Last week, Lorilani Keaohokalole-Torio received a gift in the mail. But the book she got wasn't the gift. It was the experience of being part of it.

Keaohokalole-Torio is one of 25 women featured in the newly released "Na Kaikamahine 'o Haumea: The Daughters of Haumea," which clarifies the place of esteem and power held by women in Hawaiian society.

Her role was that of The Bride, whose union with another ali'i created the "sacred child," or hiapo.

In the photo, Keaohokalole-Torio, adorned with lei hulu and body tattoos, is sitting in a secluded place, waiting for her groom. She is wrapped 40 times in finely textured, ornately designed kapa, dyed in bold colors, printed and scented to complement the bride.

When Keaohokalole-Torio did get married several years later at a sacred spot on Kaua'i, she couldn't help but think back to that moment, when she was transformed into the historical role.

"I felt really in the role," said the 38-year-old mother of three and reservations manager at a helicopter tour company on Kaua'i. "And I felt I was doing this for all women. It wasn't really me. It was a photo that would be taken for the future, but I was depicting (a woman) from the past. It was surreal."

That is the power of "Na Kaikamahine 'o Haumea: The Daughters of Haumea," a culmination of decades of research and learning about historical Hawaiian women, out this month.

Written by the mother-daughter team of Lucia and Natalie Jensen, this book has been in the works for more than 30 years, when Lucia's husband, the acclaimed Hawaiian artist Rocky Jensen, first published "Men of Ancient Hawai'i."

"What we did was uncover bits and pieces of the past to make sense of the whole," said author and self-described "eternal student" Lucia Jensen, 66. "It was a path of enlightenment for us."

It was appropriate, then, for the Jensen women to take on the responsibility of the book.

"For me, it was a very big responsibility, but I was up for the challenge of it," said Natalie, 35. "I'm a fiercely proud Hawaiian woman, and I want to share this privilege with other Hawaiian women. ... It's just an empowering tool, all the way around. For me, I hope it empowers them. Not just Hawaiian women, but all women."

The book carefully and poetically describes the role of 25 women in traditional Hawaiian culture, including an obstetrician, master feather worker and interior designer. Each woman had a specific and revered place in society, dispelling notions of a masculine-dominated culture.

To know that men and women in this culture were equal was a glorious revelation to the Jensens.

"They have their own rituals, their own 'aumakua, their own shrines," Lucia said. "They were the creators of all life ... Hawaiians saw it as a patriarchal society and it wasn't. That was my epiphany."

Women as givers of life is a resonating theme in the book, which also states child-bearing was considered a sacred journey.

Somehow, the Jensens say, that concept has been lost.

"It wasn't about quantity (of children), it was quality," Lucia said. "Women were mothers, and they were extremely powerful."

An accomplished photographer, Natalie was responsible for the creative interpretation of each role. Each photograph features a woman who is elaborately costumed and posed to create an impression that readers are sneaking a glimpse into the historical lives of Hawaiian women.

"We tried to capture that," Natalie said. "We wanted to come from a genuine place. We wanted other women to look at these pictures and say, 'That's me.' "

Each woman was specifically chosen for this role. Some are well-versed in Hawaiian culture; others got impromptu lessons at the photo shoot, which took place on the Big Island. They are different shapes, different ages, from different backgrounds. But they did share one thing in common: pride in their Native Hawaiian ancestry.

"They actually became the women (they portrayed)," Lucia said. "They really took the challenge."

Moanikeala Akaka, 61, embodied the role of The Oracle, who can see into the other world. She hopes this book inspires and instills pride in Hawaiian women.

"I hope this gives them insight into the type of women we were and are," said Akaka, activist and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee. "These women have played such an important role in our culture and in society."

Keaohokalole-Torio said she's humbled by her participation in the book, among so many Native Hawaiian women whom she admires. It has incited her to become culturally active again.

"I hope that women from every culture will find something to relate to," Keaohokalole-Torio said. "To find that in their own culture, to dig deeper, to find something they can honor."