Hawaiian religion

Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, with tens of thousands of gods and goddesses, or nā akua. The four most important deities are Kāne (creation), Kū (war), Lono (peace and fertility), and Kanaloa (ocean), while many demigods and protectors of individuals, such as deified ancestors, are also part of these beliefs.

The traditional religious beliefs of the Hawaiian people focus on creating harmony between the deities and the earth, or honua. Important members of the community, kahuna, served as spiritual guides, or alaka’i. Many households and individuals had personal deities, such as deified ancestors. Other deities were tied to places, professions, and actions. Some, such as Pele, demanded sacrifice.

Background

The Indigenous people of Hawaii descended from Polynesians who arrived on the island chain at two times. The first people likely arrived about 400 CE from the Marquesas Islands. The second group, from Tahiti, arrived in the ninth or tenth century. When European explorers arrived in 1778, Hawaiians numbered about three hundred thousand. By the late twentieth century, fewer than ten thousand Hawaiians, and many more part-Hawaiians, remained.

Status among Hawaiians usually descended through maternal lines. Both polygyny—a man having multiple wives—and polyandry—a woman having multiple husbands—were practiced, usually among those of high status, such as chiefs. Athleticism was valued, and champions from various islands might compete in surfing, swimming, spear throwing, or other skills.

Religion and politics were tightly entwined, and by the eighteenth century, many of the lower-status people suffered oppression by priests and royals. Many laws, including taboos, were imposed on the common people, especially women, and at times human sacrifice was practiced. Many of the taboos were lifted after Christian missionaries began arriving in 1820, but increased contact with newcomers led to epidemics of disease that killed many Indigenous Hawaiians.

The growing conditions led foreign businesspeople to establish plantations on some islands. They brought indentured Chinese field hands and, in the late nineteenth century, Japanese workers. It was not long before the Hawaiian people were greatly outnumbered by immigrants.

The Hawaiian people have a long oral history tradition. They recall their legends as well as genealogies through songs, chants, and narrative tales. Lengthy stories recount the many sons of the ruling chiefs of old and how they came to settle on different islands through the generations. These stories include accounts of brothers attacking one another for property and status, wives who are wise, and wives who are duplicitous. Myths and legends provided entertainment in the family and when chiefs hosted visitors. Long evenings included heroic or romantic tales that incorporated songs as well as narratives. The people also knew many prayers to the gods. When missionaries arrived in the islands, some recorded these stories and myths of the people.

Among the major tales is the creation story, which is related in the Kumulipo chant. This describes a dark universe that gradually becomes lighter. Lands rise from the oceans, and lower life forms develop on the shores. Eventually, fish, birds, and other small creatures appear, the forests grow, edible plants emerge, and finally, gods and humans appear.

Overview

Kāne, Kū, Lono, and Kanaloa are the four chief deities of the Hawaiian island chain who might walk among the people in human form from time to time. The ancestral gods of heaven and earth are Ku and Hina, or man and woman. They might also inhabit a stone or a wooden idol. All living creatures and inanimate objects, such as trees, stones, and stars, contain souls. The gods are described as chiefs who live in the heavens or lands far away. They visit places and people that are special to them throughout Polynesia, including the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian families often trace their genealogy to specific gods. Many families are said to be descendants of Kāne, for example. Others are descendants of Haloa, who takes the form of the taro plant. Linkage to this staple food permanently connects the people to the plants and the land itself. Families also worshiped ancestral figures, or ‘aumakua. These ancestors could be traced back to the origins of the world.

Hawaiians worshiped in their homes as well as in temples and shrines, called heiau. These could be walled enclosures or raised platforms. Mapele helau honored Lono and were used for ceremonies seeking blessings for peacetime needs, such as successful crops. Pigs were commonly used as sacrifices. Another type of helau, the luakini, was a war temple honoring Ku. Services in luakini helau could include human sacrifice. Temple services were conducted by specialists, including priests and kahuna, the keepers of tradition and wisdom.

Temple worship was marked by chanted prayers, which were possibly the most important element of worship. A scaffolding of three stages was erected near the temple area for the high priests to ascend and offer prayer. The first, lowest stage is called nu’u, or earth; the second is lani, or heavens; and the third is mamao, or far off but not beyond hearing. Only the high priest and ruling chief would ascend to the third and last stage. The scaffolding was covered with white bark cloth. Arches of bent saplings might be placed on each side of the tower. If the prayers or offerings were pleasing to the gods, the saplings were said to bend. As the priests offered their prayers, the audience sat perfectly motionless. The first prayer invokes the many names of Kāne. The second prayer is one Kāne offers to the gathering of gods. The third prayer, offered at the altar, invokes the gods, including Lono. The following, most sacred, prayers are not described or shared.

Kāne is the highest deity. He is the father of living creatures and is associated with the forces of nature—for example, fresh water, rainfall, sunlight, and other forces that people need to live. The rainbow, formed when sunlight passes through light rain, is the sign of Kāne, and he is present when a rainbow appears. Kāne may have many bodies, such as the plants that provide food and the rainbow. These bodies are known as the kinolau of a god. When the people see a rainbow, they are reminded to be thankful for the life-giving gifts from Kāne.

Kāne is especially associated with fresh springs. Legends tell of Kāne and Kanaloa traveling around the islands together, opening new springs of fresh water when and where they need them to prepare a tea made using the root of the ‘awa plant. One legend says that when Kāne and Kanaloa arrived on a Hawaiian island, they wanted to drink ‘awa. Kanaloa saw that they had no fresh water, and asked Kāne where they would get water to prepare ‘awa. Kāne took their spears and drove the tips into the ground. Water flowed from the earth, and after they prepared and drank their ‘awa, they left the spring open and departed. It is still flowing and is called the water of Kāne and Kanaloa. Other legends tell similar stories of how Kāne and Kanaloa opened freshwater springs on various islands.

In the Hawaiian life origin myth, Kāne is said to have formed the three worlds, which consist of the upper heaven where the gods reside, the lower heaven that is above the earth, and the earth. He filled the garden of earth with animals, plants, and sea creatures and created man and woman to live there. Some accounts have Kū and Lono aiding him in the creation of the earth and its inhabitants. A creation legend describes Kāne living alone in constant darkness. Later, during the second era, light exists, and Kū and Lono work with Kāne to create the earth and the living creatures. In the third era, they create man and woman. Kāne goes to heaven to live in the fourth era, but humans, having broken the god’s law, remain and become mortal. Yet another creation story tells of Kāne, Kū, and Lono sculpting the first man out of wet soil and bringing him to life. They make him a chief over all the world and put him in the great land of Kāne with his wife, Lalo-honua. They live happily in the garden until Lalo-honua meets the great seabird with a white beak. The bird convinces her to eat the god’s sacred apples. After she does so, she becomes insane and turns into a seabird. The great seabird carries her and her husband away to avoid Kāne’s wrath. Kāne worshipers were called he papa la’a, or a consecrated class.

Kū, whose name means “snatcher of the land,” is the god of war and twin brother of Kāne. He is also known as Kū-ka-ili-moku. Ancient peoples made human sacrifices to Kū. His wife is the goddess Hina. King Kamehameha I, who united the Hawaiian Islands at the turn of the nineteenth century, built many temples to his god, Kū. Stone figures depict the god, who is called “the island eater,” with a gaping mouth. His name also means “rising upright,” while Hina means “leaning down.” Kū rules over the mornings as the sun is rising, while the afternoons belong to Hina.

Lono, the god of agriculture, is associated with fertility. Other topics in Lono’s realm are music, peace, and rainfall. Some of his bodies are rain clouds, winter storms, waterspouts, and thunder. He is credited with bringing cultivated plants to the islands, and some of his other forms include the sweet potato, gourd plant, candlenut tree, fern, tree fern, and a type of banana called the mai’a hinupua’a. Hawaiians pray to Lono for rainfall and thank him for good harvests. Harvest celebrations called makihiki are held in the fall between October and February when Lono is believed to visit the islands. During this time, war was prohibited, and people were forbidden to go to sea or till the soil. The time was to be dedicated to relaxation and rest. People engaged in athletic games. Ritual ceremonies and processions collected offerings from the abundant harvest. These might include live animals, vegetables, dried fish, bark-cloth garments, ornaments, and other valuable objects. Lono is associated with redfish, black coconut, and whitefish, as well as growing ‘awa.

Kanaloa is the god of the underworld and close companion of Kāne. Kanaloa is also the ruler of the ocean and a magician who shares the craft with devotees. He is often depicted as an octopus or squid, and the ocean itself is one of his bodies. Most Hawaiian stories of Kanaloa are about his travels with Kāne. However, in other Polynesian cultures, he is the creator of the universe or ruler of the heavens. Hawaiian canoe builders invoke Kāne for building their vessels and Kanaloa for sailing them.

Many lesser deities were prevalent in daily life and in the islands’ history. Maui, a demi-god known for hoisting mischief upon people, is credited with pulling the islands up from the sea using his fish hook. Another example is the hula dance, which is connected to the Pele deities. The patron of the hula dance is a male god, Laka, of the Pele lineage.

Pele herself is the goddess of the element of fire, descended from the Sky Father and a spirit named Haumea. She is an akua, the sacred embodiment of a natural element. Her fires create and destroy the land, creating new volcanoes. Some legends credit Pele with creating the Hawaiian Islands. In 2018, when the Kilauea volcano was violently erupting, many Hawaiians placed offerings of flowers and Ti leaves in the cracks in the roads in front of their houses for Pele.

Bibliography

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