Editing Hawaiian language (section)

====Folk tales====
Like all natural spoken languages, the Hawaiian language was originally an oral language. The native people of the Hawaiian language relayed religion, traditions, history, and views of their world through stories that were handed down from generation to generation. One form of storytelling most commonly associated with the Hawaiian islands is [[hula]]. Nathaniel B. Emerson notes that "It kept the communal imagination in living touch with the nation's legendary past".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula |url=https://archive.org/details/unwrittenlitera01emergoog |last=Emerson |first=Nathaniel B. |publisher=Washington Government Printing Office |year=1909 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/unwrittenlitera01emergoog/page/n13 7] }}</ref>

The islanders' connection with their stories is argued to be one reason why Captain James Cook received a pleasant welcome. [[Marshall Sahlins]] has observed that Hawaiian folktales began bearing similar content to those of the Western world in the eighteenth century.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Islands of History |url=https://archive.org/details/islandsofhistory00sahl |url-access=registration |last=Sahlins |first=Marshall |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1985}}</ref> He argues this was caused by the timing of Captain Cook's arrival, which was coincidentally when the indigenous Hawaiians were celebrating the [[Makahiki festival]], which is the annual celebration of the harvest in honor of the god [[Lono]]. The celebration lasts for the entirety of the [[rainy season]]. It is a time of peace with much emphasis on amusements, food, games, and dancing.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Handy|first=E.S.|title=Native Planters in Old Hawaii: Their Life, Lore, and Environment|publisher=[[Bishop Museum Press]]|year=1972}}</ref> The islanders' story foretold of the god Lono's return at the time of the Makahiki festival.<ref>Kanopy (Firm). (2016). ''Nature Gods and Tricksters of Polynesia.'' San Francisco, California, US: Ka Streaming. http://[institution].kanopystreaming.com/node/161213</ref>