Following a question about sharkgods, i decided to do a little research about the subject fijis dakuwaqa. Jun, 2012 kamoho hawaiian shark god who was the chief of the many lesser shark deities in the hawaiian pantheon. Because they freed a shark caught in a net, the fearsome shark god rescues a brother and sister from the cruel kings imprisonment and helps them find a new, peaceful kingdom across the sea. In a legend from maui, pueonuiakea is an owl god who brings back to life. When it comes to the legend of makua caves shapeshifting shark man you can both legally and easily check this one out for yourself. Hawaiian legends index university of hawaii at manoa. When hawaii was ruled by sharklike gods by patrick. With the eighth wave, a huge shark slid onto the beach.
In the references section of this book you will find a large amount of books scholarly articles on polynesian and hawaiian mythology. He told kamalo to go back to the temple of the shark god and carry the priest there over the cliffs to his own temple at kaluaaha. The tumultuous history of hawaiifrom the first encounter of an island civilization with intruding explorers to its subjugation as a colonial outpost of americahas been told many times. He occasionally adopted a human child who gains the power to transform into a shark. For protection and guidance, families that relied upon the water for a living often revered kamohoalii, even making offerings when at sea to keep him happy. They were lifes fruitfulness and all the generations of mankind, both those who are to come and those already born. Kanaloa was god of the underworld and a teacher of magic. Terminologyterminology kakaaoao fanciful story or tale. The shark god agreed to be his kahu, or guardian, and punish chief kupa and his followers.
The dead body was then believed to make a slow transformation into a shark, and the kahuna a priest, sorcerer or magician would then tell the family that specific markings on a. He was greatly respected by fishermen because he protected them from any danger at sea and sometimes protected them from evil denizens of the sea. Allen, betty, legends of old hawaii as told by tutu to her grandchildren on pages. List of figures in the hawaiian religion wikipedia. The myth of the shark god living oceans foundation. The hatred of his father, which only increased as olopana witnessed the boys talents, hurt the young man deeply. He was one of the four gods with ku, kane, and his twin brother kanaloa who existed before the world was created. He is also the name of an extinct volcano in hawai.
Its with fascinationand some forgivenessthat we read king david kalakauas tome, the myths and legends of hawaiithe fables and folklore of a strange people. Martins suitably mythlike prose gives the story appropriate grandeur. He was once going inland to conquer kadavu island through the river when another goddess challenged him in the form of an octopus. When hawaii was ruled by sharklike gods by patrick vinton. Could someone tell me about good books about hawaiian. Akheilos is the son of zeus and lamia and was a lesser known sea god with a shark head and a fiery fish body. Hawaiian narrative or mythology, tells stories of nature and life. Nanaue the shark man and other hawaiian shark stories by emma m. Perhaps we thought it easier to remember only the power of fire, forgetting the sharp sting of pain. I live on oahu and im absolutely fascinated by hawaiian mythology. The religion was officially suppressed in the 19th century, but kept alive by some practitioners to the modern day.
Native american shark mythology oddly, despite being known to european sailors prior to the colonization of the americas, the shark is one of several animals whose english name has native american origins the word shark is an english corruption of the mayan word xooc pronounced shok, which became popularized in the 1500s. These 9 fascinating stories of hawaiian mythology will leave you shaking your head in awe. In agricultural and planting traditions, lono was identified with rain and food plants. These hawaiian stories tell the tales of gods and men, ghosts and goblins. In hawaiian mythology, kamohoalii, the shark god, is one of the most powerful and popular deities. Legend has it that dakuwaqa was an angry, fearless, headstrong and jealous sea god. He was greatly respected by fishermen because he protected them from any danger at sea and sometimes protected them from evil denizens of the sea he was once going inland to conquer kadavu island through the river when another goddess challenged him in the form of an octopus. Read an excerpt from the shark god scholastic books for kids. Hawaii is full of myths and legends stories that are full of passion, betrayal, loyalty, birth and death. See more ideas about gods and goddesses, hawaiian and hawaiian mythology. Punia and the king of sharks by lee wardlaw, is a very good book to read aloud to children.
Subject browse subject search advanced search notes. It is considered a variant of a more general polynesian narrative, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. The fiji islands have their own shark god and during my stay there, i had the chance to learn more about dakuwaqa the fierce sea god. Rangi also called wakea, rangi was the sky god who, with his wife papa the earth goddess, spawned many of the major deities in the polynesian pantheon. Thousands of names of hawaiian gods, goddesses, demigods. Her book has become a classic work of folklore and ethnology, and thedefinitive treatment of hawaiian mythology. In honor of sharkweek, the pensacola news journal asked shark experts to save the reputation of the much maligned shark by busting the biggest myths we. Susanna moore, who grew up in hawaii and has set some of her novels there, offers a new rendering of this island saga. Books hwst 270 hawaiian mythology library at windward. Dec 03, 2015 the tumultuous history of hawaiifrom the first encounter of an island civilization with intruding explorers to its subjugation as a colonial outpost of americahas been told many times.
Ku and hinaman and womanwere the great ancestral gods of heave. The fiji islands have their own shark god and during my stay there, i had the chance to learn more about dakuwaqa the fierce sea god legend has it that dakuwaqa was an angry, fearless, headstrong and jealous sea god. The story flowes really well and the way it is written leaves you excited to turn the page. See more ideas about hawaiian mythology, hawaiian and mythology.
Takuaka tongan myth of the shark god is taught to tongan students to preserve both culture and coral reefs finds lof team on coral reef education program. After a great battle, the octopus won by pulling out his. He alone of all peles relatives tried to aid her when she was seeking to avoid her marriage to the boar god kamapuaa. His son, the god kane, separated the earth and sky to make room for himself and the other gods and goddesses to be born and so that the rest of creation could proceed.
Beckwith was a professional, writing on her home ground. Tongan myth of the shark god living oceans foundation. Eleven more deities from hawaiian mythology balladeers blog. Hawaiian gods and goddesses pantheons the white goddess. Hawaiian mythology as a subset of polynesian mythology will be the subject i tackle here. If you are interested in the origins of hawaiian mythology, this is a key text. During this period from october through february, war and unnecessary work was kapu. With many cases of hawaiian mythology, its often difficult or illegal to visit the places in the stories we hear. Lyons, barbara, fire and water, and other hawaiian legends. Rafe martin has retold a hawaiian legend about 2 children who, upon. While running odd jobs in hawaii, shadow has an unusual encounter with a local deity.
Martha beckwith was thefirst scholar to chart a path through the hundreds of books, articles, andlittleknown manuscripts that recorded the oral narratives of the hawaiianpeople. I will be examining many of the polynesian island groups separately in the near future, some with full pages of their own, but to whet everyones appetites i figured i would start out with a top 11 list looking at. Could someone tell me about good books about hawaiian mythology. Like the living shark mouth that adorns your back, between your shoulder blades. Kamoho was the brother of the fire goddess pele and was considered the guardian god of the hawaiian islands. He was godlike, and, born to hina, he had godlike skills, able to change. Among the hawaiian references, some names of scholars pop up frequently. Another legend is created as a plane crashes in the water in the dark. The shark god has been selected to be among the most outstanding books of. Nanaue the shapeshifting sharkman of makua cave information. Hawaiian tiki gods, legends, lore, folk tales and mythology. And no matter how hard you try, it just wont go away. Westervelt, one of the most famed retellers of hawaiian myths and legends back in the early 1900s, some of these myths and legends were very similar to the stories told in tahiti, samoa, fiji, new zealand and other islands in the pacific ocean.
Khaled bin sultan living oceans foundation providing sciencebased solutions to protect and restore ocean health. In fijian mythology, dakuwaqa dakuwanga is a sharkgod. Read an excerpt from the shark god folktale writers. The shark god rafe martin, author, david shannon, illustrator, illus. In his honor, the great annual festival of the makahiki was held. He was god like, and, born to hina, he had god like skills, able to change appearances and then to duplicate his own appearance around him. Answering their parents pleas for justice, the powerful shark god destroys the. Neither a professional historian nor an anthropologist, moore combines a. Before that the animals were known as seadogs in english. There are some urban legends around the island about night marchers which are spirit warriors who roam a certain part of the island and recreate their march to war. Read about the shark god, the volcano goddess, and the poison gods of the. The shark god reared itself up and, before their horrified eyes, transformed in to a gigantic man on whose mighty back was the tattoo of open shark s jaws. This is a story of the shark god of molokai, kauhuhu, as it came down in the form of mele stories passed from generation to generation in the oral tradition of the islands.
Kamoho hawaiian shark god who was the chief of the many lesser shark deities in the hawaiian pantheon. When it comes to the legend of makua caves shapeshifting sharkman you can both legally and easily check this one out for yourself. You can also read a copy of the shark god by going to the international childrens digital library, a joint project of the internet archive and. Martha beckwith was thefirst scholar to chart a path through the hundreds of books, articles, andlittleknown manuscripts that recorded the oral narratives of. Like many indigenous peoples, the ancient hawaiians felt a deep connection to the aina land, and used stories of their gods and goddesses to explain everything from lava flows to the creation of the hawaiian islands. In hawaiian mythology, lono is a fertility and music god who descended to earth on a rainbow to marry laka. Hum2310 pacific ohana the mythology of the hawaiian culture. The hawaiian gods werelike great chiefs from far lands who visited among the people, entering their dailylives sometimes as humans or animals, sometimes taking residence in a. Molokai was known to the ancients as molokai of the powerful prayers, due to the great mana spiritual power attributed to the priests of that island. He was the guardian of the reef entrance of the islands. Akheilos was turned into a shark as punishment after boasting that he was more attractive than the god of beauty aphrodite. Thompson, vivian laubach, hawaiian legends of tricksters and riddlers on pages. The top eleven deities in hawaiian mythology balladeers blog.
Hawaiians have a very complex mythology surrounding sharks. In fijian mythology, dakuwaqa dakuwanga is a shark god. Religion and mythology were interwovenin hawaiian culture. Kauhuhu the shark god of molokai tiki and cocktail culture. And while all mythology evolves, kalakauas work is a stunning example of the dramatic metamorphosis of hawaiian myth after its having undergone one hundred years of tremendous upheaval in a time when cultural relativism was an unknown concept to those who promulgated the notion that evidence of cultural decline was in fact a sign.
Ukupanipo is a shark god who controls the amount of fish close enough for the fisherman to catch. The shark god reared itself up and, before their horrified eyes, transformed in to a gigantic man on whose mighty back was the tattoo of open sharks jaws. Maui ancient hero and chief, demigod, time shifter. The book takes a very academic approach to an area which unfortunately has drifted into a causual, fairytale genre. Ku and hinaman andwomanwere the great ancestral gods of heaven and earth for the ancienthawaiians.
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