IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 International Journal of Humanity Studies http://e-journal.usd.ac.id/index.php/IJHS Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 97 AN ECOLINGUISTICS ANALYSIS OF THE WIND GOURD OF LA’AMAOMAO Kristiawan Indriyanto Universitas Gadjah Mada correspondence: kristiawan.i@mail.ugm.ac.id DOI: 10.24071/ijhs.v5i1.3717 received 7 September 2021; accepted 30 September 2021 Abstract This study foregrounds the Native Hawai’ians’ interconnection between culture and nature through ecolinguistics analysis of the Wind Gourd of La’amaomao. The language use in this Hawai’ian folktale emphasizes the reverence Hawai’ian people have toward their environment based on familial kinship. The analysis mainly focuses on two aspects of language use in accordance with Stibbe’s theory of ecolinguistics, ideology/discourse and evaluation/appraisal. The study also posits the ecosophy/ecological philosophy derived from the text in consideration with the current state of environmental crisis. The finding argues that the discourse employed in the text is positive, based on recognizing the need of sustainability. The positive discourse is also reflected through close emotional connection between people and place as seen through wind naming pattern and Hawai’ian place names. Secondly, nature is also appraised positively with celebratory tone and in term of vocabulary used. The study concludes that alternative way of perceiving the environment as seen from the reading of the Wind Gourd of La’amaomao should be considered as a critique toward Western anthropocentrism. Keywords: Hawai’ian literature, ecolinguistics, language use Introduction In recent years, a growing interest of the environment, or the ‘environmental turn’ is observed among scholar of humanities. This issue is intertwined within a burgeoning awareness of environmental problems on a global scale, such as climate change and ozone layer depletion. In the Anthropocene Era, Western’s perception toward nature is considered as one rationalization behind the current environmental crisis which lead into the necessity of perceiving alternative paradigm of human and nature relationship. The epistemology of indigenous people, once criticized as the example of the backwardness of non-Western culture is now contemplated as a more sustainable outlook in conceptualizing humanity’s position within a wider ecosystem. (Buell, Heise, & Thornber, 2011) The indigenous perspective on the environment is articulated through their language use and their cultural production. Indigenous people, through their interaction and negotiation with the environment have developed detailed system of first-hand knowledge about local environment and their dynamics, as well as the resulting practices, beliefs, institutions, and traditions. IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 98 The sanctity of nature is emphasized through epistemology that emphasizes interconnection of all entities. For Native peoples, ecology is the cosmology of interrelatedness. This interdependent orientation includes all things within the ecosphere (planet), as well as above and outside of it (sun, moon, stars, planets, spirits, and ancestors). Within the material realm there are humans and nonhumans such as plants, minerals, and animals—what we call ‘‘nature.’’(Machiorlatti, 2010, p. 65) The adherence towards nature, reflected in their language, worldview, tradition and cultural production can be observed in Hawai’ian indigenous ethnic group/Kanaka Maoli. Hawai’ian indigenous people are a society that conceptualizes nature as the founding tenets of their pre-Western contact tradition and is still observed into the contemporary period. Hawai’ian conception of nature highly regards nature not only as having intrinsic value by itself but also contains sacred values. Nature is foregrounded as the basis of Hawai’ian indigenous culture in form of local wisdoms, prohibitions (kapu), genealogical/familial tree from shared ancestry of mythological figure, ancestral knowledge, both orature/oral and written literature. These aspects in Hawai’ian tradition exemplifies the centrality of nature within their culture. Hawai’ians’ respect toward nature is derived from a shared familial tie that asserts nature as the biological sibling of their ethnic ancestors. The creation myth of Kanaka Maoli, as canonized in the book of Kumulipo (Beckwith, 1972) positions the native people of Hawai’i as the youngest child from the deities Papa and Wakea and the islands of the archipelago as their elder siblings. As the youngest sibling, Hawai’ian people are responsible to preserve and maintain nature which in turn will repay their kindness through providing provision to sustain living. The Kanaka Maoli have a genealogical, familial relationship to the land. The islands were said to have been conceived and born like human beings, of the same parents, Papahanaumoku who gives birth to islands and Wakea, the sky father ‘who creates the stars in the heaven”. (N. K. Silva, 2005, p. 22) The principle of reciprocity based on kinship underlines Hawai’ian perception of nature. The indigenous people consider nature as their elder sibling, and it is their duty to be the caretaker of the land, a principle different with Western epistemology that seek to control and conquer nature. The concepts articulated within Hawai’ian language ‘(olelo Hawai’i) are the manifestation of an indigenous epistemology based on love and respect of the land. Several concepts within the Hawai’ian local wisdom positions nature as the source of knowledge. The idiom kama’aina, the child of the Hawai’ian land/aina symbolizes an inseparable relationship between the Hawai’ian people and their birthland. In line with kama’aina, the concept of malama’aina in which malama can be interpreted as nurturing or caring asserts the responsibility of the Hawai’ian islanders to preserve, maintain, and protect the nature as their oldest sibling. A study by Nero (1997) illustrates that the word aina, although can be simplified as land in the English translation evoke a much deeper meaning based on the reciprocal relationship between the Kanaka Maoli and their environment. Aina can be IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 99 interpreted as that which feed us, and the word ai itself is the Hawai’ian word for eat, a recognition that it is nature which allows humanity to survive and flourish. Furthermore, the word aina is connected with the Hawai’ian word for family/ohana, in which ‘oha refers to the branches of taro plant, a plant symbolically believed to be genesis of Hawai’ian people. The image of taro plant reflects a Hawaiian perspective of family, with both joined in the mutual dependence on the roots. The emotional association between Kanaka Maoli and aina can also be viewed from the naming of the place, the natural elements, and the certain landmarks in which certain meanings are associated within the naming pattern. In relation to the statement, Kimura (1983, p. 178) argue that Hawaiian place names further demonstrate the intimate relationship between people and the environment, the evocative power of place stems from alona aina, or love of land, pride of place. Hawai’ian indigenous people considers naming pattern to include a story (mo’olelo) that becomes the basis of the name, whether a legend, an appearance of the gods, a historical event, or a natural phenomenon that takes place around the name. (Clark, 2002; Herman & Berg, 1999) A book entitled Place Names of Hawai’i (1966) has summarized 1,125 names of places in Hawai’ian language and when the book was reprinted in 1974 with more addition of place names, resulting in 4,000 names of places in overall, the authors concluded that completely record all Hawai’ian place names is an impossible task. “How many place names are there or were there in the Hawaiian Islands? Even a rough estimate is impossible: a hundred thousand? a million? Hawaiians named taro patches, rocks and trees that represented deities and ancestors, sites of houses and heiau [places of worship], canoe landings, fishing stations in the sea, resting places in the forest, and the tiniest spots where miraculous or interesting events are believed to have taken place.”(Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini, 1974, p. x) Story (mo’olelo) is another way of inheriting history, tradition, and belief of the Hawai’ian people through orature. Ho’omanawanui (2015) has found that the word mo’olelo originates from the combination of two words, olelo, which can be defined as language, word, pronunciation, discussion, and storytelling, and mo’o, a preservation. Mo’olelo, as Ho’omanawanui asserts can be defined as the preservation of a story recalling the fact that all stories in Hawai’i in the past are oral instead of written (p. 86). Continuing the elaboration by Ho’omanawanui, Kay-Trask (1991) argues that mo’olelo is one avenue for Kanaka Maoli to preserve their history. To her understanding, mo’olelo is the retelling of something that had really happened in the past instead of fiction or imaginary thing. The word olelo means both ‘tongue’ and language’, mo’olelo or ‘history’ is everything that comes from the tongue, or a story.(Kay-Trask, 1993, pp. 141–142) The Hawai’ian folktales also have a social function as a tool for preserving the local wisdom and the local knowledge especially in relation to the position of human beings amidst the universe. The other forms of the folktales are parables, sermons, and advices (olelo no’eau) that teach the novel values of Hawai’ian culture especially the respect to the elders, the nature, and all of the entities throughout the IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 100 world ((Elbert & Pukui, 1979; Fujikane, 2016; Williams, 1997)Through olelo no’eau, the older generation (kupuna) preserves Hawai’ian conception of nature as part of their family/ohana toward the younger generation. Several idioms such as Ka La i Ka Maulioa (sun is the source of life) and He ali’i ka aina, he kaua ke kanaka (land is the chief and mankind are his servant) articulates the ecological wisdom located within Hawai’ian local tradition. These proverbs refigure human and non- human relationship by emphasizing human’s dependence toward the non-human entities. This study analyzes a Hawai’ian folktale, the Wind Gourd of La’amaomao to further establish the close connection between language use and adherence toward the environment in Hawai’ian tradition. Ecolinguistics approach is applied as it focuses on the study of language according to the environment it is used to, or in other words, exploring the interconnection between nature and culture. From an eco- linguistics perspective, the environmental language and language environment are considered as metaphorical expressions which explain the correlation between the linguistics and environmental sciences. The analysis mainly explores the love and respect toward the environment from language used to describe the environment, mainly concerns with the naming pattern of various Hawai’ian winds and place names. Theoretical Framework Ecolinguistics is the study of languages in relation to one another and to various social factors which is also known as language ecology or linguistic ecology. The seminal theory of this field is often associated to Einar Haugen through his book, The Ecology of Language (1972). Haugen mainly discusses the lexicons contained in environmental discourse text and proposes his definition of ecolinguistics as the study of interactions between any given language and its environment. The word ecolinguistics includes both the term eco -a shortened form of ecology- correspondents with the relationship among organism, including human with other organism and the physical environment and linguistic itself, the study of human speech. (theorist) From an ecolinguistic perspective, the environmental language and language environment are considered as metaphorical expressions which explain the correlation between linguistic aspects and the environment which is negotiated through the use of language. It is further noted that ecolinguistics is the study of the impact of language on the life-sustaining relationships among humans, other organisms and the physical environment. It is normatively orientated towards preserving relationships which sustain life. In other words, ecolinguistics is concerned with how language is involved in forming, maintaining, influencing or destroying relationships between humans, other life forms and the environment. (Alexander & Stibbe, 2014, p. 104) Thus, ecolinguistics contextualizes the role of language within an interaction that sustains the lives of humans, other species, and the physical environment (Perangin- Angin & Dewi, 2020). One particular example of cultural production which grows, develops, and reflects the socio-cultural condition of a given society is folklore, a form of oral literary works which was born and developed in a relatively fixed time among certain communities. Folklore can be interpreted as the example of a society’s https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-language-1691218 IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 101 cultural expression through speech language which is directly linked with various aspects of socio-cultural structure of a particular society. Furthermore, how a society contextualizes the environment and their position within a wider ecosystem is also reflected through folktale. Machiorlatti (2010, p. 65) affirms how folktale contains the indigenous discourse of ecology, the cosmology of interrelatedness which includes all things within the ecosphere/planet and also on spiritual realms such as spirit and ancestors. In his book, Ecolinguistics : Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live By (2018), Stibbe posits an ecological framework derived from the analysis of language pattern in stories. Stibbe comprehends how stories inherited by various individuals across a culture, or what he coins as ‘stories we live by’, can either perpetuate or hinder current ecological crisis. These stories, as Stibbe argued are embedded within language and culture and reflected in metaphors, appraisal patterns, and a variety of linguistic features and/or visual elements. (Poole, 2017, p. 524) In his understanding, there exist eight forms that story takes and their linguistic manifestations. 1. Ideology: how the world is and should be which is shared by members of a group 2. Framing : a story that use a frame (a packet of knowledge about an area of life) to structure another area of life 3. Metaphor: a story that use a frame to structure a distinct and clearly different area of life 4. Evaluation: a story about whether an area of life is good or bad 5. Identity : a story about what it means to be a particular kind of person 6. Conviction: a story about whether a particular description of the world is true, uncertain or false 7. Erasure : a story that an area of life is unimportant or unworthy of consideration 8. Salience : a story that an area of life is important and worthy of consideration. (Stibbe, 2015, p. 15) Stibbe concurs that the aforementioned linguistic features should be appraised within an ecosophy (a shortening of ecological philosophy) that contemplates the norms and values that regulate human’s position inside a wider ecology. Stibbe derives his conception of ecosophy in one word, “Living”, which is based on the necessity of valuing and respecting all entities right to live, to live with wellbeing both in the current era and sustaining the earth for future generation. (2015, p. 14) It can be phrased that this ecosophy is intended to form a beneficial discourse toward environment and presenting a more sustainable outlook for generations to come. Findings and Discussions The Wind Gourd of La’amaomao or Moolelo Hawaii o Pakaa a me Ku-a-Pakaa, na Kahu Iwikuamoo o Keawenuiaumi, ke Alii o Hawaii, a o na Moopuna hoi a Laamaomao in Hawai’ian is an example of an adaptation of Hawai’ian oral tradition into written form. The original version was adapted from the recounting of Ku-a- Paka’a by Moses Nakuina and was compiled as a newspaper serial in Ke Aloha Aina in the 1900’s. This story had been translated into English several times, included in William Hyde Rice’s Hawai’ian Legends (1923), an abridged version in Thomas G. Thrum’s More Hawai’ian Folktales (1923) and the Backbone of the King (1966) by IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 102 Dorothy Kahananui. The current translation to English was done by Esther T Mookini and Sarah Nakoa in 1990 and was revised in 2005. While prior translations of the Wind Gourd of La’aamaomao were only a simplification or summary of the narration, the 2005’s version as the object of this study is a complete translation which includes all the plot points and chants. The story mainly focuses of the three generations of the kahu iwikuamo’o/personal attendant of Keaweanuia’umi, the ruling chief of Hawai’i, the grandfather Kuanu’uanu, his son Paka’a and his grandson Kua-Paka’a. While on a journey to O’ahu, Kuanu’uanu marries a beautiful woman named La’amaomao and have a son, Paka’a with her. After being summoned by his liege, Kuanu’uanu is forced to return to Hawai’i and left his family behind. After Paka’a reaches adolescence, his mother gives him a mythical gourd containing all the winds of the Hawai’ian islands and the chant required to summon the wind. Paka’a ventures to Hawai’i, meets his father and eventually replace him as the personal attendant of Keaweanui’umi. Later in the story, Paka’a is betrayed by two other attendants of Keaweanui’umi, Ho’okele-i-Hilo and Ho’okelei-i-Puna and exiled to Moloka’i. During his time in Moloka’i, he gets married and have a son named Kua-Paka’a. Meanwhile, his former chief grows dissatisfied with his new attendants and seeks to restore Paka’a to his former position. Although Paka’a is willing to return, he understands that as long as his rivals remains in the court, his position remain unsecure. He sends his son Kua-Paka’a to employ the wind gourd and make sure his rivals get lost in open sea. The story ends with the reunification of Paka’a and his liege, Keawenuia’umi and the restoration of Paka’a former rank and lands. As a cultural production of the Hawai’ian indigenous people, the Wind Gourd of La’amaomao provides an avenue to contextualize Kanaka Maoli’s reverence toward nature. This conception of nature, underlined through the narration, articulates the dominant discourse of the Kanaka Maoli which is beneficial or positive in outlook. As articulated by Stibbe, discourses can be defined into several examples depended of their position toward nature and current environmental crisis, destructive discourses, ambivalent discourses, and beneficial discourses. The discourse underlined in the Wind Gourd of La’amaomao is beneficial in outlook and it provides a counter discourse toward Western reductionist view of nature by emphasizing the need for sustainability. In the text, the concept of sustainable living is articulated through the existence of annual fishing season and proverb advocating preservation. The fishing for malolo (flying fish) for example is only allowed on May until June. “Ka’elo (May- June) was when the first malolo was eaten and malolo was so plentiful that the fishermen’s container were full to the brim.” (Nakuina, 2005, p. 108) The existence of kapu protected these fish from being overfished and killed during their spawning seasons, hence insured their survival. Kapu (taboo) were enacted on several aspects, limiting how much can be taken from both the land and the sea, Kanaka Maoli employs conservation in fishing, hunting, and gathering of resources. Furthermore, a Hawai’ian proverb recounted in the text illustrates the necessity of sustainable living, “he wa’a he moku, he moku he wa’a which can be translated as the canoe is an island, and the island is the canoe. (Nakuina, 2005, p. 23) Embarking on a canoe voyage requires rationing of resources, water, food and contribution from all people abroad, similarly, the Hawai’ian Isle in particular and earth in general requires sustainable living to preserve it for the future generation. IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 103 The close emotional connection between the Hawai’ians and their surroundings, as a reflection for a positive discourse of environmentalism can also be observed in the naming pattern. As briefly illustrated in the prior section, Hawai’ian naming pattern is associated with stories / mo’olelo related with local legends, folktale, historical occurrences, or natural phenomena. The importance of naming in the Wind Gourd of La’amanaonao mainly focuses on two aspects, variety of winds in Hawai’ian archipelago and place names. Nash (2015) asserts that place names/toponym is an important cultural and environmental artifacts belonging to a nation and its language. In the story, Kua-Paka’a demonstrates his proficiency in Hawai’ian ancestral tradition by memorizing the wind names in the island of Hawai’i, O’ahu, Kau’ai and Moloka’i through various chants. Hawaiian chants, as reflected in the Wind Gourd of La’amanao create a distinct naming pattern for wind and rain which was observed or experienced in a particular place. The diversity of wind naming pattern based on a particular locality in Hawai’ian islands is articulated through the following chant Here, there are the winds rising from the earth, The Apa’apa’a is of Kohala Apa’apa’a is of Kohala’s upland cliffs The wind that flies about like vapor The raining wind called Naulu is of Kawaihae The Kipu’upu’u is of Waimea A cold wind that hurts the skin A wind that whips the kapa of that land about (Nakuina, 2005, p. 42) The presiding passages, recounting a chant in the Wind Gourd of La’amanao illustrates the interconnection between culture and nature in Hawai’ian language. While the general vocabulary for wind in Olelo Hawai’i is makani, there exist naming convention associated with variety of winds due to certain characteristics and its location. The wind apa’apa’a is the name of a famous wind from Kohala, north western tip of Hawai’i island located on the slope of extinct volcano Mauna Lea. Located in the intersection between sea, mountainous cliffs and slope, a distinct characteristic of this wind is its ferocity, as the winds crosses the channel with such force than the tree on the coastline lean toward the mountain. Different with apa’apa’a, naulu is a convection wind that precede rain, originated from the word ulu (to grow). Hawai’ian people of old considers the forming of convectional clouds to resemble a plant growing out from the ground, which lead into the naming of naulu for a wind in Kawaihae. (Oliveria, 2009)The place name Kawaihae itself is derived from three words, ka (the), wai (fresh water) and Hae (something torn) which can be translated as fresh water that separate people. This name originated from the historical circumstances concerning the limited availability of fresh water in Hawai’i which lead to constant warfare to acquire water spring. Other example is the naming pattern of Kipu’upu’u, a swift and powerful rain in the Wai’mea which is described in the text as ‘a cold wind that hurts the skin” as it blows away from snow- capped Mauna Kea. Historically, the name kipu’upu’u as a symbol for ferocity and tenacity is taken by the personal guard of King Kamehameha the unifier who were trained in Wai’mea, an area believed to be haunted due to constant rain. (Pukui et al., 1974, p. 56) IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 104 Another chant recounted in the text stresses that the Hawai’ian naming pattern is not localized in a particular island but is a convention held all over the archipelago. Kua-Paka’a inherited the generational legacy of Kanaka Maoli in form of wind naming pattern and place names through the chant that describe the variety of wind in Maui island. There, there, the windy clouds rest, The Paliale is Hilo’s wind Paki’ele is of Waiakea Hana’s winds are ‘Ai-maunu, Kaomi, Kapae Ho’olua, Lauawaawa Pailopaowa, Halemauu Kui, Kona ; The wind Paliale which blows in Hilo region is derived from the word pali (cliff), in which the translation can be defined as cliff wind from below. As a place name, Hilo which literally means ‘to braid or twist’ derives its name from a legend concerning Kamehameha and his follower, in which Kamehameha was angry that his follower left the canoe unattended but it is later found out that the canoe has been twisted with cordage. Different with the hilly terrain of Hilo, Waiakea which is derived from Wai (water) can be translated as broad waters, due to the fact that this particular region gets almost 360 days of rain a year. The wind that blows in Waiakea is named Paki’ele, derived from the word paki (to splash) which indicate the wet nature of Waiakea’s wind due to high rainfall. Lastly, the diverse variety of wind names in Hana is linked with its location in the central tip of Maui island. Being close to the shorelines of Hawai’i island, the name of the wind changes depending of the direction of the trade wind. Kaomi refers to northeast trade wind, Kapae indicates trade wind in general and Ho’olua is named for strong north wind which is generated by storm system passing north of the islands. The prior exposition highlights how the distinctive tropical climate of an archipelago results in the diversity of place names and wind naming pattern depending of the situation. Another example of reverence toward nature as the provider of life is the celebratory vocabularies employed to praise the tropical weather of Hawai’ian isle. The beauty of natural landmarks, both sunny days and rainy days, and the rich bounties provided by nature is considered as a blessing by the Hawai’ians gods especially the four pantheons, Ku, Kane, Kanaloa, and Lono. Silva articulates that a pule (prayer) was addressed to both the spirits and ancestors/aumakua in four wind direction so that the people will be blessed in turn. (2019, p. 83) The feeling of gratitude is reflected through the language uses that celebrates nature as source of life. Stibbe (2015, pp. 86–87) identifies appraisal pattern – whether something is described as either positive or negative in texts- to highlight the perception of feeling toward a particular area in live. The positive appraisal of nature in the Wind Gourd of La’omaomao can be observed in the following chants, the rain falls the misty, sticky, rain of Hanakani Gentle and passing is the rain, IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 105 Muddy and wet is the sand (Nakuina, 2005, p. 35) The rain draws the school of nehu seaward of Punahoa The adze-headed rain in the Unulau wind The lehua blossoms open in the zigzagging rain, The warm rain of the land of Hilo The land of kuluku’a (Nakuina, 2005, p. 43) Appraising language use within the preceding chant articulates how nature in Kanaka Maoli’s conception is portrayed in a positive light. Several positive appraisal items in the prior chants are ‘gentle’ ‘passing’ and ‘warm’ which evoke the nurturing aspect of nature and encourage the islanders to embrace the beauty of their surrounding landscape within pleasant weather. Another example of positive appraisal items that celebrates the bountiful nature can be seen in the phrase “the rain draws the school of nehu” which indicates how the islanders can more easily caught nehu fish after rainfall. The rain causes the sea to blow up the nehu fish in rows until they rest in the calm sea of La’akona. (Titcomb, 1972, p. 112) Moreover, relating rainfall with the blossoming of lehua, a colorful flower used in hula dances also articulated the positive appraisal of nature through the interconnection between natural phenomena and wild plants necessary for Hawai’ian cultural performances. While the word ‘misty’ might evokes negative perception due to being the opposite from warm weather, its Hawai’ian word, ‘ohu can be translated as mist, fog, vapor, or light cloud in a mountain. Interpreting Ohu as light cloud in a mountain evokes the image of a wreath around the neck which aligns with a positive appraisal of nature. The positive appraisal of nature in Hawai’ians’ conception is further rooted within a sense of respect and acknowledgement of nature’s own agency. Different from Western epistemology that seeks to control and exploit nature, (Marzec, 2007, p. 36) Kanaka Maoli recognizes the agency of nature as something beyond human comprehension. The Hawai’ians’ islanders believe that all entities, both biotic and abiotic elements possess mana (power) in which natural phenomena, considered as the manifestation of gods’ power in earth contains mana in particularly large amount. This recognition of nature’s agency conceptualizes human as powerless in the face of natural disaster and only capable to predict instead of manipulating nature. The knowledge of wind patterns and able to predict when storm will occur is a necessity skill in pre-contact Hawai’i which employs canoes are the principal medium of transportation. In the Wind Gourd of La’omaomao, it is narrated that Paka’a and his son Kua-Paka’a is learned in both the laws of the skies and nature of the earth through their knowledge of various wind patterns, astronomy, and navigation. Kua- Paka’a convinces the voyage of Keaweanuia’umi to land ashore in Moloka’i as a terrible storm will soon occurs “Tomorrow is a calm day for sailing ; today will be stormy ; there are thick cumulus clouds resting above Kawainui and the ridge of Wailau, when these clouds are blown with full force, a terrible storm will rage ; when the clouds are at rest again, then good weather will follow.” (p. 38) The prior passage contextualizes Hawai’ians’ respect for the uncontrollable agency of nature. As a pre-modern society in which technological progress to safely IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 106 venture in the open seas during stormy weather is limited, ability to observe the sign of nature is essential for inter-island navigation. Inability to interpret the changing weather can lead into disastrous consequences, as highlighted through the following passage which emphasizes the danger of nature toward unprepared individuals. A big storm overtook the canoe. The winds blow hard, driving the canoe out into the open sea. The skies darkened, lighting flashed, thunder roared, and rain pelted down. The storm was boundless. The canoe was buffeted by the wind, and Kaua’i almost disappeared. (p. 83) The beneficial environmental discourse and positive appraisal of nature in the Wind Gourd of Lao’maomao aligns with the need of contextualizing alternative perception of environment in light of current ecological crisis. Different with Western conception that nature exist for the humanity’s benefits, Kanaka Maoli recognizes the need for sustainability, having deep seated emotional attachment with their surroundings, and understanding nature as having its own agency. (Lynch & Glotfelty, 2012, p. 6). The Wind Gourd of Lao’maomao underlines the epistemology of aloha aina (love for the earth and all its entities), based on the Hawai’ians’ conception of nature based on familial ties. To the Hawai’ians, as the land and all the entities are part of their extended family (ohana), they have to treat it with care and respect in a reciprocal relationship. (Indriyanto, 2020, p. 4) This story promotes an ecological philosophy/ecosophy founded on ecological sustainability, equality among all entities and harmonious living with nature. The positive appraisal of nature contemplates nature as something to be valued, respected, and celebrated. Positioning the analysis of the Wind Gourd of Lao’maomao, within the realization of current environmental crisis, it can be asserted that the ecosophy goes beyond sustainability to present generation, but to find alternative environmental discourse that seeks to restore the harmful deeds humanity has done toward the environment. Conclusion Ecolinguistics analysis of the Wind Gourd of La’amaomao underlines Hawai’ians’ epistemology based on the interconnection between culture and nature. Language use in the Wind Gourd of La’amaomoa articulates the love and respect Hawai’ian people have toward their environment based on familial ties. The analysis mainly concerns with two aspects of language use as articulated by Stibbe’s theory of ecolinguistics, namely ideology/discourse and evaluation/appraisal and the ecological philosophy derived from the narration. The study argues that the discourse employed in the text is positive, based on recognizing the need of sustainability. The positive discourse is also reflected through close emotional connection between people and place which is reflected in wind naming pattern and Hawai’ian place names. Secondly, nature is also appraised positively as seen in the celebratory tone and vocabulary used. These arguments illustrate an ecosophy based on ecological sustainability, equality among all entities and recognition of nature as having its own agency and intrinsic values. This ecosophy explores the necessity of finding alternative ways of conceptualizing environment as a critique to Western anthropocentrism. IJHS, e-ISSN 2597-4718, p-ISSN 2597-470X, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 2021, pp. 97-108 107 References Alexander, R., & Stibbe, A. (2014). From the analysis of ecological discourse to the ecological analysis of discourse. Language Sciences, 41(August), 104–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2013.08.011 Beckwith, M. W. (1972). Kumulipo : The Hawaiian creation chant. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. 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