In the 15th century, four Tahitians journeyed from their land to Hawaii, says the legend in this book. They were mahu, neither male nor female, but “a mixture of both in mind, heart, and spirit.” Each had skill in healing, and their leader was Kapaemahu. They shared their wisdom with the Hawaiians and in return, the islanders built a monument of four boulders in their honor.
The mahu transferred their powers to the stones, laying idols representing their mahu spirit under each one. The mahu then vanished.
The stones were a sacred site for centuries, then forgotten and buried, then recovered. Yet some people are still suppressing the history that says the healers whom the stones honor were mahu, the book tells us. Those who understand their true story, however, shall “behold their living power”—and those who share the story will honor it.
The story is lyrically told by by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson, with gorgeous illustrations by Daniel Sousa—all part of the creative team behind the award-winning short film Kapaemahu, on which the book is based. Wong-Kalu, a Native Hawaiian teacher, cultural practitioner, filmmaker, and transgender health advocate, is also featured in Hamer and Wilson’s film A Place in the Middle and the associated picture book, Ho’onani: Hula Warrior, based on the true story of a Native Hawaiian child who feels neither wahine (girl) or kane (boy) and wants to join the school performance of a traditional kane hula chant.
The text is in English and Olelo Niihau, a Hawaiian dialect spoken by few today. It was chosen for the book because it is the only uninterrupted form of Hawaiian in continuous used since before the arrival of foreigners, and close to the Polynesian dialects that the mahu may have spoken, the back matter tells us. Back matter also fills in some further details about the stones and offers a short glossary.
A beautiful, important book that not only offers indigenous representation, but also underscores the long history and deep importance of nonbinary people in certain cultures.
