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are several creation myths in the Hawaiian culture, passed
down orally, through storytelling. Some stories focus on Kumulipo
(the essence of darkness) and the female Po'ele (darkness
itself).They
are believed to have created the
first
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creatures. Kumulipo
is also the
name given to the creation chant that is often sung in Hawaii,
and here
it has come to mean 'the first beginning', or 'the creation'. |
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HAUMEA
is the goddess of procreation and childbirth. |
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KANALOA
is the god of the underworld, who can teach magic. He appears
in the shape of an octopus. |
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KAPO
is the the fertility god. |
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KANE
is the Hawaiian god of procreation and the sea. He is the
ancestor of all human beings. Kane created the three worlds of sky,
earth, and the 'upper' heaven. He was one of the four great gods
who existed in the beginning. He is Ku's son. |
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KU
was one of the four great gods who existed in the beginning.
He created all the living creatures in and out of the sea and on
the land and in the air. |
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LAKA
is the Hawaiian goddess of plenty, of song and of dance.
She is very popular and is married to Lono. |
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LONO
is the Hawaiian god of song and agriculture. He descended
on a rainbow to marry a Hawaiian girl who was actually the goddess
Laka in disguise. He was one of the four great gods who existed
in the beginning. He created the sun, the moon and the stars. |
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MAUI
is the god who snared the sun because it was traveling too
fast. He beat the sun until it agreed to travel much slower across
the sky. |
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MILU
was the lord of the spirit world. |
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PELE
is the Hawaiian fire goddess. She is the daughter of the
goddess Haumea and resides in the crater of the volcano Kilauea
on Hawaii. She is savage and her jealous rages were believed to
cause Kilauea's eruptions. Pele also controls lightning. |
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WAKEA
is the creator god and first man. In one version, his wife
Papa was a giant bird who laid an egg which opened and became the
island of Hawaii. Soon, green trees grew there and Wakea and Papa
went to live there themselves, as the first human beings. |
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| "The
Big Myth" © Distant Train 2009 |
