Hawaiian mythology Hawaiian religion refers to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of native Hawaiians, also known as the kapu system. Hawaiian religion is based largely on the tapu religion common in Polynesia and likely originated among the Tahitians ...

, the Kupua are a group of supernatural entities which might be considered gods or spirits (see also '' Atua'').

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

s and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s abound with such characters. They are traditionally described as

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

s having the power of appearing in different kinds of bodies. They usually have cruel and vindictive characters and are ready to destroy and devour any persons they can catch. There are, however, many kupuas of kindly spirit who give watchful care to the members of their own families. Many Hawaiian kupua are considered as gods having a double body, sometimes appearing as a man and sometimes being able to change shape, into an animal, vegetable, or mineral form. The latter form always possesses supernatural powers. William Westervelt mentions the following classification for kupua: * Ka-poe-kino-lau (the people who had leaf bodies) * Ka-poe-kino-pua (the people who had flower bodies) * Ka-poe-kino-manu (the people who had bird bodies) * Ka-poe-kino-laau (trees of all kinds, ferns, vines, etc.) * Ka-poe-kino-pupu (all shells) * Ka-poe-kino-ao (all clouds) * Ka-poe-kino-maani (all winds) * Ka-poe-kina-ia (all fish) * Ka-poe-kina-mano (all sharks) * Ka-poe-kina-limu (all sea-mosses) * Ka-poe-kina-pokaku (all peculiar stones) * Ka-poe-kina-hiwa-hiwa (all dangerous places of the pali)

Famous kupua in Hawaiian legends

Mamala the surf-rider was a chieftess of kupua character. She might appear as a shark, a lizard, or a woman. Her surfing skills were so impressive that people would gather on the beach to applaud her performance. She was married to the shark-man Ouha, but later left him for a chief named Hono-kau-pu. In an old

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

legend, a kupua, who is a dog-man, overthrows the government of Kahanai and becomes the ruling power between Nuuanu Valley and the sea. He is a cannibal, and many of the people are killed and eaten by him. He can appear at will either as a man or a dog. In

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, whic ...

, the king once had a kupua, a rooster, which was very cruel and destructive. He could assume a different bird form for each magic power he possessed. This, with his miraculous human powers, made him superior to all the roosters which had ever been his antagonists in cock-fighting. In

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...

, Akua-pehu-ale (god-of-the-swollen-billow) was a kupua who devoured his enemies and was greatly feared and hated even by his own tribe. In the legend of the

bread-fruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

tree, Papa, one of the ancestors of the people living in all the islands now known as

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, is described as a kupua. Her daughter Kap-ula-kinau also has kupua, or magic power. Other Hawaiian kupua mentioned in the mythology include the famous trickster Māui, Iwa,

Ono ONO, Ono or Ōno may refer to: Places Fiji * Ono Island (Fiji) Israel * Kiryat Ono * Ono, Benjamin, ancient site Italy * Ono San Pietro Ivory Coast * Ono, Ivory Coast, a village in Comoé District Japan * Ōno Castle, Fukuoka * ...

and Pekoi.

References

{{Reflist * Pukui, Mary Kawena and Samuel H. Elbert (1986). ''Hawaiian Dictionary''. University of Hawaii Press. * Rose, Carol (1996). ''Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia''. ABC-Clio, p. 176. * Westervelt, W. D. (1915). ''Legends of Old Honolulu'' (republished in 2003 by Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, Hawaii). * Westervelt, W. D. (1915). ''Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost Gods'' (republished in 1998 by Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, Hawaii). Austronesian spirituality Hawaiian mythology Trickster gods

Famous kupua in Hawaiian legends

See also

References