MythHome: Hawaiian Gods

© 1995-2003 Untangle Incorporated
Last Updated: Thursday, September 04, 2003

Hawaiian Gods

Akua

The actual gods who created everything, and keeps everything working. See also Kupua. Ha'iaka

Sister of the goddess Pele. Haumea

Kanaloa

Kanaloa, god of the squid,
Here is your sick man......

......this ends with an excellent objective description of squid catching.

There is a legend that the Ancient Hawaiians told about Kanaloa:

Kanaloa is associated with the Christian devil. His name is associated with various legends of strife against Kane in which Kanaloa and his spirits rebel and are sent down to the underworld. In the legend of Hawaii-loa belonging to the Kumu-honua epic account of the Kane tradition, Kanaloa is the leader of the first company of spirits placed on earth after earth was separated from heaven. These spirits are "spit out by the gods." They rebel, lead by Kanaloa, because they are not allowed to drink awa, but are defeated and cast down to the underworld, where Kanaloa, otherwise known as Milu, becomes ruler of the dead. The legend places Kane and Kanaloa in opposition as the good and evil wishers of mankind.

Kanaloa has a very extensive set of sites on the web. Most of them are collected in one place (about half way down the page) at: Kanaloa

Kane

Kapua

The divine tricksters or mischief-makers of Hawaii. Ki'i

Hawaiian creator god or first created man. Kupua

Generic term for the demigods of Hawaii, as opposed to the Akua,the gods proper. Ku

Ku (male or husband), and Hina (female or wife) were the rulers of the ancient people and are the earliest gods. They are great ancestral gods of earth and heaven who have general control over the bounty of earth and generations of mankind. Ku freed one from their faults and errors. He is associated with sacrifice and prisoners.

Ku represents the East, or the sun rising, which indicates morning. Ku equals "rising upright." Hina represents the West, or the sun setting, which indicates evening. Hina means "leaning down."

Ku represents the universal character as a god to worship. The Ancient Hawaiians worshiped Ku for things such as good fishing, long life, good crops, and family and national prosperity for a whole. For example, early in the morning, prayers are said by fishermen to Ku to help them with their fishing. These things are represented in the following prayer:

Laka

Hawaiian goddess of song and dance. Lono

In Hawaii , the clouds and the phenomena of storms are associated with Lono. When the statement, "with head hidden in the dark clouds above" is recited, it is usually referring to Lono. During prayer to Lono, signs of the god are named thunder, lightening, earthquake, the dark cloud, the rainbow, rain, wind, whirlwinds that sweep the earth, waterspouts, the clustering clouds of heaven, and gushing springs on the mountains. Lono brings on the rains and dispenses fertility. Lono is the god of harvest. Lono-makua (Father Lono), is the name given to portray the god during the Pre-Contact time. Lono's role has generally confined to the celebration of games. Pele

Hawaiian goddess of volcanic fire, personification of the female power of destruction. Associated with Pele are the 4 snow covered peaks: Lilinoe,Waiau, Kahoupokane and Poliahu.
Poliahu has an extensive story associated with Pele. Poliahu liked to play with mortals along the eastern peaks of the mountain Mauna Kea.

One day, it is said, Poliahu and her friends had come down from Mauna Kea to a grassy sloping hillside south of Hamakua for holua sledding.
Pele loved he'eholua, the exhilarating race that took place on sleds with runners set only six inches apart. A narrow piece of matting attached to sticks lashed to the runners provided a place for the racer to rest his chest. A racer held the holua sled in his right hand as he ran pell-mell to the crest of the downhill track, hurled himself upon the sled, grabbing a hand-hold on the left side of the sled, as well, and then plummeting down-slope toward the ocean.On this day,

Pele appeared in the guise of a beautiful young woman and the unsuspecting Poliahu welcomed her to join in their sport. As the ground grew hotter and hotter, Poliahu realized the beautiful stranger was none other than Pele, her arch enemy. Pele called forth fire from the depths of Mauna Loa, sending fire fountains after Poliahu as the terrified goddess fled to the summit. Red hot lava licked at the edges of Poliahu's white mantle, but she grasped her robe and managed to escape.

Regaining her strength, she flung her white mantle over the mountain peak. The grounds trembled, fire licked the heavens, and the snow goddess unleashed snow from frozen clouds overhead. Pele sent rivers of lava down the hillside, which cooled and hardened so quickly it choked the yawning chasms that spewed the molten rock and drove the streams of lava underground into Kilauea and Mauna Loa, but not before the land masses that comprise Laupahoehoe and Onomea were formed.

From time to time, Pele continues to hurl fire and lava from Mauna Loa and Kilauea, but legend says that Poliahu always gains the upper hand in these battles. She and the other snow goddesses keep the mountain tops barren under their icy mantles, allowing melting streams to form the rivers that feed the fertile valleys and give the Hamakua Coast and North Kohala a green, misty surrealistic beauty.

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© 1995-2003 Untangle IncorporatedLast Updated: Thursday, September 04, 2003

© 1995-2003 Untangle Incorporated
Last Updated: Thursday, September 04, 2003