Fall 2020

Uluwehi Hopkins featured in Kahaukani Conversations

From the Mānoa Heritage Center website:

“We were fortunate to spend time with Uluwehi Hopkins, a Ph.D. Candidate in UH’s History Department, during a recent Kahaukani Conversation. Uluwehi provided a provocative perspective on the popular moʻolelo of Kahalaopuna as published by Emma Kailikapuolono Metcalf Beckley Nakuina (someone every Mānoa valley resident should know about!).

“Uluwehi asked: Why is the original story so violent especially when very few Hawaiian moʻolelo feature domestic violence? Why would a Hawaiian tell this story? Why would a Hawaiian tell this story at this point in history? After going through different published versions of the moʻolelo and background on Emma Nakuina’s life, Uluwehi introduced her thesis that, although fluent in Hawaiian, Emma Nakuina published in English and used her skill and notoriety to criticize the aggressive maneuvering of haole in the Hawaiian kingdom through the use of kaona (n. Hidden meaning, as in Hawaiian poetry; concealed reference, as to a person, thing, or place; words with double meanings that might bring good or bad fortune).

“Curious? Watch Uluwehi’s Kahaukani Conversation. You can also read her Master’s thesis Moʻolelo as Resistance: The Kaona of “Kahalaopuna” in a Colonized Environment.”