In his new book, Haena: Through the Eyes of the Ancestors, associate professor of Hawaiian studies at UH Manoa Carlos Andrade specifically examines each story, slice, and feature of this fertile land, identifying the origins of the place and its people until one feels apart of it as well. But more, this microcosm allows the unique relationships Hawaiians had with their environment across the island to be understood and envisioned anew.

Take a peek at these First Lines

“Ha’ena is a place well deserving of the title ‘aina momona–a fertile, rich, fruitful, sweet land of abundant springs and waters flowing from the mountains to the nearby sea. Numerous reefs, inhabited by he’e (octopus), ula (lobster), and schools of nenue (Kyphosus bigibbus), kala (unicorn fish), and manini (convict tang) fringe white sandy beaches. Aholehole (Kuhlia sandvicensis), ‘aweo-weo (species of Priacanthus), moi (threadfin), and puhi (eel) dwell in the shadowy caves beneath the sunlit reef flats. Sturdy trees, bamboo, and native shrubs rooth themselves in the coastal plain, spread into verdant valleys, and climb the pali (cliffs) into the clouds. … In a Hawaiian way of perceiving the world, Ha’ena is a place situated below the wind, close to the taproot of the earth, where the sun enters the sea at the Halele’a (House of Pleasure.)”

–Carlose Andrade, Haena: Through the Eyes of the Ancestors

You can learn more by checking out Andrade’s book launch and reading this Thursday at Na Mea Hawaii (flyer below).

Eat the lotus @ literarylotus.com