Aloha ‘Āina: Island-Wahine Relationality in Hawaiian Mo‘olelo

There exists in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, or the Hawaiian language, a phrase that underpins Indigenous Hawaiian lifeways: aloha ‘āina. This phrase is often translated into English as “love of the land”, but as ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui explains, aloha ‘āina is also “an expression of ‘Oiwi [Hawaiian] feminism in that it seeks to nurture, protect, (re)vitalize, and respect Papahanaumoku [mother earth] as female ancestor, and that such action benefits not just wāhine [women], but the entire lāhui [peoples, nations]” (ho‘omanawanui 2023, p. 5). This perspective thus places emphasis on the feminine element of the land. This chapter extends the study of aloha ‘āina by considering how Hawaiian stories, known as mo‘olelo, represent the “feminine element” of the land, and specifically the ways in which this constitutes a nuanced relationship between women (wāhine) and land. In doing so, this chapter draws upon and develops Brandy Nālani McDougall’s concept of “island-human relationality”, an “island environmental ethic” that encourages people to view themselves within a familial relationship with the land who is their ancestor (McDougall 2019, p. 203). This essay proposes that Hawaiian mo‘olelo depict the existence of “island-wahine relationality [island-woman relationality]”, wherein engagements with the land are the means through which wāhine are empowered by their female ancestors.