Maui kumu hula and musician authors new book on West Maui place names

Launch events are planned for a new book about West Maui Place Names. The book ʻOhuʻohu nā Mauna o ʻEʻeka, Place Names of Maui Komohana, is authored by Kumu Hula and award winning recording artist Cody Kapueolaʻākeanui Pata. 

More than 1,600 place names are documented for an area less than 200 square miles in size.

Distributed by University of Hawaiʻi Press, the book is now available for purchase online and in various storefronts. 

The content was compiled from dozens of maps, 19^th & 20^th century Hawaiian and English language newspapers, mele, online databases, numerous print publications, recordings of Kānaka Maoli speakers of the region, and information provided directly to the author by his elders, masters, and mentors.

A book launch tour is planned for the month of October starting on Maui, then traveling to Hilo and ending on O‘ahu. The presentations will share about the compilation processes undergone to create the book.

Tour dates and locations:

• Lahaina library – 680 Wharf St, Lahaina, HI 96761
  • Saturday, Oct. 15, 2-3:30 p.m.
  • RSVP on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/1MIzpOEb0
• Wailuku library – 251 S High St, Wailuku, HI 96793
  • Thursday, Oct. 20, 5-7 p.m.
  • RSVP on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/2TNlPU1Jq
• Hilo: SCP Hilo Hotel (old Hilo Seaside) – 126 Banyan Way, Hilo
  • Friday, Oct. 21, 4-5:30 p.m.
  • RSVP on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/2N67JLWYg
• Honolulu: Na Mea Hawai‘i at Kipuka – Ward Village, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd Suite 270
  • Sunday, Oct. 23 1 p.m.
  • RSVP on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/3xe4kNXlS

 “For Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians), inoa ʻāina have always served to encode and relay meaningful information across space and time, from one generation to the next. Inoa ʻāina continue to be revered as inseparable from genealogies, individual and collective narratives, mele (poetic verse), and prayers, and they persist into modern times as cherished and sacred legacies deserving of deference and appreciation…” said author Cody Pueo Pata, “One of my hopes is that this book will encourage people, no matter where they’re from or where they live, to deepen their senses of pilina (relationship) and kuleana (responsibility) to ʻāina (land).”

Whether one is a genealogical descendant of Maui Komohana, a practitioner of ʻoihana Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian professions), or any other manner of scholar, the book is meant to be a resource for all researchers who wish to delve deeper into the toponymy of Maui Komohana.

To order a copy of the book click here.

Pata is the Maui-based Kumu Hula of Hālau Hula ʻo Ka Malama Mahilani, a classically trained Haku Mele, a Hawaiian language and culture teacher, researcher, and consultant, a Hawaiian music entertainer, an artisan, and a lifelong learner.

Hawaiian Language Editor – Kaʻiuokalani Damas is an instructor of Hawaiian language at the Kawaihuelani, Center for Hawaiian Language at the UH Mānoa campus. His work focuses on the revitalization, preservation, and perpetuation of Hawaiian knowledge within his family, work, and beyond.