Hawaiian legends of dreams

Bibliographic Information

Hawaiian legends of dreams

retold and illuminated by Caren Loebel-Fried

(A Latitude 20 book)

University of Hawaiʿi Press, c2005

Available at  / 3 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-146)

Summary: A retelling of nine Hawaiian legends illustrating the importance of dreams and their interpretation in Hawaiian culture

HTTP:URL=http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip057/2005002052.html Information=Table of contents

Contents of Works

  • The hidden spring of Punahou
  • Kāne, Kanaloa, and the whale
  • Kālai-pāhoa, the poisonwood god
  • The romance of Laukaʿieʿie
  • The dream of Pele
  • Halemano and the woman of his dreams
  • Village of the eel
  • Smoke
  • Kanaka-o-kai, the man of the sea

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Moe'uhane, the Hawaiian word for dream, means ""soul sleep."" Hawaiians of old believed they communicated with 'aumakua, their ancestral guardians, while sleeping, and this important relationship was sustained through dreaming. During ""soul sleep,"" people received messages of guidance from the Gods; romantic relationships blossomed; prophecies were made; cures were revealed. Dreams provided inspiration, conveying songs and dances that were remembered and performed upon waking. Specialists interpreted dreams, which were referred to and analyzed whenever important decisions were to be made. Having no written language, Hawaiians passed their history and life lessons down in the form of legends, which were committed to memory and told and retold. And within these stories are a multitude of dreams - as in a famous legend of the goddess Pele, who travels in a dream to meet and entrance the high chief Lohi'au. Dreams continue to play an important role in modern Hawaiian culture and are considered by some to have as powerful an influence today as in ancient times. In this companion volume to her award-winning ""Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits"", artist Caren Loebel-Fried retells and illuminates nine dream stories from Hawai'i's past that are sure to please readers young and old, kama'aina and malihini, alike.

by "Nielsen BookData"

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