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 Tahiti ...

, Kalamainu'u (alternate spelling Kalanimainu'u) was a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...

goddess.

Myths

She is said to have lured her lover Puna-ai-koa'e to her cave where she kept him prisoner. When he longed to go surfing again, Kalamainu'u gave him her

surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa he' ...

, but warned him not to speak with anyone. He, however, spoke with two men: Hinale and Aikilolo (or Hinalea and ‘Akilolo) who revealed to him his lover's true nature. He returned to her cave, saw her in her true form, but showed no fear. Kalamainu'u then attempted to slay his informants, but they turned into

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them ...

and escaped into cracks in the seafloor. To capture them, she learned to set a hina'i hinalea fishing basket (Craig 1989:95, 218, Beckwith 1940:193, 200)."The Sacred Spine"
''Maui No Ka Oi Magazine''. Retrieved June 28th, 2019.

References

*R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989). *M. Beckwith, ''Hawaiian Mythology'' (Yale University Press: New Haven, 1940). {{Hawaii-stub Hawaiian goddesses Legendary reptiles