Date of Award
Spring 6-13-2025
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Anthropology
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Anthropology
First Advisor
Alejandro Cerón
Second Advisor
Kelly Fayard
Third Advisor
Sarah Morelli
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Ea, Hawaiian sovereignty, Kānaka Maoli, Mele Hawai'i, Songs, Native Hawaiian, Indigenous feminism
Abstract
This thesis examines the relationship between contemporary Hawaiian mele (songs) and Hawaiian ea (sovereignty), focusing on how mele acts as sovereign living entities representing cultural resilience, identity, and resistance to settler-colonial influences. Through semi-structured interviews with Kānaka Maoli, participant observation at cultural events, and close analysis of mele, I identify that these songs are not only expressions of cultural memory, but also living embodiments of ea—sovereignty because they are alive, and they are alive because they are ea. Drawing from the frameworks of cultural survival, survivance, symbolic power, and defiant indigeneity, I explore how mele actively engage in the continuation of Hawaiian identity and the movement for Native Hawaiian self-determination. I challenge dominant, state-centered definitions of sovereignty by viewing it through an Indigenous Feminisms lens, guided by relationality. In this thesis, I argue that mele are sovereign acts that resist colonial narratives while maintaining and transmitting the knowledge, histories, and practices of Kānaka Maoli. Contemporary Hawaiian songs are not limited to artistic expressions, but they are critical acts of ea that affirm Kānaka Maoli presence, protect ancestral ties, and resist Euro-American perspectives of sovereignty.
Copyright Date
6-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Kēhaulani Lagunero
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
124 pgs
File Size
1.3 MB
Recommended Citation
Lagunero, Kēhaulani, "E Ho’omau Mākau, We Will Continue: The Living Sovereign Entities of Contemporary Hawaiian Songs" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2579.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2579
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Hawaiian Studies Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Music Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons