A Legendary Tradition of Kamapua'a, The Hawaiian Pig-God

Abstract

This thesis provides an English translation of a humorous version of the Kamapua'a epic, as well as an extensive annotation of various cultural and figurative devices employed throughout the legend. Kamapua'a, literally 'Pig-child,' was a mischief-making adventurous Hawaiian god who could assume dual body forms, human and hog. As a manifestation of Lono, the chiefly god of agriculture, Kamapua'a was worshipped only by the commoners. The annotations include cultural notes on certain behaviors peculiar to Hawaiians, over 100 chants and wise sayings, most of which remain unrecorded in other traditional sources, and innumerable sexual allusions whose double meanings are explicit in the context of Kamapua'a's adventures. The Hawaiian text was taken from a Hawaiian language newspaper of 1891. It exemplifies, contrary to popular belief, the high level of Hawaiian literature at that late date, only two years before the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by pernicious foreign elements.