What if a rock, a bay, or a passing wind holds a story of gods, spirits, and ancestors?

Hawaiian Folk Tales, gathered and edited by Thomas G. Thrum, brings together legends from the Hawaiian Islands. These stories pass from elder to child through speech and chant. In their world, gods, ancestors, and spirits share the land with ordinary people, while heroes bend nature to their will.

The collection explores gods and heroes, little people, guardian ancestors, and the stories attached to places. Hawaiian tradition names Kane, Ku, Lono, and Kanaloa among its great gods. The Menehune appear as small, hardworking builders of stone. Across these tales, a rock, a bay, or a wind can carry a memory worth keeping.

この本で学べること

• Stories carried in memory Discover traditions preserved through storytelling, chant, and dance, then gathered here for later readers.
• Gods behind the elements Explore how Hawaiian tradition connects divine powers with sky, rain, farming, war, and sea.
• Builders of the forest Meet the Menehune, remembered for great stone works often completed in a single night.
• Ancestors close at hand Enter tales where guardian ancestors and spirits share the land with ordinary people.
• Places with a story Find legends that explain a standing rock, a named bay, or a particular wind.

どのような方におすすめですか？

This book is for readers who love myths and legends, tales told around a fire, and the lore of islands and oceans. It suits anyone curious about Polynesian culture.