Astronomy in the Oral Literature of Hawaii

1. Astronomy in the Oral Literature of Hawaii Peapeamakawalu (Eight-eyed bat, the Southern Cross) abducted Maui’s wife Kumulama (Source of light) and took her to his home. Maui and his grandfather constructed a “bird-boat” kite in which Maui flew. He landed on Peapea’s special box. Peapea captured him and took him home as a prized bird. When all of Peapea’s 8 eyes had closed, Maui beheaded him, rescued his wife, and returned with her to Oahu. The Southern Cross is “beheaded” in mid-January. It marks the second solar nadir (the first is in December). Moanaliha is Antares. Maui’s bird-boat is the summer triangle, a constellation known as a bird in Hawaii. The constellation Maui is made up of parts of Ophiucus and Hercules.

2. Hawaiian chants, myths, and legends incorporate the sky and the objects in it, personify them, make husbands, wives, lovers, and mischief makers of them, tell the months and seasons by them, make records of events using them, entwine them with seasonal appearances of plants and animals. It is a literature full of celestial significance, composed by gifted weavers of words whose art employed analogy, punning, metaphor, riddles, allusions, rhythm, and that particularly Polynesian device – internal rhyme – that listeners of old could enjoy, but only those gifted with understanding and intellect could fully hear. We moderns are far from that older culture and are eager to quickly grasp the meanings of phrases whose value lies often in the difficulty of interpreting them. But it is worth the time and patience and the frequent bouts with ambiguity to experience the Hawaiian sky, not just as stars, sun, and moon, but as players, even friends, family, and ancestors, whose life above us tells the stories of our earthly time and seasons. The genealogies are those of characters in the legend The Romance of Laieikawai

3. The chief, Kahikoluamea, said, “Where is this canoe from? Where are its islands and who is this person you see?” • They said, “This canoe is from Lolomehani. Pilika’aka’a, he is a prophet.” • The prophets and the priests said, “We know this person. The lands he knew of are gone. This is the reason he is coming: to bring us his gods, Ku and Lono, on that journey here and to live in our islands. • Some of his gods are Pele, Kamohoalii, and Kahuilaokalani. His stature as a prophet is because he is a guardian of Pele, one of his gods. • “Here comes a large canoe on the great sea of the ocean.” • Henaeolalo said, “This prophet was commanded by his father, Lonokumakua, to come here and to teach this race the Pele prayer.” • Henaeolalo, the elder of the re-population effort, spoke again, “The first prophets of the gods had prophesied this: there would be a god that this race would pray to, leaving behind the priests in charge of the re-population effort and the prophets.” • The people who believe in Kane, Kanaloa, and Kealiipo’okapuhunaikeaouli and the gods of creation do not agree. They did not want this. • Henaeolalo said, “Here is the canoe of Pilika’aka’a coming up at the tap root of Nihoa with his famous navigator.” • It [the navigator] is the name we know of as Hokuho’okelewa’a. They were the people of Kahekili: in the first was Kaho’ohokukelewa’a, then Hokukau’opae, then Hokuloa, Makali’I, Hoku’ula, Kaona, Na Kao, Hokulei at the sea, the bailers, then after Na Kao was Hoku’ele’ele at the front of the iako, then Kaulua and Wilinehu (Hilinehu) at the bow of the canoe. Pilika’aka’a was at the mast of the canoe. • There is a lot in this brief passage. Kahikoluamea is here the name of a chief, but it is also the name of Wakea’s (Sky Father) father. So, yes, the father of the gods himself had parents. Lolomehani is a distant land, usually referred to as mythical, and by some traditional Hawaiians believed to be an island that became submerged. • Pilika’aka’a, better known as Pili, was one of two priests who came to Hawaii, presumably c. 1100 – 1200, bringing with them the worship of the gods Ku and Lono. The other, Pa’ao, in this version of their arrival, came a couple of centuries later than Pili. Pele, best known as the goddess of the volcano, is still often called a malihini – newcomer – god. The name of Pili’s father, Lonokumakua, is literally Lono (a god) and Ku (a god) and parent (mauka). • Lono and Ku are brothers of Kane, the creator god. The Kane worshippers were already present in Hawaii and had been for several centuries before the worship of Ku and Lono was introduced. Even today there are regions within the islands where Kane worship remains the primary native religion. Perhaps it goes without saying that the Kane priests, chiefs, and followers were not happy with the arrival of new priesthoods and chiefs and the worship they brought with them. • The re-population effort refers to the re-peopling of the Islands after the destruction of the second Flood, known as the Sea of Kahinalii. • The names of the people on Pili’s canoe are the names of stars. Hokuho’okelewa’a (and its variants) are Sirius. Hokukau’opae in this instance is Rigel (in other circumstances it is Sirius). Hokuloa is Venus. Kaona I don’t know the identity of. Na Kao is the Belt of Orion. I don’t know the identity of Hoku’ele’ele. Kaulua is usually both of the Gemini twins, but in this case it is apparently Pollux as Wilinehu (Hilinehu) is also known as Mahoe Mua and is Castor. I don’t know the identity of Hinai’ele’ele. • Thus Pili’s canoe is in the sky at least as much as it is on the sea.