59 pages • 1 hour read
James A. MichenerHawaii
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1959A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Parts 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1 Summary: “From the Boundless Deep”
The novel begins with a description of the ancient geological past, before the islands of Hawaii had even formed. Millions of years pass, with island chains emerging through the surface of the ocean and later disappearing beneath it. Eventually, the volcanic islands of Hawaii form. While bird species and plant species eventually propagate themselves throughout Hawaii, nothing there can support human life. The narrator says, “In these islands there is no certainty. Bring your own food, your own gods, your own flowers and fruits and concepts. For if you come without resources to these islands you will perish [...] On these harsh terms the islands waited” (41).
Part 2 Summary: “From the Sun-Swept Lagoon”
In the year 817 CE, 2,400 miles south of Hawaii, inhabitants of the island of Bora Bora and its neighbors have established a thriving culture. It is a warlike society that depends on the observance of many taboos (kapu) and uses blood sacrifice to appease its many gods. The enslaved class is treated badly and frequently slaughtered for sacrifice. A new god named Oro is being foisted upon the people by the powerful priestly class. Among many other victims, the High Priest of Bora Bora is planning to sacrifice the king, Tamatoa, and his younger brother, a navigator named Teroro, at a ceremony to be held on the nearby island of Havaiki.
Teroro suggests staging a revolt but is held in check by Tamatoa. After seeing dozens of men sacrificed, Tamatoa is also sickened by the display and decides to flee the island with a small party rather than fall victim to the High Priest’s thirst for blood. A massive canoe called Wait for the West Wind is outfitted for a journey to a legendary land in the north. Many sailors have left Bora Bora to find it, but none have returned. The expedition carries 60 people, along with various plants and animals. A select number of women accompany the mariners, but Teroro’s wife, Marama, is left behind because she appears to be infertile, and the new colony must be populated quickly. Instead, Teroro takes a young princess to be his wife, but his heart remains with Marama.
The grueling journey takes a month, during which the crew runs out of water as their boat travels off course from an island where they might have replenished their supplies. After locating the north star, Teroro is eventually able to set a course for the legendary land. The mariners reach an island surmounted by two volcanoes, which frightens everyone. The seer and the king are concerned because they both forgot to bring the idol associated with their ancient fire goddess, Pere.
When the king steps onto the island, he marks out the place where a temple will be built and designates farmlands where crops will be planted. Shortly after his arrival, Teroro is wandering in the jungle when he encounters a strange woman. “She was of his race, yet she was not. With most mournful and condemning eyes she stared at Teroro until he felt his head swimming, but she did not speak” (179).
This phantom creature follows him, and other men see her as well. The seer interprets this visitation as a sign that the goddess Pere is offended that her sacred stone hasn’t been brought on the journey. A few days later, one of the volcanoes erupts. The settlers must dig up all the crops they have planted, round up the livestock, and flee back to their boat.
The eruption drowns their new settlement in lava and destroys the temple. One of the mariners who explored the other side of the island says that it is much better for crops and would be safe from the volcano. The colonists soon discover this to be true and establish their village on the opposite side of the island. Teroro is now convinced that Pere came to warn him of the impending destruction, not to curse the people.
While the colony slowly gets on its feet, Teroro grows increasingly discontented with the lack of wisdom displayed by his new young wife and wants to fetch Marama from Bora Bora. The king also says that they must retrieve Pere’s sacred stone, and the female colonists want children brought to them to raise in addition to those they might conceive. Teroro makes the return journey with far less trouble than the outbound trip.
When he arrives, he is surprised to find that the High Priest has lost power and isn’t as keen to decimate the population through human sacrifice. He agrees to give Teroro the sacred stone of Pere because her worship has fallen out of favor. For his part, Teroro is overjoyed to be reunited with his wife, who actually gave birth to a son in his absence, proving that she will be able to increase the colony’s population. Marama organizes the return journey to include an additional 12 women and 10 children, along with the supplies and livestock that will be needed. Knowing that he will never return to Bora Bora, Teroro plots his course toward the future. The return journey to Hawaii proceeds far more smoothly now:
Teroro, bearing in his hands the rock of Pere, stepped ashore to become the compassionate and judicious priest of Havaiki, with his gentle wife Marama as associate and seer, and with the volcano goddess as his special mentor (198).
Parts 1-2 Analysis
The novel’s first part is relatively brief as it describes the passage of millions of years during which the volcanic islands were formed. Even before being populated by humans, Hawaii already demonstrated its capacity to be a Cultural Crossroads since animals and plants establish themselves there by drifting from other places. The author also emphasizes the degree to which the islands are a clean slate, waiting for the imprint of human culture, which must come from somewhere else. “Bring your own food, your own gods, your own flowers and fruits and concepts. For if you come without resources to these islands you will perish” (41). While the second part of the book only details the arrival of the Polynesians, this description of the harshness of the islands will also hold true for every other ethnic group that wishes to take up residence there.
The second part consists of the migration of the Polynesians from Bora Bora to Hawaii. Significantly, their flight is precipitated by religious change. When a new god is introduced, many people prefer to worship the old deities. The tension between old gods and new ones will much later be echoed in Abner’s struggle to convert the native Hawaiians to Christianity. In both cases, the principal theme at play is Resisting Change, which is largely driven by fear. The Polynesians live in terror of offending their deities and indulge in blood sacrifice to appease them. Teroro even makes a return trip to Bora Bora to retrieve the sacred stone of Pere. He fears that the fire goddess will be angry otherwise. Again, this supernatural terror will later be echoed by Abner’s Christian God of wrath and vengeance. However, Adapting to Survive is what characterizes these first Hawaiian settlers from the outset. They realize that their kingdom in Bora Bora is self-destructing and undertake a highly dangerous and uncertain journey to a fabled land to escape death. When destruction finds them in Hawaii in the form of a volcanic eruption, they adapt by moving to the other side of the island.
The two central characters in Part 2, Teroro and Marama, are ancestors of the Indigenous Hawaiians. They are also the prototype for the relationship that will later play out between Kelolo and Malama. The daily activities and concerns of the ancient Polynesians vary little from those of the people that the white missionaries first encounter in the 1800s. The book frequently suggests that the Indigenous Hawaiians are indolent and complacent, but their custom of creating music, dance, and plentiful food to honor the gods has so far proved to sustain them.
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