University of Constance
Summer Term 2009
Department of Literature
Constance, 10.10.09
Advanced seminar: Voyaging the Sea of Islands
Professors: Dr. Des. Anja Schwarz/ Dr. Phil. Claudia Rapp
The relationship between Hawaiians and their gods
Which role did religion play in ancient Hawaiian society?
Elisabeth Yorck von Wartenburg
Zur Allmannshöhe 10
78464 Konstanz
Matrikel-Nr.: 01/664446
elisabeth_yorck@gmx.de
Tel: 0176/82110062
4th Semester
HF: Literatur-Kunst-Medien
NF: Kulturwissenschaft der Antike
Contents
I Introduction................................................................................................................................3
II The various Hawaiian gods...................................................................................................... 3
III Different kinds of worship...................................................................................................... 7
IV The influences of religion on the Hawaiian society................................................................9
V The relationship between Hawaiians and gods in legends..................................................... 13
VI Conclusion............................................................................................................................ 16
VII References........................................................................................................................... 18
VII.1. Internet........................................................................................................................ 18
VII.2 Books and other publications.......................................................................................19
I Introduction
The development of a people is based on three categories which contain the quality of food
supply, the relationship to other peoples and the religion whereas the latter probably most
influences the intellectual advancement. This is because man's intelligence increases when he
observes the different aspects of nature and life which have an effect on him. To understand
natural phenomena and to gain a relation to those he creates gods, ghosts and supreme beings.
Thus his fancy and imagination develop expressed by songs and legends in which the people
combine facets of life, death and nature with supernatural creatures. Literature and art evolve
by and by indicating cultural progress. Although the Hawaiians had an oral culture and
therefore no written language, their intellectual advancement developed fast because of their
uncountable songs and legends they repeated at fireplaces and feasts.1
What kind of religion did the Hawaiians create that made them develop so fast? Which gods
and ghosts did they invent to explain the natural phenomena they didn't understand or they
filled with their imagination? Through summarizing the main Hawaiian gods and godesses
below, I will give the necessary basis of knowledge to analyse the interpendent relationship
between them and the Hawaiian people. This mutual influence abounds mainly in legends and
songs, in worship and in the structure of the Hawaiian society. In conclusion, the results are
brought together to decide how much the religion influenced ancient Hawaiian society and
how distinctive the relationship between men and gods was. In doing so I will basically refer
to Martha Beckwith‘s book Hawaiian mythology from 1940.
II The various Hawaiian gods
Like in ancient Greece, the Hawaiians didn't worship one God for everything on earth and in
heaven but had many specific gods and supreme beings of different ranks. 2 Each of them
represented one special aspect of life or nature. For example, the deity Laka was the goddess
of the Hula dance. According to E.S.C. Handy, “the gods of the Polynesians were personified
concepts that, on the one hand, embodied the desires and needs, the hopes and dreads of their
1
2
Westervelt, W. (trans./com.): Hawaiian legends of ghosts and ghost-gods, Boston 1916, p. X.
http://www.alohabound-kona.com/resources/The_Gods_of_Ancient_Hawaii_Article.pdf, unknown author: The
gods of ancient Hawaii, 26.09.09; Beckwith, M.: Hawaiian Mythology, New Haven 1940, p. 1-5.
worshippers and on the other hand, individualised the elements and forces that they observed
in nature.”3
There was an infinite number of these gods that were separated in subordinate and main
deities. The Hawaiians worshipped eight important gods, six male and two female, whereas
four male were the main gods called Kane, Ku, Lono and Kanaloa. The other four were
Keawe, the ancestor of all of the gods, his daughter Na Wahine and the goddess Papa and the
god Wâkea who ruled over heaven and earth.4
The scholars have different opinions about the roots of these main deities. On the one hand the
gods could have been once predominant chiefs who were apotheosised after their death so that
the gods would have had human origin. On the other hand they could also have been
conceived at first as nature deities like the goddess Pele who represented the volcano.5
Through the ancient Hawaiian songs and myths the legendary creation of the divine
generations can be observed. They tell us that Keawe’s spirit was the only living being in
Hawaii in the beginning. The land is described as a vast and vacant land so that the god started
to evolve order creating the sky and the sun and then the two gods, Na Wahine and Kane.
These two deities whose names mean woman and man were then parents to Ku, Lono and
Kanaloa and the other important Hawaiian gods.6 Kane also formed the upper heaven of the
gods and the lower one above the earth. Furthermore he was, according to the late edition of
the Kumuhonua legend, the creator of the earth which he filled with living beings like animals
in the sea and on land, plants and of course man and woman to inhabit the garden of mankind.
So the Hawaiians worshipped him as the god and the symbol of life and everything that was
aligned or associated with life like forests, water and the sunlight.7 The following legend
shows a similar structure to the Genesis in the Bible in which Kane even replaces Keawe as
the origin, because it is told about Kane as the deity who lived alone in the darkness.
“In the first era Kane dwells alone in continual darkness (i ka po loa); there is neither heaven nor earth.
In the second era light is created and the gods Ku and Lono, with Kane, fashion the earth and the things
on the earth. In the third era they create man and woman, Kumu-honua (Earth beginning) and Lalohonua (Earth below). In the fourth era Kane, who has lived on earth with man, goes up to heaven to live
and the man, having broken Kane's law, is made subject to death.”8
3
4
5
6
7
8
Handy, E.: Polynesian Religion, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 34, Honolulu 1927, p. 87-88.
http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/cal-hwnreligion.html, Morishima, E.: the ancient Hawaiian religion,
26.09.09.
Beckwith, M. (trans./com.): Hawaiian mythology. New Haven 1940, p. 4.
http://www.alohabound-kona.com/resources/The_Gods_of_Ancient_Hawaii_Article.pdf, unknown author:
The gods of ancient Hawaii, 26.09.09; http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/cal-hwnreligion, Morishima, E.: the
ancient Hawaiian religion, 26.09.09; http://www.paulwaters.com/gods.htm, Fullard-Leo, B.: In the beginning
Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09.
http://www.mythome.org/hawaiig.html, unknown author: Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09; Beckwith 1940, p. 42.
Beckwith 1940, p. 42-43.
In general the Hawaiians ascribed Kane the thunder as his form of appearance but if the god
came to the worshippers in their dreams, he would have a human body with one white and one
black side standing with his feet on earth and touching the sky with his head. 9
One of Kane’s sons mentioned before was Ku who represented men, war and fishing. Whereas
Kane was a friendly and peaceful god with a modest request of worship, Ku arrogated an
elaborate adoration which included human sacrifices. He controlled the fruitfulness of earth
with the goddess Hina with whom he represented the generations of mankind. Ku was
associated with the male or husband (kane) and beyond that, coming out of one single origin,
he was a symbol of the male fertility and power of the first parent. Hina stood for the female
or wahine and was an expression of female fecundity, the power of growth and production.
Because of their names which mean “rising upright” for Ku and “leaning down” for Hina, the
rising of the sun – the morning – was referred to Ku, and its setting – the afternoon – to Hina.
To follow this imagery, prayers which were addressed to Ku were held toward the east and
prayers to Hina toward the west so that together, they included the whole earth and heaven
from east to west.10
Lono was associated with peace and wisdom, fertility and harvest. He was represented by
many symbols, especially different nature phenomena of the atmosphere like dark clouds,
rainbows, wind and rain. Furthermore he was a patron of culture particularly of music, who
was married to Laka, the goddess of the hula dance. Every year from October to February the
Hawaiians and some other Polynesian islands celebrated the great Makahiki-festival to honor
Lono. During this time it was forbidden to do unnecessary work or to wage war so that the
chiefs could regroup their forces. During the ritual ceremonies, a festivity similar to the
Olympic Games was held. The Hawaiians prayed for good fishing captures and for rain and
sunshine to let the crops grow well. The Makihiki was also the time for paying the taxes. An
idol of Lono standing on a long post was brought to every district (alupuaa) on the island to
collect the taxes from the commoners. 11
In 1778, James Cook arrived during the time of the Makahiki-festival so that he was taken for
the god Lono who landed on the shores of Hawaii. Between Marshall David Sahlins, Gananath
Obeyesekere and other scholars there is a serious discussion if Cook had really been seen as
9
10
11
Beckwith 1940, p. 48.
Beckwith 1940, p. 12-16.
http://www.alohabound-kona.com/resources/The_Gods_of_Ancient_Hawaii_Article.pdf, unknown author:
The gods of ancient Hawaii, 08.09.09; Kuykendall, R.: 1778-1854. The Hawaiian kingdom 1, Honolulu 1938,
p. 8; Beckwith 1940, p. 31-36.
the deity Lono by the Hawaiians or just as one of several historical or legendary figures
referred to Lono-i-ka-Makahiki (Lono got this name affix from his mother at his birth). 12
The fourth of the main gods was Kanaloa symbolised by the squid who ruled over the sea and
in later legends over the underworld. Originally he was a Tahitian god who was very similar to
Kane and was considered as the creator of men and the world as well. The Hawaiians adopted
him as the brother of Kane however without being one of the creators. In various chants he
and Kane acted as complementary powers whereas Kane mainly represented the good and
Kanaloa the ill. In the legend of Hawaii-loa, a part of the kumu-honua legend, Kanaloa fought
against Kane leading the spirits that had been sat on earth by the main gods after the separation
of earth and heaven. As they weren't allowed to drink awa, a beverage that causes various
effects on the psyche like euphoria, they rebelled against the great gods. But they didn't
succeed and were banished to the underworld where their leader Kanaloa, also known under
the name Milu, became the ruler over the dead. This legend is redolent of the banishment of
Satan from heaven to hell meanwhile other myths show also obvious similarities to the Old
Testament. They tell for example that Kane once drew a figure of a man in the earth that
became then alive whereas Kanaloa did the same without success. He became angry and
punished mankind with all kinds of bad things. Furthermore he seduced the wife of the first
man and led the couple out of the garden which was dedicated for them by the other gods.
Thus the legends turned Kanaloa into the evil wisher of mankind whereas Kane was
considered as the benefactor. The similarities to biblical motives led to Kanaloa's association
with Satan by the Christian missionaries who arrived in Hawaii from Boston in 1820. They
compared the four Hawaiian gods with the Christian trinity and Satan whose place took
Kanaloa.13
Besides the main gods the ancient Hawaiians worshiped uncountable subordinate gods like
sorcery gods, children of the gods with supreme powers and dead ancestors called aumakua
who protected their living families after becoming divine. 14
Beckwith 1940, p. 31-36; Beckwith, M. (trans./com.): The Kumulipo. A Hawaiian creation chant, Chicago
1951, p. 19; Sahlins, M: How “natives” think. About Captain Cook, for example, Chicago 1995.
13 Beckwith 1940, p. 60-62.
14 http://www.nativehawaii.com/hawaiianlegends.html, unknown author: Hawaiian legends, 26.09.09; Beckwith
1940, p. 81-83.
12
III Different kinds of worship
“Invoke we now the 40,000 gods, the 400,000 gods, the 4,000 gods” (E ho'oulu ana I kini o ke
akua, Ka lehu o ke akua, Ka mano o ke akua):15 with these words Hawaiians customarily
began their invocations to the gods in order to avoid affronting any of the uncountable deities
by forgetting them. Kepelino classified these gods into “the gods who made heaven and earth”
and the “millions upon millions”16 of spirits called uhane which he assigned to two different
kinds of bodiless spirits: The first were the ghosts of the air named uhane lewa that had been
created by Kane to serve the higher gods. Secondly, Kepelino speaks of the spirits of the dead
called aumakua who were guardian gods for their descendants on earth.17 Comparable to the
variety of gods there were many different kinds of worships. Each of the main deities asked
for its own priests, form of worship and special symbols of ritual distinction. They had also
their own temples named heiau in which the public worship took place like on twenty feet
high oracle towers where the Hawaiians practised sacrifices on wooden platforms far above
the ground.18 To the district of a temple which stood on a stone platform belonged several
houses, idols and other structures having all their special use during the rituals. The worship of
the gods didn't take place only in the heiaus, but also in everyday life. The Hawaiians had to
practise religious ceremonies while they built houses or canoes, worked in the fields or did
other activities. The rituals should please the particular god to ensure successful work. 19
There were different ways of worship. Some people would adore idols whereas others didn't
have a tangible form of their gods.20 Commoners didn't require implicitly a priest for adoring
their family and personal gods; they could worship them with their own simple rituals
meanwhile the royalty (ali'i) needed a priest to carry out the ceremonies in large heiaus.21
There were friendly gods who didn't ask for human sacrifices or laborious rituals like Ku did.
The creator Kane was one of them because of the saying “Life is sacred to Kane” (ua kapu ke
ola na Kane).22
Beckwith 1940, p. 82.
Beckwith 1940, p. 81-82.
17 Beckwith 1940, p. 82.
18 http://www.paulwaters.com/gods.htm, Fullard-Leo, B.: In the beginning Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09.
19 Kuykendall 1938, p. 7.
20 Beckwith 1940, p. 81.
21 http://www.paulwaters.com/gods.htm, Fullard-Leo, B.: In the beginning Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09.
22 Beckwith 1940, p. 46.
15
16
There were only some guidelines and rituals for his worship like to build the front door facing
the east and to direct the morning prayers to the sun because the legends told Kane had come
once from the east to Hawaii.23 In the temples chanted prayers were particularly used to
honour him which were structured like the extract of the following invocation:
O Kane-Kanaloa! O Kane-of-the-great-lightning-flashes-in-the-heavens,
O Kane-the-render-of-heaven, O Kane-the-rolling-stone,
O Kane-of-the-whirlwind, O Kane-of-the-rainbow,
O Kane-of-the-atmosphere, O Kane-of-the-rain,
O Kane-of-the-heavenly-cloud, (…)24
In contrast to that harmless worship, Ku arrogated for human sacrifices. Only kings were
authorised to erect a sacrificial temple (luakini heiau) dedicated to the god of war.25 Apart
from regular worship, there were other motives for the royalty to sacrifice humans like the
birth of a first son, serious diseases, victories in war or to avoid natural catastrophes. 26
The worship generally was an important way to communicate with the supernatural beings and
to sustain their benevolence. Furthermore Hawaiians could require their help within their
scope of duties in form of prayers.27 Every family felt represented by special guardian gods
who Kepelino classified as one of the types of the bodiless spirits mentioned before. These
aumakua were ancestors of the living family members who begged the spirits for protection, to
punish their enemies and to provide them with good things. In the Hawaiians’ belief, the
ancestors could only assist their descendants if they entered the divine world. In order to
enable the transition of the dead, their bones were prepared in a ceremony and preserved after
having dissolved the flesh.28
Beside their role as a family guardian and benefactor, aumakuas could also be very dangerous.
They sought revenge upon their keeper and relatives in case of disregard of their adoration and
taboos. But on the other hand, if a guardian spirit turned out to be ineffective, the Hawaiians
replaced him with a stronger aumakua. Even living people could assimilate spirits in their
body and soul as their keepers who were then considered as a god during that time. The
Hawaiians called such spirits akua noho what literally means sitting gods. 29
Beckwith 1940, p. 47.
Beckwith 1940, p. 53.
25 http://www.paulwaters.com/gods.htm, Fullard-Leo, B.: In the beginning Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09.
26 http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/cal-hwnreligion, Morishima, E.: the ancient Hawaiian religion, 26.09.09.
27 Beckwith 1940, p. 82.
28 http://www.alohabound-kona.com/resources/The_Gods_of_Ancient_Hawaii_Article.pdf, unknown author: The
gods of ancient Hawaii, 08.09.09.
29 Beckwith 1940, p. 106.
23
24
Deities also existed for every profession like canoe makers, fishermen, thieves etc. and had
their own priests. Most farmers for example had Lono as their amaukua. In his honour they
sparked a fire during the time of ripening crops and sat down in a circle around an idol of
Lono. In a ceremony food was cooked in an underground oven called imu and then offered to
heaven by a priest before giving it out to the commoners. When the ritual had finished the
people could eat how much they wanted, but if new food was prepared they offered again a bit
of it to the god before they took from it. 30
IV The influences of religion on the Hawaiian society
The Hawaiians established a complex system of main gods, local gods, demi-gods and other
various types of gods to classify the deities on different ranks. The gods’ power was based
mainly on their blood inheritance. Keawe followed by Kane, Ku, Lono and Kanaloa was at the
top of the hierarchy because he was the original spirit from which all of the other gods and
goddesses descended. This disposition was reflected in the stratified class system of Hawaiian
society which was based upon strictly maintained castes.31 These were comparable to the
social levels in medieval Europe and other Polynesian nations where each social group had to
fulfil their special tasks and responsibilities.32 The Hawaiians didn't have the chance to leave
the caste they were born in, apart from falling into the outcast status.33 The whole social
system, politics and economy were influenced by religion so that everything like the
distribution of land and goods was charged with sacred aspects. The religious concepts of
mana, kapu and noa played in this respect a decisive role. Mana was considered as the divine
power given by the gods to Hawaiian kings and chiefs to rule over the population. 34 The two
other religious concepts of noa and kapu stood for the difference between the negative profane
– associated with the female - and the divine things – referred to the male. This concept is
based on the creation chant Kumulipo where the female (Po) was associated with darkness,
30
31
32
33
34
http://www.paulwaters.com/gods.htm, Fullard-Leo, B.: In the beginning Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09.
Beckwith 1940, p. 82.
http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/earlyhawaii.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian roots, genealogy for Hawaiians,
08.10.09
http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Hawaiian-Society---Isolated-Feudalism&id=724813, Sader, D.: Polynesian
Caste system, 10.10.09.
Buck, E.: Paradise Remade: The Politics of Culture and History in Hawai'i. Philadelphia, 1993, p. 33.
earth and night whereas the male Ao enclosed life, day and other positively-estimated
elements. The latter consisted of sacred things, acts and land that were forbidden to touch by
the people.35 The kapu system was very present in the Hawaiian society because it influenced
every facet of daily life like fishing, building a canoe or eating in family because the kapu
prohibited women and men eating together.36 On one hand it established rules and regulations
to live in harmony with the nature but on the other hand it was also an instrument to oppress
the commoners. It regulated the subordination of the lower to the higher, ensuring the power of
the royalty over the commoners.37 If for example the shadow of a commoner fell across a
chief, he broke a kapu and was terribly punished. To avoid that they had to prostrate them fast
before such a person because even if they didn't do it intentionally they weren't exempted from
penalty that could lead to death.38 Human sacrifices were another means of intimidation. The
victim could, however, save its life if it reached an accepted asylum (pu’uhonua) before his
haunters.39
The name for the class of the people in power was ali'i. Hawaii was separated into small
kingdoms that were often at war with each other before Kamehameha ruled as the only king
over Hawaii in the 19th century. In each of these small kingdoms a halaimoku who functioned
as a prime minister and a kahuna-nui, the high priest, assisted the ali'i-aimoku, the king. He
could be also at the same time the ali'i-kapu, the highest of all chiefs, but mainly there was
another person with this position who was right under the king in the social rank. The
Hawaiians believed that the chiefs descended from the gods thus having a close relationship to
them depending on their position. Being at the top of the chief’s hierarchy, the ali'i-kapu was
treated like a living god who acted as mediator between the people on earth and the divine. 40
There were four different ranks within the ali'i caste called from the highest to lowest, pi'o,
ni'aupio, naha, and wohi.41 The ali'i-aimoku gave parts of the land to the chiefs who depended
on him because he had the power to remove or replace them.
35
http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
http://www.mythichawaii.com/hawaiian-culture-society.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian Culture and Society.
Kapu System and Caste System of Ancient Hawai'i, 10.10.09.
37 http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
38 http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/earlyhawaii.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian roots, genealogy for Hawaiians,
08.10.09; http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09;
Kuykendall 1938, p. 9.
39 Höfer. J.: Hawaii, München 1991, p. 14.
40 Kuykendall 1938, p. 8-10.
41 http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
36
Like the king himself the chiefs ruled over the land with the divine power of mana that derived
from their genealogy for which reason persons trained in memorization of genealogies were
very important for them.42 To demonstrate their power and superiority they wore special
feather costumes and commanded commoners to lay down in front of them. 43
The following caste, below the chiefs in political influence, but stronger in spiritual power,
were the kahuna – the priests. Their duties comprised leading worship and sacrifice, tending
the heiaus, maintaining traditions and knowledge and declaring kapus which didn't affect
them.44 Like within the ali'i class there were different ranks and kinds of priests like the
medicine men, the necromancers and sorcerers.
The medicine man called kahuna lapa'au, treated illnesses by searching for omens while he
was dreaming. Then he tried to calm the family god with the received information.
Necromancers were called in other cases, but they operated on the same principle as the
medicine men. They dealt with the spirits 'unihipili in different ways after that their type of
necromancer was characterised. There were also different types of sorcerers that were defined
depending on their practises. Some of them were called `anâ`anâ who performed their rituals
in secret at night while the kuni practiced in the public during the day. Both needed a subject's
belonging in their rituals like finger nails which they buried. The `anâ`anâ did it to kill the
owner, while the subject of the kuni was already dead. He tried to find out the reason of death
to avenge the victim killing his murderer. 45
The wide range of power that the chiefs and priests inherited was tempting. Due to increasing
abuse of authority, it was abolished soon after the death of the great king Kamehameha in
1819.46 Many Hawaiian temples were destroyed, but there are still today some people who
worship the Hawaiian gods even though most islanders converted to Christianity after the
missionaries had arrived.47
Even the commoners (makaainana) were believed to be descendants from the gods, but they
were regarded as junior branches of the genealogical tree. They were farmers, fishers,
craftsmen and bird catchers who produced the feather cloaks of the chiefs. Like in the
medieval feudal system, they had to pay taxes to the ali’i in kind of goods and services. In
http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/earlyhawaii.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian roots, genealogy for Hawaiians,
08.10.09.
43 http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Hawaiian-Society---Isolated-Feudalism&id=724813, Sader, D.: Polynesian
Caste system, 10.10.09.
44 Rapp, C.: A paradise lost. Placing Hawai'i on the literary map, Konstanz 2004, p. 4.
45 http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/cal-hwnreligion, Morishima, E.: the ancient Hawaiian religion, 26.09.09.
46 http://www.nativehawaii.com/hawaiianlegends.html, unknown author: Hawaiian legends, 26.09.09.
47 http://www.alohabound-kona.com/resources/The_Gods_of_Ancient_Hawaii_Article.pdf, unknown author:
The gods of ancient Hawaii, 26.09.09.
42
return, the royalty granted the commoners’ tenure rights and appeased the gods in order to
have a good harvest and to avoid ill.48 The economy developed very fast because the
makaainana began to specialise in specific skills passing their knowledge from generation to
generation of the family. 49
The third caste in Hawaii included the outcasts (kauwa). They weren't considered as
descendants from the gods like the ali'i or makaainana but as early inhabitants of Hawaii who
were later subjected.50 Nowadays there is little known about these people but they were
probably slaves, war captives and prisoners, people of low birth who had no mana. They were
forced to live apart from the rest of society and to work for the ali'i. To identify them
immediately they were tattooed on their front so that they would never have a chance to move
up in a higher class. They were often mistreated and used as human sacrifice at the luakini
heiau.51
But the kapu concept didn't only regulate the relationship between the different social levels
but also between the people and the gods and as a third type of interaction the relationship
between people and nature. The relationship between the people and their gods was
determined by the manner of worship as described above. The taboos regarding the
environment were economically essential because they regulated the agricultural calendar. It
was separated in two ceremonial cycles, called kau and ho'oilo. During the kau season which
was very dry planting, building and waging war was allowed whereas the wet ho'oilo was the
season for the harvest festival makahiki when war was forbidden.
A Marxist analysis by Buck (1993) nominated the kapu system as legitimating the way
material possession and power was distributed among the Hawaiian society. She stated that
"although Marx fully recognized the power of human consciousness and agency, he believed
that ideas, beliefs and values do not exist independent of the material conditions of life and
human activities."52 Ideology and religion justified the rule of the kahuna and royalty – the
classes with high mana – as it justified the hierarchical system. 53
http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/earlyhawaii.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian roots. Genealogy for Hawaiians,
10.10.09; http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
49 http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Hawaiian-Society---Isolated-Feudalism&id=724813, Sader, D.: Polynesian
Caste system, 08.10.09.
50 http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
51 Beckwith 1940, p. 82; http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Hawaiian-Society---Isolated
Feudalism&id=724813, Sader, D.: Polynesian Caste system, 10.10.09; Höfer 1991, p. 14.
52 Buck, E.: Paradise Remade: The Politics of Culture and History in Hawai'i. Philadelphia 1993, p. 20.
53 http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
48
V The relationship between Hawaiians and gods in legends
As mentioned in the introduction gods, ghosts and supernatural beings are created combining
imagination and a people’s perception of nature. To let them act and to pass the knowledge
about them down to the next generation, legends were created which in turn formed the image
of the deities by and by. The development of the chants and legends is the consequence of
humankind's need to explain the natural things which surrounded them and to draw a
distinction between themselves and nature. So these stories are an important connection
between a people and their gods because human beings express and relay their religion with
them. It is them who bring the gods to life. The legends also provide the basis for a way of
living that is agreeable to the gods (like the Ten Commandments in the bible). 54
There are uncountable legends in Hawaiian culture that show us the ancient comprehension of
natural phenomena and at the same time their early history imbedded in mythological
descriptions. In their topic and composition, many of these myths show great parallels to the
legends of the neighbouring Pacific islands. Due to the oral tradition in ancient Hawaii, not all
of them are conveyed. There still are enough legends left to provide us a window into the past,
into an ancient culture and way of life. 55 They had fictional stories called kaao about creatures
half-man half-animal, demigods and heroes who were thought to be ancestors of living royalty
members and that often defeated their enemies because of their superior skills. 56 The stories of
gods are called moolelo under which folktales like anecdotes, local legends and family stories
are classified. The legends were only told by day and the listeners must not move in front of
the speaker. To do so would have been disrespectful to the gods.57 The legends show the close
relationship of the Hawaiians to their gods. In the following chant the contemporaneous birth
of man and two personal gods indicates that the existence of mankind and gods are correlated.
Born was la'ila'i a woman
Born was Ki'i a man
Born was Kane a god
Born was Kanaloa the hot-striking octopus
It was a day58
54
55
56
57
58
http://www.nativehawaii.com/hawaiianlegends.html, unknown author: Hawaiian legends, 26.09.09.
Westervelt 1916, p. XIII/XVII.
http://www.nativehawaii.com/hawaiianlegends.html, unknown author: Hawaiian legends, 26.09.09.
Beckwith 1940, p.1-2.
Valeri, V.: Kingship and sacrifice: ritual and society in ancient Hawaii, Chicago 1985, p. 6.
While the god Kane himself is named like his worshippers because Kane means human male
the man himself is called Ki'i. This was the word for image that was usually used in worship to
express that mankind is the anthropomorphic image of the gods. Using the same word for a
god and the man clearly shows a close relationship between divinities and human beings.
Another interconnection was the role of the woman named La'ila'i that had also a structural
function because she was needed by man and god to reproduce themselves and it was the man
who got her first.59
Kane was angry and jealous because he slept last with her (La'ila'i)
His descendants would hence belong to the younger line
the children of the older would be lord,
first through la'ila'i, first through Ki'i.60
In this legend of the Kumulipo we can see the dependence of mankind on the gods and
contrariwise the gods' dependence on men. The relationship between men and their gods can't
be seen separately. Neither side has a clear advantage over the other. On the one hand men are
dependent on their gods what is proved by the pure existence of the divine and that it
influenced daily life. 61
On the other hand it has to be considered that gods wouldn't exist without man and that in
addition, religion is formed by mankind. The culture and society of a people influence the
character and the appearance of its god(s). Furthermore, an oral culture like the Hawaiians’
leaves spaces for individual interpretation and the narrator’s point of view because there is no
standardised codex. Apart from that, the divine power can also be manipulated by rituals and
symbols. This observation makes it significant that the first man was named Ki'i (image) in the
legend. Valerio Valeri adds that “Since ki'i has equivalents in succeeding generations in
characters such as wakea and kauakahi, who manage to seduce various goddesses by carving
divine images, it is likely that he owes this name to the fact that he represents man's ability to
control the divine by means of images.”62
From man being capable of creating anthropomorphic images of their gods, Valerio Valeri
infers a transformation of the divine. Before the first man’s appearance, the divine consisted of
‘natural’ species without human attributes.
59
60
61
62
Valeri 1985, p. 6-7.
Valeri 1985, p. 7.
Beckwith 1940, p. 2.
Valeri 1985, p. 7.
These gods were regrouped by anthropomorphic ones like Kane and Lono in a moral, i.e.
human, instead of a classificatory manner that had represented the divine in the Kumulipo
chant before the creation of man. The anthropomorphic gods, deriving from man himself,
obviously cannot exist without their ‘pattern’ that gives them their appearance. 63
As mentioned above another connection between man and the divine was also the relationship
to women who played a structural role. We can observe a similarity of relationships between
god and goddess and woman and man. For example the relationship of Pele, the firegoddess,
and Kamapuaa, the watergod, is compared to the continual conflict and on the same time
strong relationship between woman and man which is compared with the eternal conflict
between the two antagonist elements of nature – water and fire. In the legends Pele and
Kamapuaa are prevalently seen as enemies who fight against each other with lava flows and
storms or ocean waves, but on the other hand they are also sometimes held for a married
couple.64 Also the contrary between heaven and earth is demonstrated by the female god Papa
and the male god Wakea. These opposites and the idea of antithesis is a very strong stylistic
element in the Hawaiian poetic. 65
Also in the worship of Ku we can observe this thinking in his relationship to Hina as
mentioned before. In the following prayer quoted by J.S. Emerson an antithesis is again
demonstrated.
O Ku, O Li! (?) Soften your land that it may bring forth. Bring forth where? Bring forth in the sea
[naming the fishing ground], squid, ulua fish. . . .
Encourage your land to bring forth. Bring forth where? Bring forth, on land, potatoes, taro, gourds,
coconuts, bananas, calabashes.
Encourage your land to bring forth. Bring forth what? Bring forth men, women, children, pigs, fowl,
food, land. Encourage your land to bring forth. Bring forth what? Bring forth chiefs, commoners,
pleasant living; bring about good will, ward off ill will.66
Sea and land are contrasted which is another illustration like that between male and female
expressed by Ku and Hina, Pele and Kamapuaa or Papa and Wakea. There are many other
antagonisms showing the difference between mankind and the divinity and at the same time
the dependence like the night (po) which was dedicated to the gods and in contrast the day
(ao) which was the period of mankind. In general there were uncountable trivial pairings like
big and small, up and down in the Hawaiian poetic structuring the chants in antithesis.
63
64
65
66
Valeri 1985, p. 6-9.
Westervelt 1916, p. XVII-XVIII.
Beckwith 1940, p. 14.
Beckwith 1940, p. 13.
Opposites also appear in Hawaiian economy, such as the difference between the products of
sea and forest or the way land was allocated – each makaainana family received a parcel in the
uplands and one in the lowlands. Martha Beckwith adds that “it was recognized in the division
of the calendar into days, months, and seasons, when those at the shore watched for
indications of the ripening season in the uplands and those living inland marked the time for
fishing and surfing at the shore.” Not only the agricultural work in Hawaii was influenced by
the economic and natural opposites but also the worship of the corresponding gods. 67
VI Conclusion
Like in any pre-modern society, religion greatly influenced Hawaiian everyday life. Due to the
great number of different gods, virtually every activity was connected to some ritual act. One
of the main reasons for this is that the traditions of Hawaiian religion, such as the kapu system,
legitimated the rule of chiefs and priests. Harsh punishments for violators and intimidating
possibility of human sacrifice kept the common people at bay. Furthermore, the rigid caste
system suppressed social advance. On the contrary, the kapu system imposed important duties
on the chief. If he failed to ensure the gods’ benevolence and thereby protect his people from
ills, his position could be challenged.
However, religion was not only a means of exercising power. In some contexts, it assured the
livelihood of Hawaii’s people. For example, it probably always was possible to bring in the
harvest because war was forbidden during that period. To put fishing under taboo during
certain seasons would give the fishing resource time to regenerate.
Besides the kapu system legends and worship were other platforms connecting Hawaiians and
their gods.
The legends were a base for the creation of the Hawaiian gods and a mythological background
for which reason the Hawaiian people can be considered as the seniors of their own religion.
Without people who believe in the gods through symbols and stories religion wouldn't exist
because the gods wouldn't have a possibility to act. On the other hand the Hawaiians were then
influenced by their created religion what is obvious through all the similarities between the
myths and the historical Hawaiian reality such as the caste system.
67
Beckwith 1940, p. 12-15.
The legends formed the appearance of the gods and give the basis to pass on the religious
knowledge from generation to generation. The worship as a kapu that had to be practised
during nearly every activity played also an important role within the Hawaiian society and the
relationship between man and the divine. If there was nobody who worshipped, the gods
wouldn't exist. So they are again dependent on mankind, but on the other hand they influenced
the people as well. Because of man's need to explain natural phenomena that he doesn't
understand with supernatural beings worship for these creatures had to be practised, not to
affront them. The Hawaiian religion prescribed to follow these rituals during every activity
they did what exerted a dominating influence on society. Disregard of the worship was for
example a taboo that was seriously punished. Furthermore the worship was an instrument to
reach the gods and to communicate with them. On that way the relationship between man and
the divine which had its origin in the legends sustained.
In summary the relationship between the gods and the people of Hawaii was very close. The
religion was so influential that it was the base of the social system that determined every
aspect of life in Hawaii.
VII References
1.VII.1. Internet
http://www.alohabound-kona.com/resources/The_Gods_of_Ancient_Hawaii_Article.pdf,
unknown author: The gods of ancient Hawaii, 26.09.09.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Hawaiian-Society---Isolated-Feudalism&id=724813, Sader,
D.: Polynesian Caste system, 10.10.09.
http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/cal-hwnreligion, Morishima, E.: the ancient Hawaiian
religion, 26.09.09.
http://www.hawaiian-roots.com/earlyhawaii.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian roots, genealogy
for Hawaiians, 08.10.09
http://www.luckyulivehawaii.com/kapu.htm, Else, R.: Kapu system, 08.10.09.
http://www.mythichawaii.com/hawaiian-culture-society.htm, unknown author: Hawaiian
Culture and Society. Kapu System and Caste System of Ancient Hawai'i, 10.10.09.
http://www.mythome.org/hawaiig.html, unknown author: Hawaiian gods, 26.09.09.
http://www.nativehawaii.com/hawaiianlegends.html, unknown author: Hawaiian legends,
26.09.09.
http://www.paulwaters.com/gods.htm, Fullard-Leo, B.: In the beginning Hawaiian gods,
26.09.09.
VII.2 Books and other publications
Beckwith, M. (trans./com): Hawaiian mythology, New Haven 1940.
Beckwith, M. (trans./com.): The Kumulipo. A Hawaiian creation chant, Chicago 1951.
Buck, E.: Paradise Remade: The Politics of Culture and History in Hawai'i, Philadelphia 1993.
Handy, E.: Polynesian Religion, Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 34, Honolulu 1927.
Höfer, H. (Hrsg.): Hawaii, München 1991.
Kuykendall, R.: 1778-1854. The Hawaiian kingdom 1, Honolulu 1938.
Rapp, C.: A paradise lost: mapping contemporary literature from Hawai'i, Konstanz 2004.
Sahlins, M.: How “natives” think. About Captain Cook, for example, Chicago 1995.
Valeri, V.: Kingship and sacrifice: ritual and society in ancient Hawaii, Chicago 1985.
Westervelt, W. (trans./com.): Hawaiian legends of ghosts and ghost-gods, Boston 1916.