HULA

The tragic history of Hawai‘i is told through the lives of several generations of women in a Native family.

When Laka Naupaka is named Miss Aloha Hula in the 1960s, she is continuing a proud family tradition. The Naupakas have lived in Hilo, on the Big Island, for many generations, and Laka’s foremothers have danced and taught the hula—not the denatured version performed in tourist traps but the intricate, difficult dance that embodies history, religion, and tradition for the islands’ Native people. Part of the history told in those dances is the forcible annexation of Hawai‘i by the United States. In 1887, the so-called Bayonet Constitution, written by a White businessman, stripped control of the islands from King Kalākaua and gave power and land—1.8 million acres of it—to White U.S. outsiders, evicting countless Native families. Laka’s grandmother Ulu was witness to that history, and her anger has been passed down. Her daughter, Hulali, and Hulali’s daughter, Laka, are fierce defenders of Hawaiian culture. But their fierceness can also make them unforgiving with one another. When, after being named Miss Aloha Hula, Laka leaves Hilo for a job on another island, her family is shocked. When she returns with a young daughter, Hi‘i, who has pale skin, red hair, and green eyes, Hulali cuts Laka off completely, refusing even to recognize Hi‘i  as her grandchild. Hulali will become more involved in politics in the 1970s and ’80s, moving away from her family to Honolulu. As Hi‘i grows up, she tries to fit into the Naupaka family, undertaking rigorous training to learn hula, but her efforts often go awry. The novel moves back and forth in time to tell the stories of its characters and their home, most often focusing on Hi‘i as the main character. Although its pace can sometimes slow, lush descriptions of the natural environment and warm depictions of family events enrich the novel.

A grandmother, mother, and daughter are shaped by the continuing trauma of Hawaiian history.