As part of my ongoing moʻokūʻauhau research, and from a deep love of history, I’ve been sitting with an important question: What were our people actually saying in their own voices during these pivotal moments in Hawaiian history? Too often, the story of Hawaiʻi in 1893 is told about us, rather than by us. The narratives that most people encounter are filtered through foreign newspapers, official government reports, or later historical interpretations. But our kūpuna were writing, publishing, debating, praying, warning, grieving, and hoping, in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, and in real time. To better understand that lived reality, I decided to return to the source. While researching my own genealogy, I found myself repeatedly turning to Hawaiian-language newspapers. ( Papakilo ) In them, I heard something unmistakable: clarity, restraint, faith, fear, resistance, unity, and deep aloha ʻāina, all expressed directly by the poʻe of that time. I wanted to know: ...
David Kaluna M. Kaʻaiakamanu (c.1855–1928) was a Native Hawaiian pastor from Kīpahulu, Maui, who served congregations at Kīpahulu, Hāna, Waiheʻe, and later Hauʻula (Oʻahu). Ordained on May 21, 1899, he became known not only as a church leader but also as an authority on Hawaiian culture—especially laʻau lapaʻau (native medicine). While working with Hawaiʻi’s Board of Health, he compiled the widely cited 1922 volume Hawaiian Herbs of Medicinal Value. He retired around 1917 and passed away in December 1928. Link to Image Photograph by Louis R. Sullivan, Collection, Sullivan Collection Name Notes : “ David K. Kaaiakamanu?” BISHOP MUSEUM ALBUM Book 23, Page 139, Date Range: 1920–1921 More Information/Translations of Nupepa Articles & Handwritten Letters by Kaaiakamanu