Research Tools & Strategies - PACS 108: Pacific Worlds - Folktales - Research Guides at University of Hawaii at Manoa

Keywords & subject headings

By Geography

If searching for the legends of a particular place, use the following subject headings and the name of the country/territory within the Voyager Subject tab.

Cosmology
Cosmogony
Mythology
Legends
Folklore
Folk literature
Origin
Tales
Oral tradition
History

By Deity

If looking for specific deities, try with keyword searching (playing with various spellings)

There are a few deities you can search for by subject search (see list below), but these appear to be limited to Polynesia/Hawaiʻi. However, most deities are mentioned within more general texts, so keyword searching is best in this case.

Maui (Polynesian deity)
Hina (Polynesian deity)
Io (Polynesian deity)
Kūkāʻilimoku (Polynesian deity)
Tangaroa (Polynesian deity)
Pele (Hawaiian deity)
Kamapuaʻa (Hawaiian deity)
Hiʻiaka (Hawaiian deity)
Hāloa (Hawaiian deity)

Other Resources

This online guide is primarily intended for students researching origin stories. If you are doing research on other Pacific-related topics, you might also find this guide useful.

You can also find a wealth of subject-specific online guides here.

Basic Research Checklist

Outlined below is an overview process meant to get you started on your search. Often the best search strategy for finding Hawaiʻi and Pacific related material follows these six steps, in this order:

1) Look through the various reference sources compiled about this topic;

2) Search Voyager (books and media);

3) Search the Hawaii-Pacific Journal Index (HPJI) (journal and magazine articles);

4) Search OneSearch (books, media, journal and magazine articles);

5) Search online news sources;

6) Search Google Scholar (articles)/Google books (books).

Note: This online guide is primarily intended for students researching origin stories. If you are doing research on other Pacific-related topics, you might also find this guide useful. You can also find a wealth of subject-specific online guides here.

Places to look, tools to use

The Far East and Australasia by Europa Publications
Call Number: DS 502 .F37
Annual publication with detailed overview information (history, geography, population and economic statistics) for every country in the Pacific, including U.S. affiliated (Hawaiʻi, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa). This can be a useful resource when researching conditions in the country of origin for Pacific Islanders living in Hawaiʻi. Most recent editions are located in the 1st floor reference section and in the Asia reference collection on the 4th floor, as well as in Hawaiian and Pacific Collections reference shelves.
The Pacific Islands: an encyclopedia by Brij V. Lal; Kate Fortune
Call Number: DU17 .P3 2000
ISBN: 082482265x
Publication Date: 2000
Information on major aspects of Pacific life, including the physical environment, peoples, history, politics, economy, society and culture.
A Motif-Index of Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian Narratives by Bacil F. Kirtley; Richard M. Dorson (Editor)
Call Number: GR380 .K49 1980
Publication Date: 1981
Provides citations to books and journal articles covering such topics as "Cosmogony and Cosmology" (that is the creation of the universe and the earth), "Creation and ordering of human life" and so forth.
Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology by Craig, Robert D.
Call Number: BL2620.P6 C7 1989
ISBN: 9780313258909
Publication Date: 1989
Good source of information on various mythological characters, which often find their way into modern Pacific literature. An online copy available here for UHM affiliates.
Handbook of Polynesian Mythology by Craig, Robert D.
Call Number: BL2620.P6 C72 2004
Publication Date: 2004
A good companion to the Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology. Includes more general entries on creation/origin stories for various Polynesian island groups.
Micronesian Religion and Lore: A Guide to Sources, 1526-1990 by Haynes, Douglas E.
Call Number: BL2620.M625 H39 1995
Publication Date: 1995
A collection of citations to books and journal articles relating to Micronesia. See index at back of book for listings under "Creation myths," "Deities," "Genealogical legends," "Geographical myths," "Myths and legends" and so forth.
Micronesian histories : an analytical bibliography and guide to interpretations by Nicholas J. Goetzfridt and Karen M. Peacock
Call Number: DU500 .G64 2002
Publication Date: 2002
This book offers a detailed exploration into some aspects of Micronesian Histories.

Hawaiian Legends Index
Index of Hawaiian legends (English language versions), including references to Hawaiian places, people (historical and mythological), plants, animals, objects and activities, human characteristics, geographical features, natural phenomena.

Hawaii-Pacific Journal Index (HPJI) (for articles about Hawai'i and the Pacific)

Hawaii-Pacific Journal Index is not a full-text database, but it does search the contents of more than 130 scholarly journals and "popular press" magazines published in or about Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

All of the searching in HPJI is by keyword. Go to the Advanced Search mode and input relevant keywords. Suggestions available in the box to the left.

HPJI advanced search

You will get a list of articles.

HPJI advanced search results

In the article record it will indicate at the bottom how to access the article. In this example there are copies available electronically, on microfilm, and in print:

Most of the magazines and journals indexed in the HPJI are only available in print, held in the Hawaiʻi and Pacific Collections in UHM library.
- For print-only journals, you will need to go back into the Voyager database, search for the journal title in basic search mode, and then use "Get This Item" to request the specific journal the article appears in. Here are instructions on how to request an item from the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections
- Remember to save the publishing information (article title, journal title, issue date, page numbers). You will need them when you request the Journal issue.

OneSearch Manoa
Includes descriptions of most UH library physical holdings, plus a huge index of academic journals on most topics. Also includes conference papers, maps, government documents, music scores, DVDs, archives & manuscripts, and more. OneSearch does not find everything that the library has, but it is a useful starting point for looking for a wide variety of material.

NEWS AGREGATORS

News agregators are websites that gather news from a variety of other sources, or in some cases simply offer links directly to other news sources. They generally feature the major news stories of the Pacific and are therefore the best place to start for most basic news research. The best of the below is arguably the first link on the list, The Pacific Islands Report.

For a more comprehensive listing of online newspapers, magazines, radio and television broadcasts, CLICK HERE.

Google searches can provide good overviews, but remeber that they will not get you everything.

Google Scholar (searching for articles in scholarly journals)

UH users: access from the Library webpage, click on "Selected Resources" and select Google Scholar from the pull-down menu.

Library website selected resources menu

To access UH-accessible articles, click on the link to the right

If you find an article in Google Scholar that the library doesn't subscribe to electronically, search in the Voyager catalog to see if we subscribe to the print version.
If the library doesn't subscribe to print, they can be requested through the Interlibrary Loan service.

Google Books (searching full text within a book)

Depending on copyright you may get the full book, or just a "snippet", but usually enough to tell you if it would be a useful resource.

Remember to check the Voyager catalog if you want to see the print version of the book. Almost all books should be available in the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. Any that aren't can be requested through the Interlibrary Loan service.

PACS 108: Pacific Worlds - Folktales: Research Tools & Strategies

Keywords & subject headings

Other Resources

Basic Research Checklist

Places to look, tools to use