Growing up on the Big Island in the early 20th century, Mary Kawena Pukui felt compelled to collect Hawaiian stories because she feared the inflow of foreign plantation laborers would overwhelm her culture. It would become her life's work.
By the time of her death, Pukui had become her culture's savior, an internationally recognized authority on Hawaiian life, literature and language. She co-authored the Hawaiian Dictionary, which became the bible of the language movement at the heart of the Hawaiian renaissance.
Pukui was born in 1895 in Ka'u. Her father was from Salem, Mass., the descendant of a 17th- century poet. Her mother was a Native Hawaiian who came from a respected line of medical kahunas.
Her love of things Hawaiian started when she was very young. Pukui spent her early childhood years being raised in Ka'u by her maternal grandmother and immersed in her culture. She spoke only Hawaiian and memorized chants, lore and sayings while learning hula. After her grandmother died, she returned to her parents and spoke both Hawaiian and English.
As an adult, she joined the Bishop Museum staff in 1937, where she devoted 25 years to preserving Hawaiian culture. Pukui composed more than 150 songs and chants and was the co-author, editor or translator on more than 50 books, including the Hawaiian Dictionary, which she created along with Samuel Elbert and published in 1957.
Pukui died in 1986 at a convalescent home in Honolulu. She was 91.
