Hawaii - Lesson 6.02:
Hawaiian Myths

The Story of Maui

One day a woman named Hina mysteriously got pregnant by putting on a man's loin cloth.  She realized that the loin cloth belonged to Akalana, a man in the village.  She told Akalana that the loin cloth put a baby in her womb and then married Akalana to wait on the birth of their child. 

When the baby was born, they named him Maui.  However, Maui was a difficult child to raise.  He would disobey his parents and even played nasty tricks on his brothers.  Hina and Akalana, the parents, did not know what to do with this unruly child. 

One day, Hina became so frustrated with Maui that she cut off some of her hair and wrapped the baby in it, and set him out to drift in the ocean.   Maui floated into the land of the gods.  Here he was loved and cared for.  As he grew, he decided to return home.  He took a sacred fishhook from the gods and paddled toward his family home in a canoe.

During the voyage, he cast his hook into the ocean where the giant fish Pimoe was swimming.  Pimoe grabbed hold of the hook and Maui struggled to bring the giant fish aboard.  In the battle the giant fish died and turned into solid land. He became so frustrated that he threw his fish hook up into the air.   

That explains how the land was formed from the sea and they named the land, Maui.  The fish hook became a constellation and today, you can look into the sky over Maui and see a constellation of stars in the shape of a fish hook.

The Legend of Pele

A long time ago, a goddess had a baby child and she was named Pele.  From the day the child was born, people knew she was very different.  This child had fiery red hair, red eyes and a strong and quick temper. 

Her uncle, Lonomakua, taught Pele the secrets of the flames and Pele became a goddess of fire.  Her older sister became very jealous and forced Pele out of the home.  She said the island and home would burn if Pele stayed there.  So, Pele found a new island home called Hawaii. 

This new island was the home of Aila'au, a god whose name meant forest eater.  The two gods went into battle, but Pele did not give up.  She threw fire balls from volcanoes at Aila'au and caused the entire island to be covered with smoke.  When the smoke cleared, Aila'au was gone and Pele knew she had won!

Even today, Pele lives in the volcanoes of Hawaii.  If you visit a volcano and take a lava rock home, Pele's quick temper will flare and she will bring you bad luck.

The Story of the Shark God

Once there was a beautiful lady named Kalei.  She lived on the Big Island and loved the water.  Kamohaoli'i, the shark god, saw her beauty and wanted to have her as his own.  One day, Kalei was walking very close to the shoreline.  Kamohaoli'I saw his chance and caused a mighty wave to wash over the beautiful woman.   When the water receded, Kalei realized she was pregnant with child. 

Kalei could not figure out who the father of her child could be.  She always wondered how she could have conceived.  Late in her pregnancy, Kamohoali'I, the shark god, paid her a visit and told her that he was the baby's father.  He warned her that their son must never eat meat if he is to live as a human and he disappeared into the night.

Kalei gave birth to a baby and named him Nana'ue.  She was very surprised to find that he had a shark's mouth on his back.  She carefully sewed him a special cape to hide the mouth of the shark.  She heeded the warning and never fed her son meat. 

However, one day he was out with his grandfather where the men were sharing a meal.  He asked his grandfather for a taste of pork.  His grandfather thought that there would be no harm in a small bite and shared some pork with his grandson.  Now, Nana'ue craved meat more and more.  To satisfy his cravings, he would push ladies into the ocean.  Then, he would jump into the surf and change into a shark and devour them.  When he came out of the surf, he appeared as a normal boy.

The villagers became very afraid because so many young ladies went missing near the ocean and did not return.  An old man announced that the god's told him they had a shark boy in their midst and the only way to identify him was by the shark's mouth on his back.

The village men assembled everyone and told the men and boys to reveal their backs.  All did except for Nana'ue.  He was forced to take off his cape and reveal his back.  The men began to chase him and Nana'ue ran toward the ocean, jumped in, and instantly turned back into a shark. 

That is why the sharks constantly roam the shoreline looking for meat to satisfy their cravings.