Ethnologisches Museum Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 009

Hawaiian narrative or mythology, tells stories of nature and life. It is considered a variant of a more general

Polynesian narrative The Polynesian narrative or Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian Triangle) together with those of the scattered cul ...

, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the

Hawaiian religion 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 Tahitia ...

. The religion was officially suppressed in the 19th century, but kept alive by some practitioners to the modern day.

Prominent figures and terms in Hawaiian mythology

Aumakua In Hawaiian mythology, an ʻaumakua (; often spelled aumakua, plural, aumākua) is a personal or family god that originated as a deified ancestor, and which takes on physical forms such as spirit vehicles. An 'aumakua may manifest as a shark, ow ...

- spirit of an ancestor or family god * ʻElepaio -

monarch flycatcher The monarchs (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks. Monarchids are small insectivorous songbirds with long tails. They inhabit forest or woodland a ...

* Kanehekili - god of thunder *

Haumea , discoverer = , discovered = , earliest_precovery_date = March 22, 1955 , mpc_name = (136108) Haumea , pronounced = , adjectives = Haumean , note = yes , alt_names = , named_after = Haumea , mp_category = , orbit_ref = , epoc ...

- goddess of birth *

Hiʻiaka In Hawaiian religion, Hiʻiaka is a daughter of Haumea and Kāne. Attributes and history Hiiaka is the patron goddess of hula dancers, chant, sorcery, and medicine. Owls are her messengers and are sacred to her. Conceived in Tahiti, Hiiaka was c ...

- sister of Pele, daughter of Haumea & Kāne *

Hina Hina may refer to: People and deities * Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Hina (chiefess), a name given to several noble ladies who lived in ancient Hawaii * Hina (goddess), the name assigned to ...

- goddess of

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

* Kahai - Demigod of thunder and lightning * Kahōālii - god of

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...

* Kalamainuʻu - lizard goddess *

Kamapuaʻa In Hawaiian mythology, Kamapuaa ("hog child") is a hog-man fertility superhuman associated with Lono, the god of agriculture. The son of Hina and Kahikiula, the chief of Oahu, Kamapuaʻa was particularly connected with the island of Maui. A ''k ...

- warlike god of wild boars, husband of Pele * Kāmohoalii - shark god *

Kanaloa In the traditions of ancient Hawaii, Kanaloa is a god symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne. It is also an alternative name for the island of Kahoolawe. In legends and chants, Kāne and Kanaloa are ...

- complementary power of Kāne, god of the oceans, consequently the ruler of the Mana. *

Kāne In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the three major Hawaiian deities, along with Kū and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives ...

- highest of the four major Hawaiian deities, The chief of the Hawaiian trinity, which also consists of his brothers Lono and Kū. In contrast to Lono being the deity of cultivated foods, Kane was the god of wild foods and plants like trees, etc. He was also the god of the forests and jungles with all their gifts like wood, medicinal plants and leaves, etc. *

Kapo A kapo or prisoner functionary (german: Funktionshäftling) was a prisoner in a Nazi camp who was assigned by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks. Also called "prisoner self-administrat ...

* '' Kapu'' - the ancient code of conduct of laws and regulations * Kapua * Kaulu - killer of Haumea * Kihawahine - lizard woman *

Kinilau In Hawaiian mythology, Kinilau is the son of Menehune, son of Luanu’u. Hawaiians claim descent from the youngest of the twelve sons of Kinilau-a-mano (Tregear 1891:513). See also * Tinirau - general Polynesian * Tinilau - Samoa * Tinirau and Ka ...

* Kū - god of war *

Kumulipo In Hawaiian religion, the Kumulipo is the creation chant, first recorded by Westerners in the 18th century. It also includes a genealogy of the members of Hawaiian royalty and was created in honor of Kalaninuiamamao and passed down orally to his ...

- ancient chant of creation * Kuula - god of fishermen * Laka - goddess of hula & fertility/reproducation, love and beauty, wife of god Lono * Lohiʻau - chief of Kaua'i *

Lono In Hawaiian religion, the god Lono is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music and peace. In one of the many Hawaiian stories of Lono, he is a fertility and music god who descended to Earth on a rainbow to marry Laka. In agricultu ...

- god of agriculture, peace *

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

- impersonal force * Māui - ancient hero and chief, demigod, shape shifter *

Menehune Menehune are a mythological race of dwarf people in Hawaiian tradition who are said to live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands, hidden and far away from human settlements. The Menehune are described as superb craft ...

Nāmaka In Hawaiian mythology, Nāmaka (or Nā-maka-o-Kahai, the eyes of Kahai) appears as a sea goddess in the Pele family. She is an older sister of Pele-honua-mea. She is the daughter of Ku-waha-ilo and Haumea, whose other children are Pele, the H ...

- sea goddess and sister of Pele * Nuakea - goddess of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

Nightmarchers In Hawaiian mythology, Nightmarchers (''huaka'i pō'' or "Spirit Ranks,",'' 'oi'o'') are the deadly ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors. The nightmarchers are the vanguard for a sacred king, chief or chiefess. On the nights honoring the Hawaiia ...

* Nuu - Hawaiian Noah * Papa - Goddess of Nature *

Paʻao Paao is a figure from Hawaii. He is most likely a Hawaiian historical character retold through Hawaiian legend. According to Hawaiian tradition and folklore, he is said to have been a high priest from Kahiki, specifically "Wewaʻu" and "ʻUpolu." I ...

* Pakaʻa - god of the wind, gatekeeper of underworld, wife of Kaiwa, Mother of Kaha’i * Paliuli * Papahānaumoku * Paupueo * Pele - goddess of fire and volcanoes * Poliʻahu - goddesses of snow *

Tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...

* Ukupanipo - another shark god *

Wahieloa In Hawaiian mythology, Wahieloa is a hero associated with the Kaha'i and Laka epics. Variations of his name in other Polynesian languages include Wahieroa (Māori), Vahieroa (Tahiti, Tuamotus), Va'ieroa (Cook Islands), Fafieloa (Samoa Samo ...

Waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

- lizard goddess *

Wākea In the Hawaiian religion, Wākea, the Sky father weds Papahānaumoku, the earth mother. The two are considered the parent couple of the ruling chiefs of Hawaii. ''Wākea'' was the eldest son of Kahiko ("Ancient One"), who lived in Olalowaia. ...

- Sky father father of islands

External links

* , Ed. Thomas G. Thrum
''Hawaiian Mythology''
by Martha Beckwith {{Polynesian mythology Hawaiiana

figures in the Hawaiian religion