Book
Information:
HAWAIIAN
LEGENDS OF DREAMS
Retold and Illuminated by Caren Loebel-Fried
Foreword by Keola Beamer
University of Hawai'i Press, 2005
128 pages, 60 illustrations, 20 in color $19.95, Cloth
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of Hawai'i Press:
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HAWAIIAN LEGENDS OF DREAMS
Retold and Illuminated by Caren Loebel-Fried
Foreword by Keola Beamer
The Hawaiian word for dream, moe`uhane, means “soul sleep.”
But rather than sleep, spirits roamed through the nights of old Hawai`i
and had great adventures in dreams. While sleeping, people communicated
with the `aumäkua, their ancestral guardians, and this important
relationship was kept alive through dreaming. People received guiding
messages from the gods in their dreams. Romantic relationships blossomed
in dreams, and people pined throughout the day for their dream husband
or wife, longing for night when they could sleep and dream again. People
paid special attention to a prophetic dream, or a dream in which the cure
to an illness was revealed. Dreams provided inspiration, teaching songs
and dances that were remembered and performed upon waking. There were
specialists in dream interpretation. Dreams were analyzed and relied upon
for every important decision in the days of old Hawai`i.
Ancient Hawaiians had no written language and legends were committed to
memory and passed down orally from generation to generation. Legends contained
the history of the people and taught lessons about life. Reading the legends
today, we step back in time and catch a glimpse of the world of Hawai’i
long ago. And within the legends are a multitude of dreams. Hawaiian Legends
of Dreams is told with words and pictures, fully illustrated by award-winning
artist Caren Loebel-Fried. A companion volume to Hawaiian Legends of the
Guardian Spirits, Caren’s first book of stories and art, this collection
contains ancient legends that are brought to life with 60 block prints,
some in full, vibrant color and others in graphic black and white. Within
this volume are legends that tell of the importance of dreams in the days
of old Hawai’i, such as in the famous legend of Pele who is lured
by the beating of a distant drum and travels in a dream to meet and entrance
Lohi`au. More recent accounts of dream experiences, found within the notes,
reveal that dreams continue to play an important role in Hawaiian life
and are considered by many to have the same useful qualities as in the
days of old. Told in a lively, “read-aloud” style, in the
way that the storytellers of old might have told them, this volume is
enjoyable for both kama’aina and malihini, native-born and newcomer,
and readers young and old.
From
the Foreword by Keola Beamer:
"Dreams are the beginning. They are the seed of our ambitions,
the source of our inspiration, and the impetus for our creations. The
book you hold in your hands is the manifestation of Caren Loebel-Fried’s
dream to share the mana`o of traditional Hawaiians on the amorphous world
of dreams. In this book, her love of our culture is evident in her research
and beautiful art. She has captured the spirit of our view of the world,
in which all things are connected and there is no distance between souls,
alive or passed over, which cannot be bridged. We believe that mana, or
life force, flows through the universe, and all things have a voice …
even our dreams.
I want to thank Ms. Loebel-Fried for inviting me to write the foreword
to this collection and for honoring my family by including our dear Sweetheart
Grama, (Helen Desha Beamer), who often received her songs through dreams."
Critical
Acclaim for Hawaiian Legends of Dreams:
“Caren Loebel-Fried's Hawaiian Legends of Dreams is intimate
in size. Her 60 illustrations, in striking blockprinting, often with color
washes, complement but never overpower the stories. This handsome volume,
printed on glossy heavyweight paper, explores the significance of dreams
in Hawaiian culture. Nine poignant tales are woven together with interesting
bits of history. A great deal of effort has gone to ensuring the work
is accurate. Footnotes point to discrepancies among sources when these
occur. Historical notes occasionally follow a story, effectively tying
the past to the present. Hawaiian Legends of Dreams evokes a
feeling of reverence for the legends, the culture and history, and the
attention to detail.”
-The Honolulu Advertiser, January 2006, by Jolie Jean Cotton
“Having
no written language, Hawaiians passed their history and life lessons down
in the form of legends, which were committed to memory and told and retold.
Artist Caren Loebel-Fried retells nine dream stories from Hawai`i’s
past. The writing is appropriate for the subject matter and the quality
of the full-color block print artwork is first-rate.”
-The Honolulu Star Bulletin, September 2005
“On
page 58 of this issue we explore the trials and tribulations and inevitable
complexities of learning the Hawaiian language. But this book describes
in nine dream stories from Hawai‘i’s past how, having no written
language, Hawaiians passed their history and life lessons down in the
form of legends, which were committed to memory and then told again and
again. Hawaiian Legends of Dreams, retold and illuminated by
Caren Loebel-Fried, with a foreword by Keola Beamer, tells, among other
things, how Hawaiians of old believed they communicated with ‘aumakua,
their ancestral guardians, while sleeping. During sleep, people received
lessons of guidance from the gods.”
-Spirit of Aloha Magazine, December 2005
“…Like
her earlier book, Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits, this
newest release by Caren Loebel-Fried will be appreciated by readers for
her interpretations of legends and unique block prints.”
-The Molokai Advertiser-News, September 2005
