Hawaiian Mythology Audiobook By Martha Warren Beckwith cover art

Hawaiian Mythology

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Hawaiian Mythology

By: Martha Warren Beckwith
Narrated by: Sarah Kempton
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In this now classic text, Martha Beckwith skillfully navigated an expansive collection of books, articles, and manuscripts to compile the definitive collection of mythological narratives of the native Hawaiian peoples. In addition to its importance for Hawaiian folklore and ethnology proper, Beckwith situates these stories within their broader regional context, offering comparisons to the traditions of Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa and other island nations.

©1940 Martha Beckwith (P)2023 Licensing Management, Inc.
Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Cultural & Regional Oceania State & Local United States Hawaii
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Hawaiian Mythology

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I Have Reservations

To begin with I am Hawaiian. While a bunch of these mythologies are interesting and gives me an insight into my heritage. What I have a problem with is the mispronunciation of a bunch of the Hawaiian words and names. It is bad how some of the names of people and places are absolutely slaughtered. The annoyance made it hard to follow some of this book since I had to figure out what they were trying to say.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Too much mispronunciation

The five vowels in the Hawaiian language are always pronounced the same. There is no “magic e”.

This audiobook would be so much better if just a little effort had been made to familiarize the narrator with the basics of Hawaiian pronunciation.

No doubt, longer words can be very difficult, but given that the book is about Hawaiian mythology it seems reasonable to expect that the two syllable name of the highest deity in the Hawaiian pantheon, “Kāne”, could have been pronounced correctly, i.e. as something more like “KAH-NEH”, and not as a homophone of “Cain”.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beckwith’s Hawaiian Mythology is a must have for any one interested in Hawaiian mythology.

I read the book 20 years ago and was happy to find it finally available on Audible. The book is great and the narrator does a good job overall. The only downside was her lack of understanding of Polynesian pronunciation.

For those interested in exploring more titles on this subject I highly recommend Hawaiian Mythology: The Legends and Myths of Hawaii by King David Kalakaua.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

this recordding needs to be scrapped

this book needed to have been read by a Hawaiian Language speaker. the performance was torturous to listen to due to the 100% mispronounced Hawaiian words. this is an insult to Polynesians everywhere and our ancestors.

I want my credit back and this recording should be removed immediately as every listener will receive wrong and confusing information. this is just plane shameful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Readers accent and awkward pronunciation

Reader could not pronounce Hawaiian words. Ruined the ability to listen to the book every time she read anything not English.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful