Talk:Hawaiian mythology

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There are so many ways in which Polynesian mythology deviates from Hawaiian, that it really needs a separate page. Many tales were not brought to the Islands, and many others have been created since that time. Modern Hawaiian mythology is as likely to include Japanese tales of Oni and the peach boy as it is to include native hawaiian myths, and this is just another reason to separate the two.
When I have time, I hope to flesh this page out greatly and include the other relevant entires in the actual description.

Hmmm, well, I was the one who wrote the "variant" wording, and that's from extensive reading in various Polynesian mythologies. It was a lazy compromise; I probably should have specified what remained the same, what differed.
When I see the words "Hawaiian mythology" I think of pre-contact Hawaiian mythology, as recorded by the earliest writers. If you're going to include post-contact Hawaiian and pidgin/local myths (Pele, obakes and the like) I think we should set up different sections and be very clear about when a version was collected and what community was telling it.
I totally agree with this sentiment. Us poor Polynesians have suffered much at others' muddling of our traditions Kahuroa 00:31, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for paying attention to this neglected page. I intended to do a lot, and got sidetracked. I'm grotesquely over-committed to too many Wikipedia articles. This page could do with some determined community effort. Zora 09:34, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] External link to Project Gutenberg text

I have created a link to a Project Gutenberg text. Being out of copyright it is somewhat dated, but the preface seems to indicate that the editor was sufficiently particular about his sources for it to be linked here rather than under Folklore. If nothing else it shows that the loss of the true traditions was being mourned 100 years ago. William Avery 14:23, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Polynesian to Polynesian

Kia ora nō Aotearoa. I am working my way thru the Polynesian stubs and trying to find sources for them. A lot of the stubs were originally copied from the very unreliable and garbled Encyclopedia Mythica. A couple of Hawaiian ones I have improved lately are 'Elepaio and Kahōali'i. Kahuroa 13:34, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Calling an active religion mythology is a POV insult

This page must be renamed Native Hawaiian religion as there are still many adherants to this ancestoral faith. No one would even try to rename the Jesus Christ article to Jesus Christ (myth) it is POV to declare someone else's religion mere mythology.

There has been a recent special on the history channel about the continuing worship of Pele and other ancestoral gods in Hawaii. And you can see as recent as May 25, 2007 an Associated Press news story saying "The area [Halemaumau Crater, at the summit of Kilauea] is one of the most popular parts of the park and is revered by Native Hawaiians as the home of Pele, goddess of the volcano."

See http://www.thestate.com/166/story/72786.html or http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/252/story/44414.html
--Wowaconia 07:53, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
E kala mai, but as an adherent to the beliefs in the mythology of my homeland, I am not insulted by having it called mythology. I am, however, insulted by the attempt to a) put some racial label on it, and b) establish it as a religion in the same hierarchical fashion as other major religions.
Honoring the gods and goddesses and myths and legends of my homeland does not require either native Hawaiian ancestry, nor does it require the establishment of a religion. --JereKrischel 06:12, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hawaiian religion

For what it is worth, Hawaiian religion is a valid article and should be expanded with careful citations. Myths and religions, while similar and overlapping, are entirely different scopes. —Viriditas | Talk 05:48, 4 June 2007 (UTC)