L. R. McBride (1926–1993)
Author of Petroglyphs of Hawaii
About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
Born Richard, changed name to Likeke (the Hawai'ian equivalent) in 1972.
Works by L. R. McBride
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- McBride, Likeke R.
- Other names
- McBride, Richard
- Birthdate
- 1926
- Date of death
- 1993-10
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Ohio State University
- Occupations
- Serviceman
Park ranger
Woodcarver
author - Short biography
- At the time of writing The Kahuna, the author lived with his son Andrew in Volcano, Hawaii. For years he had been a student of all things Hawaiian and has lectured on the geology, the history and the legends of Hawaii. During a decade of college, he acquired an academic background in astronomy and geology. Following WWII he attended Ohio University and after the Korean conflict completed a B.Sc. degree and post graduate work in geology at Ohio State University. He was associated with the national Park Service at Hawaii Volcano National Park for 11 years, specializing in Hawaiiana which enabled him to use the fund of island stories and tradition begun as a young man in Hawaii.
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Volcano, Hawai'i, Hawaii, USA
- Place of death
- Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- Born Richard, changed name to Likeke (the Hawai'ian equivalent) in 1972.
- Associated Place (for map)
- Hawaii, USA
Members
Reviews
If you've ever read a collection of "true" ghost stories, this is similar, only about the kāhuna. It is a collection of (mostly unsourced) statements purporting to demonstrate that the Hawaiians, like all non-industrialized societies colonized by Europeans, knew more about the world and the universe than Europeans did prior to the 20th century. True? Some of it. Possibly. Good luck identifying which parts, though. It is folklore presented uncritically as anthropology or history, and as long show more as you take it as such, it's tolerable.
What's intolerable is the writing . . . style, shall we say? The chapter organization is fair, but below that it's crap. Within each chapter the train of thought meanders. Sometimes one paragraph accommodates several ideas, sometimes one idea is discussed in the course of several paragraphs (and the meandering can make that hard to follow). Many, many Hawaiian words are provided, to no purpose that I can tell. If this were a technical work and McBride wanted to be clear what Hawaiian concept he was glossing in English, that would be fine; but it's not a technical work. The writing is what I would expect from a middle-school term paper.
Evidently it was originally intended as a (possibly souvenir?) corrective to an implied popular American conception of the kāhuna as 'witch doctors.' From that perspective it's interesting as an artifact of cultural politics, for which the veracity of specifics isn't the goal: driving out the notion that the Hawaiians were benighted heathens is. show less
What's intolerable is the writing . . . style, shall we say? The chapter organization is fair, but below that it's crap. Within each chapter the train of thought meanders. Sometimes one paragraph accommodates several ideas, sometimes one idea is discussed in the course of several paragraphs (and the meandering can make that hard to follow). Many, many Hawaiian words are provided, to no purpose that I can tell. If this were a technical work and McBride wanted to be clear what Hawaiian concept he was glossing in English, that would be fine; but it's not a technical work. The writing is what I would expect from a middle-school term paper.
Evidently it was originally intended as a (possibly souvenir?) corrective to an implied popular American conception of the kāhuna as 'witch doctors.' From that perspective it's interesting as an artifact of cultural politics, for which the veracity of specifics isn't the goal: driving out the notion that the Hawaiians were benighted heathens is. show less
In ancient Hawai'i the kahuna were for more than the priests of a religious order. They were experts, trained in a variety of skills and occupations, the learned and porfessional men and women of their time. On them rested the responsibility of preserving and advancing knowledge within their specific discipline. They arrived at their positions only after more than two decades of training.
L. R. McBride collected information about the kanuna for many years through extensive research in 19th show more century writings and interviews with Hawaiian people. In this fascinating account he gives an accurate and unsensational account of what the kahuna meant in the Hawaiian culture of long ago. McBride includes fascinating legends and stories concerning individual kahuna. Illustrated with reproductions of historic prints, photographs and drawings by the author and others, The Kahuna presents a readable introduction to a fascinating aspect of ancient Hawaiian culture.
Contents
Foreword
Who were the Kahuna?
The origins of the kahuna
The versatile kahuna
Astronomers and navigators
Botanists and agriculturists
The geologists
The meteorologists
Artists and poets
Healers
Other professions
Sorcrers
The power of words
In conclusion
Additions and corrections 1983
Bibliography
Additions and corrections 2000
Bibliography 2000
Glossary
About the author show less
L. R. McBride collected information about the kanuna for many years through extensive research in 19th show more century writings and interviews with Hawaiian people. In this fascinating account he gives an accurate and unsensational account of what the kahuna meant in the Hawaiian culture of long ago. McBride includes fascinating legends and stories concerning individual kahuna. Illustrated with reproductions of historic prints, photographs and drawings by the author and others, The Kahuna presents a readable introduction to a fascinating aspect of ancient Hawaiian culture.
Contents
Foreword
Who were the Kahuna?
The origins of the kahuna
The versatile kahuna
Astronomers and navigators
Botanists and agriculturists
The geologists
The meteorologists
Artists and poets
Healers
Other professions
Sorcrers
The power of words
In conclusion
Additions and corrections 1983
Bibliography
Additions and corrections 2000
Bibliography 2000
Glossary
About the author show less
I love seeing petroglyphs & this was my first time seeing some in Hawaii. I was hoping the book would reveal more about the history of the ones there, but it didn't add much info from what I had already learned from posted signs. I think there hasn't been extensive study &/or there isn't much knowledge available about the background/meanings of the petroglyphs.
Contents
Who were the kahuna?
The origins of the kahuna
The versatile kahuna
Astronomers and navigators
Botanists and agriculturists
The geologists
The meterologists
Artists and poets
Healers
Sorcerers
The power of words
In conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Who were the kahuna?
The origins of the kahuna
The versatile kahuna
Astronomers and navigators
Botanists and agriculturists
The geologists
The meterologists
Artists and poets
Healers
Sorcerers
The power of words
In conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Statistics
- Works
- 11
- Members
- 121
- Popularity
- #164,306
- Rating
- 2.8
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 11
- Favorited
- 1