The Legends and Myths of Hawaii

About this book

Pele's fires reshape a landscape, Hina passes between divine and human worlds, and chiefs are remembered through deeds that become inseparable from legend. These stories bring the islands' sacred places and royal histories into a single volume.

Published under the name of King David Kalākaua, with editorial work by R. M. Daggett, the collection includes tales of gods, lovers, warriors and the turning points of Hawaiian history. It preserves important narratives while reflecting the political and literary circumstances of its publication in 1888. Many stories remain closely tied to named mountains, coastlines and ancestral places.