King Kalākaua publishes the Kumulipo, a 2,102-line Hawaiian creation chant in archaic poetic language, originally recited at the birth of chiefs. The chant synthesizes Polynesian folklore, genealogical lore, and animist belief (ʻaumākua ancestors as animals), organizing the universe's emergence in 16 wā (epochs). Queen Liliʻuokalani's later translation preserves cosmological material disrupted by missionary contact.

The Kumulipo became central to the Hawaiian Renaissance poetry revival (1970s), inspiring poets (Haunani-Kay Trask, Wayne Kaumualii Westlake) to reclaim indigenous chant metrics, repetition patterns, and creation mythology against US colonial erasure. The chant's influence extends to Pacific poets (Albert Wendt, Teresia Teaiwa) adapting Polynesian folk cosmology into postcolonial verse. It demonstrates how royal genealogical chants, rooted in oral folklore, become resistance literature when transcribed and translated.