The word kua‘?ina translates literally as "back land" or "back country." Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor grew up hearing it as a reference to an awkward or unsophisticated person from the country. However, in the context of the Native Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the late twentieth century, kua‘?ina came to refer to those who actively lived Hawaiian culture and kept the spirit of the land alive. Kua‘?ina are Native Hawaiians who remained in rural areas; took care of k?puna (elders); continued to speak Hawaiian; toiled in taro patches and sweet potato fields; and took that which is precious and sacred in Native Hawaiian culture into their care. The mo‘olelo (oral traditions) recounted in this book reveal how kua‘?ina have enabled Native Hawaiians to endure as a unique and dignified people after more than a century of American subjugation and control. The stories are set in rural communities or cultural k?puka—oases! from which traditional Native Hawaiian culture can be regenerated and revitalized.By focusing in turn on an island (Moloka‘i), moku (the districts of Hana, Maui, and Puna, Hawai‘i), and an ahupua‘a (Waipi‘io, Hawai‘i), McGregor examines kua‘?ina life ways within distinct traditional land use regimes. Kaho‘olawe is also included as a primary site where the regenerative force of the kua‘aina from these cultural k?puka have revived Hawaiian cultural practices. Each case study begins by examining the cultural significance of the area. The ‘?lelo no‘eau (descriptive proverbs and poetical sayings) for which it is famous are interpreted, offering valuable insights into the place and its overall role in the cultural practices of Native Hawaiians. Discussion of the landscape and its settlement, the deities who dwelt there, and its rulers is followed by a review of the effects of westernization on kua‘?ina in the nineteenth century.! McGregor then provides an overview of the social and economic changes in each area through the end of the twentieth century and of the elements of continuity still evident in the lives of kua‘?ina. The final chapter on Kaho‘olawe demonstrates how kua‘?ina from the cultural k?puka under study have been instrumental in restoring the natural and cultural resources of the island. Unlike many works of Hawaiian history, which focus on the history of change in Hawaiian society, particularly in O‘ahu and among the ruling elite, Na Kua‘?ina tells a broader and more inclusive story of the Hawaiian Islands by documenting the continuity of Native Hawaiian culture as well as the changes.
