Mapping Ma'ohi Communities in Diaspora: History, Identity, and Heiva in Hawai‘i

Abstract

This thesis contributes to archival and contemporary research for Mā’ohi migration and culture in diaspora, and introduces Mā’ohi diasporic communities in Hawaiʻi. Long standing relationships between Kanaka Mā’ohi and Maoli have helped to create these diasporic communities. By using historical traces of significant Mā’ohi mobilities, the thesis argues that Mā’ohi have been actively engaging with and expanding the boundaries of Te Ao Mā’ohi. Intertwined in this argument is the claim that Mā’ohi identity which is now rooted in Hawaiʻi, is playing out differently in diasporic contexts than in homelands. As a result of historical flows, mobilities, and convergences, Mā’ohi communities have replicated cultural festivals such as the Heiva in diaspora with striking results. This thesis concludes that using the Heiva as a contemporary site of the phenomena in action brings the historical diaspora of Mā’ohi into focus.