The Past Before Us: Mo‘okū‘auhau as Methodology ed. by Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu (review)

IN THE PAST BEFORE US: MO‘OK – Ū‘AUHAU AS METHODOLOGY, edited by Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu, contributor Lisa Kahale‘ole Hall sums up the strengths and possibilities of this collection, saying that mo‘okū‘auhau, “to riff on the classic ‘turtle story’ of the world . . . is Hawaiian all the way down” (116). She also genealogizes our connections with others across the seas who struggle against oppression in order to remind us that these relationships do not dilute our mo‘okū‘auhau, they only enrich them.

This collection rests between two evocative possibilities: mo‘okū‘auhau as highly specific to Kānaka ‘Ōiwi, those of us indigenous to Hawai‘i, but also mo‘okū‘auhau as broadly applicable to other cultures and peoples who are able to trace their genealogies and connections to land (though this is not a luxury afforded to all). In the widest sense, mo‘okū‘auhau is a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi concept that refers to genealogy and lineage. But someone who knows our histories and stories would also be called a pa‘a mo‘okū‘auhau, a person to whom genealogies were firmly grasped. Mo‘okū‘auhau is what allows us to trace our origins back to the primordial darkness we call Pō and is thus connected to nearly all facets of Kanaka life. The broad utility of mo‘okū‘auhau as an analytic and methodological lens is what this volume really brings to the fore, covering a wide range of topics, including “language, literature, cosmology, spirituality, diaspora, identity, relationships, activism, colonialism, and cultural practice” (cover copy).

Wilson-Hokowhitu curated a collection of nine essays from and across various disciplines, including political science, English, Indigenous studies, Pacific Islands studies, Hawaiian studies, environmental science, sociology, history, ethnic studies, education, and women’s studies (2). While the Kanaka scholars in this book come from different academic fields, the throughlines of their essays include not just mo‘okū‘auhau but also ‘āina, or land, which is not only an important cultural foundation in its own right but also a crucial component of mo‘okū‘auhau, and ea, which refers to life/breath/rising/sovereignty. Some authors, like well-respected Hawaiian education advocate Kū Kahakalau, write about the evolution of methodologies based on mo‘okū‘auhau that have guided their work for decades, while others, like David Chang, speak about the power of mo‘okū‘auhau to transgress the boundaries placed upon us by the current settler-colonial system.

In the essay “From Malihini to Hoa‘āina: Reconnecting People, Places, and Practices,” Hōkūlani Aikau reminds us of the importance of paying attention to the limits of mo‘okū‘auhau in certain ways, particularly when that connection to ‘āina comes into play. ku‘ualoha ho‘omanawanui’s “E Ho‘i i ka Piko (Returning to the Center): Theorizing Mo‘okū‘auhau as Methodology in an Indigenous Literary Context” also centers ‘āina, as she explains the applications of mo‘okū‘auhau for Hawaiians and other indigenous folks by providing her own mo‘okū‘auhau in terms of place, academic knowledge, and cultural ‘ike both inside and outside of Hawai‘i, showing some of the important ways mo‘okū‘auhau can be brought to bear.

Though Wilson-Hokowhitu ensured that all of the chapters contribute to the larger discussion about the importance of mo‘okū‘auhau and ‘āina to our academic practices, understandings of the world, and liberatory practices of research and education, the standout chapter is Mehana Blaich-Vaughn’s “He Haku Aloha: Research as Lei Making.” Blaich-Vaughn discusses how her work on natural resources intersects with place and the mo‘okū‘auhau of practice that she inherited from her tūtū, her grandmother. Blaich-Vaughn’s piece is elegant and generous, drawing from reminiscences of her tūtū’s lei-making lessons, connecting research and working with and in community to ‘āina, the land, and the kaiaola, all of the life upon it: “Research can...