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In the 15th century, four Mahu sail from Tahiti to Hawaii and share their gifts of science and healing with the people of Waikiki. The islanders return this gift with a monument of four boulders in their honor, which the Mahu imbue with healing powers before disappearing.
As time passes, foreigners inhabit the island and the once-sacred stones are forgotten until the 1960s. Though the true story of these stones was not fully recovered, the power of the Mahu still calls out to those who pass by them at Waikiki Beach today.
With illuminating prose by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Daniel Sousa, KAPAEMAHU is a monument to an Indigenous Hawaiian legend and a classic in the making.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
June 7, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593605936
- File size: 11466 KB
- Duration: 00:23:53
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 730
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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Starred review from August 1, 2022
Gr 2-5-A solemn drumbeat welcomes listeners to discover the Kapaemahu, four ancient Tahitian healers of Hawaii. Neither male nor female, "they were mahu-a mixture of both in mind, heart, and spirit." The people built a monument in gratitude, but the "four great boulders" were eventually lost to U.S. colonialism and destructive tourism. When the stones were recovered, their crucial provenance was erased. This book gorgeously reclaims the monument's origins. Native Hawaiian Wong-Kalu, who is also mahu, reverently embodies the bilingual text, fluently narrating between Olelo Niihau and English over a richly enhancing background soundtrack. Olelo Niihau, she explains, is "the only uninterrupted form of Hawaiian in continuous communal use since prior to the arrival of foreigners." Also appended is a glossary and, surprisingly, well-deserved credit citation for "music and sound effects by Kanaka Pakipika." VERDICT Every library should consider creating or augmenting sparse Pacific Islander collections with this work.
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Surf, Hawaiian music, and song provide an immersive backdrop for Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu's spellbinding performance. The resonance and musical quality in Wong-Kalu's voice add to this dual-language retelling of the legend of Kapaemahu. This is the story of four Tahitian healers who were "mahu," that is, without male or female gender, who traveled around the islands administering their cures. Wong-Kalu's explanation of what happened to the rocks that the healers transferred their powers to is moving and uplifting. She keeps alive the Hawaiian tradition of oral storytelling with her soothing voice and introduces the concept of self-acceptance, explaining that she is a manu like the healers. This is a gracious and heartfelt presentation of themes of culture, heritage, and identity. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
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