Listen to the Forest - Eddie Kamae

Music and Video Archive Preservation Project

The essential elements of Hawaiian culture have been passed on from generation to generation within the ‘ohana (family) in unwritten forms: chants, stories, music and dance.

Throughout the islands’ dramatic transition from monarchy to tourism-based economy, Hawaiian family structures have changed and evidence of the old traditions has become increasingly scarce. The Hawaiian Legacy Series Archive will document and preserve disappearing traditions, and ensure they remain accessible for future generations.

Examples of why this work is vital include:

Songs written in the later half of the 19th century were filled with poetry that is now rarely used in Hawaiian music. Through his research, Eddie Kamae has re-discovered and documented many of these songs.
The cadence of the Hawaiian language has also changed dramatically in the 20th century. Eddie has researched and recorded people still speaking in the traditional ways.
More than thirty of the people Eddie has interviewed and recorded have passed on. In many cases, Eddie’s recordings represent the best or only remaining record of their knowledge and wisdom.

The video tapes and audio tapes containing these uniquely Hawaiian rhythms, songs and stories are fragile, and could be lost forever. Photographs, original letters, original musical scores and lyrics must also be documented and cared for. These irreplaceable materials must be preserved.

Less than a quarter of over 1,000 hours of video and film that Eddie and The Hawaiian Legacy team have recorded has been included in the seven documentaries that make up the award-winning series. Other original materials such as interviews, songs and Hawaiian stories that are not included in the completed programs have never been shared with the public. It is vital to preserve and protect all of these irreplaceable, original materials.

Archive: Preserving and protecting the resource materials and to share these treasures now and with future generations.

DVDs: Conversion from video to DVD helps to preserves the completed documentaries and make them accessible.
CDs: Much of Eddie’s original music and the music his research has uncovered has never been recorded.

For more information on how to make a contribution to this important project for future generations click here.