Nā Kuhia ma Hawaiian Antiquities / The Notes to Hawaiian Antiquities

In Hawaiian Antiquities (Malo [1903] 1951), Nathaniel Emerson not only translated Davida Malo’s Ka Moolelo Hawaii (handwritten ca. 1841–53), he also added numerous endnotes to supplement and often to critique what Malo had written. This article analyzes and evaluates those notes. In order to help him understand Malo’s account, Emerson consulted with many Native Hawaiians, thirteen of whom are identified in the printed version of Hawaiian Antiquities or in an earlier draft. The consultants provided Emerson with valuable material (prayers in particular) that he included in the notes, but they had limited knowledge on many of the topics covered by Malo, especially concerning the makahiki and luakini rituals that had ended before their time