Legends of the Wailuku

The Wailuku River runs through Hawaii like a vein of old magic. In these pages, gathered from a time when the stories were still told by firelight, Charlotte Hapai preserves the legends that make that land speak. Here is Maui, the great demi-god, pulling islands from the sea with his enchanted fishhook. Here is his mother Hina, for whom the river is named, and the terrible dragon Kuna who threatened her. Here too are the laws of King Kamehameha, handed down from the gods who once walked these volcanic shores. These aren't just fairy tales. They are the memory of a people, encoded in rock and water, in the way light falls on Mauna Kea at dawn. For readers who have felt the pull of Pacific islands, who want to understand not just where Hawaii is, but what it means, these legends are the key.