20 h 24 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 20 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does a king save when the old stories of his people risk falling silent?
In The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, David Kalākaua gathers stories of gods, chiefs and heroes as his kingdom changes around him. Foreign traders, missionaries and planters reshape island life. Elders who know the old chants are dying. The Hawaiian king wants these tales set down while people can still tell them.
The collection moves from Hawaiian traditions about the gods and the making of the world to Pele, Maui, chiefs and voyagers. Pele embodies volcanic fire; Maui uses his cleverness to bend the world toward human needs. Alongside their feats, you encounter priests, kings and the law of tapu—and a ruler’s view of his own culture.
What you’ll discover
- A king’s purpose See how Kalākaua presents Hawaiian stories to a wider world as island life changes.
- Gods and beginnings Explore traditions about the making of the world and the great gods above it.
- Pele’s volcanic fire Meet the goddess whose stories give the islands’ volcanic landscape a face and temper.
- Maui’s clever feats Follow a trickster demigod whose feats include taming the sun for human benefit.
- Chiefs, voyagers and tapu Move into the world of human rulers, where rank orders Hawaiian society.
Who will love it
Readers who love myths, island history told by a king, and stories of chiefs, giants and goddesses will enjoy this book. It also suits those drawn to Polynesian customs.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A king preserves his people's memory
- The tabu binds belief to power
- Creation has more than one telling
- The sacred reaches into every district
- A stolen wife draws chiefs toward war
- A displaced king finds dignity in work
- Voyages connect love and royal ancestry
- Umi seeks recognition beyond his upbringing
- Conquest and encounters unsettle the islands
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The Legends and Myths of Hawaii
by David Kalākaua · 1888
A Hawaiian king gathers the legends of his people, from the creation chant to the fall of the temples.
Challenging10–20 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Picture a battle on a Hawaiian plain. Warriors with spears and slings face each other with no shields, and they catch thrown weapons in their bare hands.
The Legends and Myths of Hawaii at a glance
- Reading time
- About 11 h 30 min9 h 10 min fast, 13 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 164,400 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1888by David Kalākaua
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A king gathers the stories of his people
The book opens with geography. Only on the island of Hawaii do the volcanoes still burn.
Kalakaua paints life before outsiders arrived. The ancient Hawaiians kept only dogs, pigs and fowl, and their tools were wood, stone and bone. Yet they built walled temples and crossed the ocean in double canoes guided by the stars. Their history lived in the memory of priests, who recited genealogical chants together so that nothing would be altered.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1888
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Kalākaua, David. The Legends and Myths of Hawaii. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-legends-and-myths-of-hawaii.
Kalākaua, D. (2026). The legends and myths of Hawaii. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-legends-and-myths-of-hawaii (Original work published 1888)
Kalākaua, David. The Legends and Myths of Hawaii. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-legends-and-myths-of-hawaii.
@book{kalakaua2026legends,
author = {Kalākaua, David},
title = {The Legends and Myths of Hawaii},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-legends-and-myths-of-hawaii},
note = {First published 1888}
}
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What is The Legends and Myths of Hawaii about?
It collects the legends of the Hawaiian islands, from creation chants and the gods to tales of chiefs, voyages, love and war. An opening essay explains the islands, the tabu, the religion and the old government before the stories begin.
Who wrote The Legends and Myths of Hawaii and why?
David Kalakaua, king of Hawaii, wrote it. He elected to preserve the legends and genealogies of his people, drawing on priests' traditions and the research of Abram Fornander, at a time when the native population was shrinking.
What does tabu mean in Hawaiian legends?
Tabu, or kapu, was a command to do or avoid something, backed by the penalty of death. It protected the rank and property of chiefs, priests and temples, and set rules about food, places, colors and the separation of men and women.
The author
David Kalākaua
1836–1891 · Hawaiian king and writer
David Kalākaua (1836–1891) was king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1874 until his death. He was born in Honolulu and lived in Hawaii. He wrote The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, published in 1888. He died in San Francisco, California, in 1891.
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