Proverbs and Place-Names: Appreciating the Landscape Through the Words of Our Ancestors

• In Event: 46.057 - Toward Justice for Indigenous Peoples: Research on Language and Cultural Revitalization

Abstract

Proverbs serve as a rich repository for ancestral memory and knowledge. In traditional times, Hawaiian was an oral language. Knowledge was passed down from one generation to another orally through historical accounts, songs, dances, proverbs, etc. Moreover, as an oral society, we did not locate ourselves using maps or cartographic representations drawn on paper. Rather, we used performances such as songs, dances, and the recitation of proverbs to "map" the world around us.

Author

• Katrina-Ann R. Kapā‘anaokalāokeola Oliveira, University of Hawaii - Manoa