Session Abstract

This panel analyzes the significance of oral histories in comprehending the various ways in which Native Hawaiians viewed their world and constituted the sacred in governance, religion and daily life.  A mele ʻauʻa is a song/chant/poem that refuses a request.  In the context of the chant ʻAuʻa ʻIa, the request that cannot be granted is the giving away of  ʻāina (land).  It is through the relationship of people to land that we understand the establishment of the sacred and our responsibilities to its maintenance in all domains of life. Oral histories provide the guidance necessary to perpetuate these values and render these embedded lessons accessible to a broad audience thus going beyond remembering to re-imagining the meanings of the sacred today.