What is Hawaiian Calligraphy?

Hawaiian Petroglyphs | Image by Melinda Shelton

Prior to the printing press, all books, documents, maps, and even gravestones were originally written, painted, or engraved by hand. (Talk about major hand cramps!)

This led to the creation of various styles of calligraphy and writing throughout history. 

But what is calligraphy?
The term calligraphy is derived from the Greek words of kallos, meaning “beauty” and graphein, meaning “to write.” Literally translating to “beautiful writing.”

Of course, we can agree that calligraphy does not need to be beautiful to be considered of quality. 

Take a look at the ancient Hawaiians. They used petroglyph images as a form of communication and documentation, just as calligraphy would do.

What is Hawaiian calligraphy?
Instead of calligraphy or writing, petroglyphs were created by the ancient Hawaiians. The term petroglyph comes from Greek words of petros, meaning “rock” and glyphien, meaning “to carve.” Petroglyphs are known as ki’i pohaku, meaning “images in stone.” 

Ki’i pohaku can be found throughout the state, but the largest documented collection remains at Pu’uloa Petroglyph Field on the Big Island of Hawai’i. This archaeological site contains more than 23,000 petroglyph images dating back to 1400 – 1700 A.D.

Without formal language training, the Hawaiians would carve figures into lava rocks. However, the true meaning behind the carvings are unknown. But it is believed that they are a record of meaningful events such as births, religious, social, and political occasions, as well as travel documents throughout the island of Hawai’i. 

Petroglyphs aka the original emoji! 

Modern Calligraphy in Hawai'i
Calligraphy and other writing styles have come a long way since the days of the petroglyphs. The development of technology, letter form, and type face design has ultimately led to a decrease in penmanship.

However, modern calligraphy combines the essence of historical scribes and current day standards. This practice has completely transformed calligraphy from a method of communication to an expressive form of art. So much that the letters may become skillfully arranged and beautifully indecipherable.

Which is completely normal! As Julian Waters, American Calligrapher, would say “true calligraphy need only capture the spirit of the text."