Volunteers end transcription of Hawaiian-language papers

The Hawaiian proverb "‘a‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia" translates to "no task is too big when done together by all."

Those words rang true for Patrick Makuakane of Halau Na Lei Hulu i ka Weiku when he and his hula troupe decided to become part of the effort to make Hawaiian-language newspapers searchable online by joining thousands of volunteers with the goal of transcribing 60,000 pages.

The initiative, Ike Ku‘o­ko‘a, or "liberating knowledge," was launched in November under the sponsorship of Awaiaulu Inc., with the goal of transcribing 60,000 of the 75,000 pages from 100 Hawaiian-language newspapers printed from 1834 to 1948.

In eight months, more than 6,500 volunteers from 14 countries transcribed nearly 15,500 pages, falling short of the goal.

Makuakane and his halau from San Francisco transcribed 1,200 pages, said Kau‘i Sai-Dudoit, project manager of Awaiaulu.

Project organizers Tuesday stopped the call for volunteers with a closing ceremony on the grounds of Iolani Palace. The event featured entertainment by local musicians such as Kupaoa, Kawika Kahi­apo and Wai­puna.

Makuakane and four members of Na Lei Hulu i ka Weiku performed a handful of hulas.

"Since the launch this project has become a global wonder," said Pua­kea Nogelmeier, executive director of Awaiaulu Inc.

"The commitment that all the volunteers, local and abroad, made showed just how much of an impact a project like ours can have on the Hawaiian culture and those influenced by it," he said.

Although only a third of the pages have been transcribed, Nogelmeier said, "in no way has this project been a failure."

"We did more in eight months than in 10 years, and not in terms of pages, but in education," he said. "That’s the most important part."

Sai-Dudoit said that Since November, Awaiaulu has answered more than 10,000 emails, made numerous presentations around the state and has held multiple training workshops for interested volunteers.

"The project didn’t just blossom; it exploded," she said. The next step for Awaiaulu is to "clean up" the pages that have been transcribed, she said.

"We’re closing the transcribing to the public because we need to focus on the pages that we have, get those translated and uploaded to the Internet so they can finally become a usable resource to the world and not just to those who understand Hawaiian," Nogelmeier said.

He noted that the cleanup process is not meant to stop volunteers from showing interest, and said Awaiaulu will open the door again.

"Quality translation needs to be done on these pages because what folks need to realize is these papers hold information not found in textbooks, no matter where you went to school," he said. "We need to make sure that no ‘a,’ ‘e,’ ‘i,’ ‘o’ and ‘u’ will be overlooked."