He Kumulipo: the Creation Story of the Hawaiian People

A spiritual resource for sustainable living, this poem records the creation story of the Hawaiian people. It was translated into English by Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii in 1897, while she was under house arrest at Iolani Palace, for her refusal to cooperate with overseers from the U. S. mainland. The poem tells the origin of the stars in the heavens, the plants and animals useful to life on earth, all things named within the chain of birth, and all their representatives in the spirit world: how all of this was born from darkness: The slime, the source of ever deeper darkness, Out of the depth of darkness, depth of darkness; From the sun's darkness, from the depth of night, Came night, and so it was, the night was born.