Insights

Ke Kumu Aupuni: The Foundation of Hawaiian Nationhood embodies a monumental history of Hawaiʻi, from the beginnings and political rise of Kamehameha I, the negotiations and battles that would come to unify Hawai‘i’s islands and kingdoms, and the development of a single government that would endure, to be ruled by his son and heir, Liholiho, Kamehameha II. This narrative offered in both Hawaiian and English is an invaluable catalog of data about Hawai‘i, Hawaiians, and the nature of national and cultural identity in the Pacific.

He Aupuni Palapala is a collaboration between Bishop Museum & Awaiaulu with staff support from Kamehameha Schools and funding from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Awaiaulu has selected the memoirs of John Papa ʻIʻi, originally published as a series of articles in the Hawaiian Langauge newspapers Ke Kumu Aupuni (The Hawaiian Kingdom) in 1839 and then in Ka Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa (The Independant Newspaper) until his death in 1870 as the source of the current translation training project.

In response to a need in the community for access to historical Hawaiian knowledge, Awaiaulu assembled primary source documents, articles from the newspapers, and produced material to understand detail of two events in Hawaiian history. This was called Kīpapa.