The Project Gutenberg EBook of Unwritten Literature of Hawaii, by
Nathaniel Bright Emerson

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Title: Unwritten Literature of Hawaii
The Sacred Songs of the Hula

Author: Nathaniel Bright Emerson

Release Date: January 6, 2007 [EBook #20299]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII ***

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[Illustration
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 38 PLATE I
FEMALE DANCING IN HULA COSTUME]

[Page 1]

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

BULLETIN 38

UNWRITTEN LITERATURE
OF HAWAII
THE SACRED SONGS OF THE HULA

COLLECTED AND TRANSLATED, WITH
NOTES AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE HULA
BY NATHANIEL B. EMERSON, A.M., M.D.

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1909

[Page 2][Blank]

[Page 3]

PREFATORY NOTE

Previous to the year 1906 the researches of the Bureau were
restricted to the American Indians, but by act of Congress
approved June 30 of that year the scope of its operations was
extended to include the natives of the Hawaiian islands.
Funds were not specifically provided, however, for
prosecuting investigations among these people, and in the
absence of an appropriation for this purpose it was
considered inadvisable to restrict the systematic
investigations among the Indian tribes in order that the new
field might be entered. Fortunately the publication of
valuable data pertaining to Hawaii is already provided for,
and the present memoir by Doctor Emerson is th