Voices of Wisdom
Hawaiian elders speak
M.J. Harden
Photography by Steve Brinkman
Published by Aka Press, 1999
The 24 Hawaiians interviewed in Voices of Wisdom are kãhuna, in the old days considered the best
in their fields.
Through these 24, we learn about a discipline, talent or skill valued in Hawaiian culture.
All are leaders of the cultural renaissance that awakened the Hawaiian spirit in recent decades.
These are people who have led lives that matter, and what matters most to them is to keep lit the flame
of a culture that nearly died. Through their efforts, Hawaiian culture will live on into the next century.
"... a brilliant book of interviews with amazing photographs."
- Liz Janes, The Maui News
"The book is emotionally inspiring all the way through."
- Kihei Times
"Harden spent more than three years listening to the stories of the most
revered Kupuna in the islands. The result is a book of living Hawaiian history.
Harden has done what scholars often find so difficult: making the past exciting and smoothly
linking it to the present."
- Valerie Monson, The Maui News
"Beautifully written and very intertaining, a great way to learn Hawaiian culture."
- Masha Wienert, Executive Director Maui Visitors Bureau
"These uncompromising men and woman revived Hawaiian language, dance and music; they rediscovered
native arts such as kapa making, herbal healing and open-sea navigation; they began the struggle for
sovereignty - in short, they pulled their own culture back from the brink of extinction.
Today's Hawaiian elders constitute a truly heroic generation.
Each chapter represents an encounter - and I mean a good, rich, insightful, thought-provoking encounter
- with a different member of this heroic generation."
- Paul Wood, Haleakala Times
"Steve Brinkman's masterful black-and-white portraits are intimate, as though you're just about to clasp the person's hand."
- Kihei Times
"... a true labor of love."
- West Hawai'i Today
(The text above comes from the back of the book)