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Hawaiian Deities of Canoes and Canoe Building
[Photos below:
Ki'ikane and Ki'iwahine, or male and female tiki (images) on
Hokule'a]
  The
ki'i wahine, or female image, lashed to the manu or back-piece of
the port hull on Hokule'a, is named "Kiha Wahine o Ka Mao o Malu Ulu
o Lele." The ki'i kane, or male image, lashed to the back manu of
the starboard hull is named "Kane o Hokule'a o Kalani."
(Traditionally, the port, or left, hull of a double-hulled canoe is
female; the starboard, or right, hull is male.) The ki'i were
fashioned by master carver Sam Ka'ai of Maui. Ka'ai keeps the
original ki'i under his protection; the duplicates on the canoe are
called the traveling ki'i; they are in the keeping of Wally Froiseth.
These ki'i embody the spirit of Hawai'i and watch over the canoe
while it voyages. The female image has eyes that represents seeing
and foresight; the male image represents knowledge; they work
together to guide the canoe. Before the start of a voyage, the feet
of the ki'i are wrapped with maile lei.
Hawaiians are
traditionally a deeply religious and spiritual people. From ancient
times the land and sea upon which they live belonged to their
deities--the people are just the caretakers. The building of a canoe
was (and is) a religious affair, and there are deities specifically
associated with this activity. So too, when voyagers went to sea,
they asked for protection from the god of the ocean, Kanaloa, and
the god or goddess of the weather and winds, La'amaomao. The gods
and goddesses of canoes and canoe-building included the following
(from Tommy Holmes' The Hawaiian Canoe, p. 31):
Hina-ke-ka: Goddess of
canoe bailers
Hina-ku-wa'a: Another
name for Lea
Hina-puku-'ai: "Hina
gathering food"; goddess of food plants; sister of Lea; took the
form of an 'elepaio
Ka-pu-'a-o-alaka'i:
Another name for Ka-pu-o-alaka'i
Ka-pu-o-alaka'i:
Forest goddess; presided over the lines (pu) by which new canoes
were guided as they were transported from mountains to sea; also
"Ka-pu-o-alaka'i'
Kama-i-ka-huli-wa'a-pu:
"God who aided in floating, righting and bailing out upset canoes"
Kanealuka: God of
canoe builders
Ku'alana-wao: Ku of
the upland offering
Ku-holoholo-pali: "Ku
who steadies the canoe as it is carried down steep places"
Ku-kalanawao: "Ku who
guides through the mountain wilderness"
Ku-kanaloa: (No data;
Kanaloa was the god of the Ocean; his ocean form is the he'e, or
octopus; his land form is the banana.)
Ku-ka-'ohi'a-laka: "Ku
of the sacred 'ohi'a;" also Ku-maha-ali'i: "Ku who journeys in the
canoe"
Ku-mauna: "Ku of the
mountains"
Ku-moku-hali'i: "Ku
who bedecks the island"; canoe builders chief god; husband of Lea;
also Mokuhali'i
Ku-ohanawao: (no data;
cf. Ku'alana-wao and Ku-kalanawao)
Ku-'ohi'a-Laka:
Another name for Laka
Ku-olonawao: "Ku of
the deep forest"
Ku-pepeiao-loa: "Ku of
the long comb-cleats"; god of the seat braces by which the canoe is
carried
Ku-pepeiao-poko: "Ku
of the short comb-cleats"; god of the seat braces by which the canoe
is carried
Ku-pulapula: "Ku with
many offspring"
Ku-pulupulu: "Ku, the
chip-maker"; god of the forests
Ku-pulupulu-i-ka-nahele:
Another name for Ku-pulupulu
Kulauka: Another name
for Ku-pulupulu
Laka: God of canoe
builders; also Ku-'ohi'a-laka
Lea: Goddess of canoe
builders; wife of Ku-moku-hali'i; sister of Hina-puku-'ai; she takes
the form of an 'elepaio (a forest bird); also "Hina-ku-wa'a," "Laea,"
"Lea-ka-wahine"
Lea-ka-wahine: Another
name for Lea
Moku-hali'i: Another
name for Ku-moku-hali'i |
