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 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 Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

on a

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

to marry

Laka In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology. (In other parts of Polynesia they are known as Rātā, Rata, Lata, Ata, or Lasa). In one Hawaiian legend, Laka is the son of the '' Ali'i nui'' ...

. In agricultural and planting traditions, Lono was identified with rain and food plants. He was one of the four gods (with

Kū In Hawaiian religion, Kū is one of the four great gods. The other three are Kanaloa, Kāne, and Lono. Some feathered god images or ''akua hulu manu'' are considered to represent Kū. Kū is worshiped under many names, including Kū-ka-ili-moku ( ...

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 l ...

, and Kāne's twin brother

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 p ...

)The Kumulipō, line 1714 who existed before the world was created. Lono was also the god of peace. In his honor, the great annual festival of the

Makahiki The Makahiki season is the ancient Hawaiian New Year festival, in honor of the god Lono of the Hawaiian religion. It is a holiday covering four consecutive lunar months, approximately from October or November through February or March. The foc ...

was held. During this period (from October through February), war and unnecessary work was kapu (forbidden). In Hawaiian weather terminology, the winter Kona storms that bring rain to

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

areas are associated with Lono. Lono brings on the rains and dispenses fertility, and as such was sometimes referred to as Lono-makua (Lono the Provider). Ceremonies went through a monthly and yearly cycle. For 8 months of the year, the luakini (temple) was dedicated to Ku-with strict kapus. Four periods (kapu pule) each month required strict ceremonies. Violators could have their property seized by priests or overlord chiefs, or be sentenced to death for serious breaches.Cordy, Ross "Exalted sits the chief: The ancient History of the Hawai'i Island". Honolulu, HI Mutual Publishing (2000), 61

Lono and Captain Cook

Some Native Hawaiians may have misidentified Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

as Lono's incarnation, which may have later caused Cook's death (see

Third voyage of James Cook James Cook's third and final voyage (12 July 1776 – 4 October 1780) took the route from Plymouth via Cape Town and Tenerife to New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, and along the North American coast to the Bering Strait. Its ostensible ...

). It is uncertain whether Cook was mistaken for the god Lono, or one of several historical or legendary figures also named Lono-i-ka-Makahiki. It was traditionally held that the god Lono had appeared as a human who then established games and the annual taxing. Before departing to " Kahiki", he promised to return "by sea on the

canoes A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

ʻAuwaʻalalua". An unidentified queen identified it as a " Spanish man of war", recalling the alleged arrival of a Spanish

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch ...

. Mary Pukui interpreted this as "very large double canoe", from ʻAu auwaʻa-l -lua. However, Pukui may have been referring to the

Portuguese man o' war The Portuguese man o' war (''Physalia physalis''), also known as the man-of-war, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be the same species as the Pacific man o' war or blue bottle, which is ...

, which Hawaiians called ʻAuwaʻalalua.Beckwith 1951.

Other Lonos (different cultures and beliefs)

Better known to the Hawaiian mythology is an earlier Lono-i-ka-makahiki from the ʻUmi line of ruling Hawaii Island aliʻi (i.e., chiefs, royalty). This Lono was born and raised near the graves of Keawe and his descendants, which were near the place of Captain Cook's monument. This Lono may have cultivated the arts of warfare and puns as well as riddle games and spear-dodging games for the Makahiki. However, it is unlikely either late ruling chiefs on the ʻUmi line was the mythological Lono who departed to Kahiki. Both chiefs were born in Hawaii, and no legend tells of either of them sailing away with a promise to return. A more plausible candidate for the god Lono is the legendary Laʻa-mai-Kahiki (i.e., the "Sacred-one-from-

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

), who purportedly lived several centuries earlier. Laʻa came as a younger member of the Moikeha family of North Tahiti, older members of whom had settled earlier in the Hawaiian archipelago. He brought with him a small hand-drum, and a flute for the hula. Upon his arrival, the locals heard his flute and the rhythm of the new drumbeat, believing it was the god Kupulupulu. Kupulupulu was worshiped as god of the hula, who also took the form of the flowering

lehua Lehua Island is a small, crescent-shaped island in the Hawaiian islands, north of Niihau, due west of Kauai. The uninhabited, barren island is a tuff cone which is part of the active Niihau volcano. Lehua was one of the first five isl ...

tree as well as the god of native fauna that sustained early Polynesian settlers. Especially on Oahu, this Laʻa-mai-kahiki took wives in various districts. Oahu Island was the stronghold of Lono's worship, where many families claimed descent from La'a. He seems to have sailed back to Tahiti at least once before his final departure. This traveler of a great Tahitian family, who appeared like a god, enriched the New Year festivals with games and drama, ultimately influencing the Hawaiians into believing he was a god.

References

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External links

* {{Authority control Agricultural gods Arts gods Fertility gods Hawaiian gods Peace gods Rain deities

Lono and Captain Cook

Other Lonos (different cultures and beliefs)

See also

References

External links