Nā Inoa Hōkū

The first edition of Nā Inoa Hōkū, published in 1975, reignited global interest in Hawaiian and Pacific star knowledge and navigation at a critical time, coinciding with the epic first journey of the Hawaiian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa. This third edition is a hugely expanded version of Rubellite Kawena Johnson and John Kaipo Mahelona’s seminal book, representing a quartercentury of collaboration between the original authors and cultural astronomer Clive Ruggles. It remains true to Johnson’s initial objective not only to document Hawaiian star names used in navigation, mythology, and genealogy, but also to foster a much broader cultural and linguistic comprehension of Oceanic sky knowledge.

Nā Inoa Hōkū: Hawaiian and Pacific Star Names, Third Edition is a compendium of the available information on traditional astronomical knowledge in the Pacific region. It comprises a major synthesis of what we know about Hawaiians’ understanding of the skies, celestial navigation, and calendrical practices, as well as insights into cosmology and religious ideology. Additionally, the three comparative star catalogues—Hawaiian, Polynesian, and Austronesian—represent an unparalleled reference compilation derived from a wide range of Indigenous, historical, and ethnographic accounts. These are accompanied by a "Western identifications" table with cross-references from Western to Oceanic star names and appendices listing modern star terminology and the various islands and ethnolinguistic groups.

The section on Hawaiian knowledge and sources is enhanced by detailed interpretations and explanations that clarify many earlier transcription errors and misunderstandings. Key texts from Hawaiian-language newspapers are shown alongside new translations by Mahelona, ranging from short articles by Samuel Kamakau in the 1850s and 1860s to Benjamin K. Nāmakaokeahi’s thirty-part history of the priesthood of Kanalu published in 1900, 1901, and beyond. Also included are documents recently uncovered in the Bishop Museum Archives in Honolulu and the Cambridge University Library in the UK, along with an unpublished archive that includes firsthand testimony collected in the early twentieth century by historian Theodore Kelsey.

A definitive resource for Hawaiian cultural practitioners, this book is of particular value to astronomers and linguists worldwide and an essential reference for anyone interested in Pacific history and culture.