 1916-17.

A century later, the collection has been reprinted with redesigned covers displaying photographs of Hawaiian native plants.

“We’re saying these plants still exist, the knowledge still exists, the material is still relevant,” said Maile Meyer, founder of Short Stack of Native Books, which published the three-volume collection in 2016. The edition of 200 sold out; sets in a second reprinting can be preordered through Wednesday at 20 percent off the $480 price.

There is widespread demand for the stories, Meyer said. In 2016, “The first 10 people that showed up on pickup day were young people in their 20s with big smiles, olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) students. The kids had saved up.”

At first look, the large-format, 600-page books appear daunting, but the lively moolelo quickly captivate with humor, conflict, transformations, poetry and metaphor. Characters are fully fleshed and psychologically complex and the natural world is drawn in vivid, sensual detail.

There’s the legend of Aukelenuiaiku, the open-hearted, handsome grandson of a lizard goddess, whose jealous siblings are always trying to kill him but whose cloak of ashes makes him invisible. There’s Moikeha, whose wife, turned against him by a slanderer, lashes her thighs together; he leaves her and finds love with a pair of surfing sisters.

The hero of “Legend of Pupukea” is the short, stocky, quick-witted younger brother of the king of Hawaii island whose physique is mocked by the tall, dim-witted younger brother of the king of Maui. (“A low shelf is reached by the rat.”) In a zingy face-off, their “sarcastic banter” builds toward war.

While most of the stories center on male heroes, strong females steal many scenes in this riveting collection. Told in many different voices, it’s a perfect read for an island afternoon filled with the sounds of our many different winds, rains and waves.

The books are sold as a set only, for $396 (discounted price); add $20 shipping if you can’t pick them up at Na Mea Hawaii in Ward Centre. To get the discount, email your request by Wednesday to ashlee@nameahawaii.com.