Historical facts regarding names...

What an amazing journey we are all on.
There is so much information available through this papa! I did some research into the history and law of naming children in Hawai‘i by reading Nānā I Ke Kumu: Look to the Source, written by my mother’s maternal grandmother – our great grandmother Mary Kawena Puku‘i. The research she did is fascinating to me; it is foundational in bringing ancient Hawaiian culture and language into the 20th and 21st centuries.

In Hawaiian culture, a person’s name was actually a living entity: “these syllables which identified a person could influence health, happiness, and even a lifespan” (Puku‘i, 1972, p. 98).

In 1820, it became customary for Hawaiians who had converted to Christianity to take a Christian or Biblical first name and use their Hawaiian name as a last name.

In 1860, King Kamehameha IV signed the Act to Regulate Names, ensuring that a married woman would take her husband’s last name as a family name. Additionally, “All children born in wedlock shall have their father’s name as a family name. All illegitimate children shall have their mother’s name as a family name. They shall besides, have a Christian name suitable to their sex.”
How interesting. It all makes sense now - how come we have so many names!!!

I have taken this course several times; for my project, I ended up doing research on my mother and her name. This originally started as research for her eulogy, as our beloved mother passed away on March 18, 2010. March 18 was, coincidentally, her father's birthday - the same day she would be received by him into heaven.

Anyway, I can say that they journey has truly been enjoyable. I have a new appreciation for names, and have been utilizing the A'o Makua classes to supplement my research efforts; the classes, however, have given me so much more... a base understanding of language, as well as historical and cultural context. I can hear a Hawaiian person's last name, figure out what it means and maybe even have a clue where that person's family came from. Isn't that amazing?!

The essay I had been working on became a portraiture of my Mother and her name; the work took me a year and a half to produce - it is an 85-page composition which has become the foundation of my thesis on Aloha as Leadership.

I am humbly grateful to our Kumu Brandy, to A'o Makua, and to our Founder Ke Ali'i Pauahi for the opportunity to continuing to learn about our culture, our language, and to appreciate all that is Hawaiian.