Kapu: Gender Roles in Traditional Society

Kapu touches upon the sensitive issue of the role of men and women in Native Hawaiian society. Looking for the earliest traditional and historical accounts, Malcolm Nāea Chun traces the roles of men and women in traditional society and describes the ending of the Kapu system and the influence brought about by the introduction of foreigners and foreign ideas. He then poses a most difficult question for Native Hawaiians since the ending of the kapu system and the overthrow of the kingdom: what are the roles of Native Hawaiian men and women today? Do they preserve and represent Hawaiian culture and society, and if not, what is being done about it?

This book is one of twelve short volumes of the Ka Wana series, which is part of the Pihana Nā Mamo Native Hawaiian Education Program.

Malcolm Nāea Chun

Softcover, 33 pp.