Title: Nā Kua'āina : living Hawaiian culture /
Authors: McGregor, Davianna.
Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press,
Year: 2007
Subjects: Hawaiians History.; Hawaiians Social life and customs.; Hawaiians Interviews.; Oral history.; Subsistence economy Hawaii History.; Natural resources Social aspects Hawaii History.; Social change Hawaii History.; Culture; Social Change; Oceanic Ancestry Group history; Rural Population; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; Hawaii Social life and customs.; Hawaii Rural conditions.; Hawaii History, Local.; Hawaii
Abstract: "The word kua‘âina translates literally as "back land" or "back country." Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor grew up hearing it as a reference to an awkward or unsophisticated person from the country. However, in the context of the Native Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the late twentieth century, kua‘âina came to refer to those who actively lived Hawaiian culture and kept the spirit of the land alive. Kua‘âina are Native Hawaiians who remained in rural areas; took care of kûpuna (elders); continued to speak Hawaiian; toiled in taro patches and sweet potato fields; and took that which is precious and sacred in Native Hawaiian culture into their care. The mo‘olelo (oral traditions) recounted in this book reveal how kua‘âina have enabled Native Hawaiians to endure as a unique and dignified people after more than a century of American subjugation and control.^