Aole no nui na moolelo i kakau a i hoolaha ia no Niihau. He puke keia e hoike ana i na moolelo oiaio o ka ohana Niihau. O ka mea i okoa ai o Niihau, he aina ku okoa oia nona iho, no ka olelo, ka noho ana, a me na moolelo o ka aina, pela i okoa ai. Ua kakau ia keia puke e ke kupa i hanai ia ma Niihau no iwakaluakumakahi mau makahiki. O na moolelo i kakau ia i loko o keia puke, he mau moolelo no na Niihau a mai ka waha pololei mai o na kupuna i aloha nui i ka aina a me na haku aina o Niihau. He puke keia no ka hoohanohano ana i na kupuna o Niihau, ka poe hoi no lakou ia mau moolelo i lohe mua ole ia e ka poe ma waho ae o Niihau. Ma o keia puke e ola mau ai ka leo ao o na kupuna no kakou a me na hanauna e hiki mai ana.

Not much has been written or published about the island of Niihau. Mai Pukaiki Kula Maniania a Puuwai Aloha o ka Ohana showcases authentic stories of the place, ones previously known only to that island’s people. Niihau has a unique history and a self-sufficient community who speaks a distinct dialect of Hawaiian language. Annette Kuuipolani Kanahele Wong, a former resident of Niihau who lived there for the first twenty-one years of her life, has recorded stories passed down orally by Niihau’s people, who cherished their land and respected the owners. By writing these stories, Wong hopes to perpetuate the voices of her ancestors whose remarkable tales teach us and the following generations about life on the island.

• Annette Ku‘uipolani Wong, Author

  Annette Kuuipolani Kanahele Wong is associate professor at Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language, Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She was born and raised on the island of Ni‘ihau.
  
  ‘O Annette Kuuipolani Kanahele Wong, he hope polopeka no Kawaihuelani, ka Hālau ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i ma lalo o ke kula o Hawai‘inuiākea. He kupa i hānau a hānai ‘ia no ka ‘āina o Ni‘ihau.