Mele Kalikimaka #3
by James Temple
Title
Mele Kalikimaka #3
Artist
James Temple
Medium
Painting - Painting
Description
"Mele Kalikimaka" is the English phrase "Merry Christmas" as pronounced in Hawaiian. The missionaries reduced the Hawaiian language to written form, enabling the Hawaiian people to read and write in their own language. Many words for which there were no clear Hawaiian language equivalents were translated phonetically.
The words "Mele Kalikimaka" are a phonetic translation. When the missionaries and other Westerners first brought the custom of Christmas to the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians had difficulty pronouncing Merry Christmas and turned it into words that rolled more easily off their tongues.
This was one of nine 4'x8' paintings by Eugene Francis Savage (1883-1978) called "Island Feast". The paintings were commissioned by the Matson Shipping line in 1948. This image was restored to its original state by James Temple from an old lithographed menu cover used in the dining room of the refurbished Matson flagship "Lurline".
Uploaded
November 19th, 2018
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Viewed 1,055 Times - Last Visitor from Beverly Hills, CA on 03/29/2024 at 2:49 AM
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Comments (10)
Sharon McConnell
Beautiful restorative artwork of this lovely painting, James. Thank you for the informative description, as well! L/F/Twt
Kathy Kelly
My parents retired to the Big Island in 1987 and we spent Christmas there for 20 years. This piece brings back so many wonderful memories. L/F
James Temple replied:
Aloha Kathy, thank you for sharing this with me. I took a look at your work... you are very talented! James