Birth of Sea and Land Life (Hawaiian myth)
The Hawaiian myth of the birth of sea and land life narrates a creation story that begins with a primordial slime rising from the ocean, marking the genesis of the earth. It introduces Kumulipo and Po'ele, the first male and female figures, from whom all life emerges. The myth proceeds to describe the creation of various sea creatures, such as coral and sea urchins, establishing a genealogy that connects each new species to those preceding it. Following the creation of sea life, the narrative transitions to land life, linking each newly formed sea plant with a corresponding land plant. This sacred creation process, described as occurring during the "night of Kumulipo," emphasizes the themes of nourishment and growth, culminating in a lush, thriving landscape. The myth holds significant cultural importance, serving as the opening of the Kumulipo genealogical chant, which traces the ancestry of Hawaiian chiefs back to creation. Originally an oral tradition, the myth has been transcribed and interpreted in various ways, highlighting its relevance to Hawaiian identity and spirituality. Overall, it reflects the interconnectedness of life and the deep respect for nature found within Hawaiian culture.
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Subject Terms
Birth of Sea and Land Life (Hawaiian myth)
Author: Traditional
Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE; 1851 CE–1900 CE
Country or Culture: Hawaii
Genre: Myth
PLOT SUMMARY
The Hawaiian myth of the birth of sea and land life begins one night in spring. The earth grows hot, the heavens turn, and it is dark. Some primordial slime rises up from the sea and becomes the source of the earth. The first two people are born: “The night gave birth / Born was Kumulipo in the night, a male / Born was Po‘ele in the night, a female” (Beckwith lines 12–14). After Kumulipo and Po‘ele, sea and land life is created. This creation begins with humble forms of sea life, such as coral polyps, sea urchins, and oysters. For each new species created, the myth identifies another species or subspecies as its child, creating a genealogy of sea life: “Born was the conch shell, his child the small conch shell came forth” (31).
After describing the creation of the different sea creatures, the myth turns to land life, describing its creation in thirteen similarly constructed stanzas. Each stanza begins with the reaffirmation of the birth of the first man and woman from water. Man comes from a narrow, forceful stream and woman from a broad, tranquil stream. Next, the creation of each new sea plant is paired with the creation of a corresponding land plant that is similar in name and nature. Thus, for example, the creation of the ‘ekaha moss of the sea is followed by the creation of the ‘ekahakaha fern on land. Earth and water sustain the land plants that have been newly created. The creation process of sea and land life is described as sacred, a realm into which “man can not enter” (39). This assertion is repeated throughout the myth.
When this period of creation is completed, a god with a water gourd enters. His water nourishes the vines on the land, and as a result of this water, lush plant life multiplies voraciously. The myth celebrates the growth and flourishing of vegetation. Soon, there is so much fruitful vegetation that it props up the earth and supports the sky.
Throughout this process of first creation, the myth asserts, it has been night. This early period at the dawn of creation is referred to as the “night of Kumulipo” after the first man (121). This is especially apt, for as American scholar Martha Beckwith explains in the introduction to her translation of the myth, Kumulipo literally means “beginning-(in)-deep-darkness” in Hawaiian (38).
SIGNIFICANCE
Originally an oral narrative, the Hawaiian myth of the birth of sea and land life was first transcribed in the mid-nineteenth century. In this extant form, the myth is used to open the genealogical chant known as the Kumulipo, which chronicles the creation of the world and the first humans and goes on to name the subsequent generations of noble men and women, ending with the birth of the eighteenth-century Hawaiian chief Ka-‘I-i-mamao, to whom the chant was dedicated. This genealogical chant allowed the chief to trace his noble line back to the dawn of creation and served as confirmation of his ancestral claim to power.
The myth of the birth of sea and land life is much older than the Kumulipo. Scholarly comparison with other Polynesian creation myths indicates that the core of the narrative may have reached Hawaii during the thirteenth century CE, when Tahitians arrived on the islands. The myth’s concluding idea that vegetation nourished by water from the god’s gourd is “propping up earth, holding up the sky” (120) is echoed in a Tahitian creation chant, as Beckwith notes.
According to Hawaii’s last queen, Lili‘uokalani, the Kumulipo was composed in 1700 by the poet Keāulumoku. However, as Keāulumoku lived from 1716 to 1784, either the date of the composition or the authorship must be wrong. Beckwith suggests that either the name Keāulumoku was a court poet’s title passed through generations or the Kumulipo was composed at a later time.
There are two historically documented occasions at which the Kumulipo, and thus the myth of the birth of sea and land life, was chanted publicly. On one occasion, those reciting the chant welcomed British captain James Cook upon his first visit to Hawaii in 1779. The second occasion occurred in 1804 following the death of Ke‘eaumoku, an uncle of Hawaiian king Kamehameha I, who founded Hawaii’s last royal dynasty.
In 1889, a transcription of the Kumulipo was printed in Hawaiian, based on a manuscript owned by Hawaiian king Kalākaua. After her deposition in 1893, Kalākaua’s sister and successor, Lili‘uokalani, translated the Kumulipo into English. Her lines are deliberately poetic, as in her rendering of the beginning of creation: “At the time of the night of Makalii / Then began the slime which established the earth, / The source of deepest darkness” (5–8). In 1951, Beckwith translated the Kumulipo into English and published what has become the authoritative version of the chant.
Following Beckwith, Hawaiian and international scholars have identified several different interpretations of this Hawaiian creation myth. The first is that it is a straightforward story of the creation of the people of Hawaii. Other scholars have noted that King Kalākau, in facilitating the print publication of the chant, may have used the creation myth and subsequent genealogy to emphasize the authority of his noble ancestors.
The myth of the birth of sea and land life could additionally be interpreted as symbolizing a Hawaiian chief’s passage from infancy to adulthood. Another view sees the myth as alluding to conception and the growth of a human embryo in the womb. In this view, the myth’s central themes of water and darkness allude to the fetus swimming in the amniotic fluid in the darkness of the womb. All of these interpretations may contribute to the overall significance of the myth, which not only chronicles the creation of the world in general but also sets in motion the development of Hawaii as a kingdom.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beckwith, Martha Warren. Hawaiian Mythology. New Haven: Yale UP, 1940. Print.
---. The Kumulipo: A Hawaiian Creation Chant. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1951. Print.
Fornander, Abraham. Fornander’s Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I. Honolulu: Mutual, 2005. Print.
Liliuokalani. An Account of the Creation of the World according to Hawaiian Tradition. Boston: Lee, 1897. Print.
Thompson, Vivian Laubach. Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 1988. Print.