Lono, god of fertility, peace, recreation & weather
The clouds and the phenomena of storms are associated with Lono. During prayer to Lono, signs of the god are named thunder, lightening, earthquake, the dark cloud, the rainbow, rain, wind, whirlwinds that sweep the earth, waterspouts, the clustering clouds of heaven, and gushing springs on the mountains. Lono brings on the rains and dispenses fertility. Lono’s role has generally confined to the celebration of games such as rugby.
Goddess Pele, her anger causes volcanoes to erupt
One day Pele appeared in the guise of a beautiful young woman and the unsuspecting goddess Poliahu welcomed her to join in their sport of holua sledding. As the ground grew hotter and hotter, Poliahu realized the beautiful stranger was none other than Pele, her archenemy. Pele called forth fire from the volcanic depths, sending fire fountains after Poliahu as the terrified goddess escaped to the summit. Red-hot lava licked at the edges of Poliahu’s white mantle, but she grasped her robe and managed to escape. Regaining her strength, she tossed her white mantle over the mountain peak. The grounds trembled, fire licked the heavens, and the snow goddess unleashed snow from frozen clouds from the skys overhead.
Pele sent rivers of lava down the hillside, which cooled and hardened so quickly it choked the yawning chasms that spewed the molten rock and drove the streams of lava underground. From time to time, Pele continues to hurl fire and lava, but Poliahu always gains the upper hand in these battles. For today, the kickoff calls are Pele and Poliahu, not fire and ice.
Ku, god of war
Ku and his wife Hina are the earliest gods. Ku and Hina are great ancestral gods of earth and heaven who have general control over the bounty of earth and generations of mankind. Ku frees one from their faults and errors. Ku represents the East, or the sun rising; Hina represents the West, or the sun setting. Ku represents the universal character as a god to worship. Pray to Ku for things such as good rugby, long tries and no knock-ons.
The wise and brave goddess Haumea
Haumea is daughter to the fertility goddess Papa and mother to the goddess of fire Pele. Besides teaching human women how to give birth properly, she was considered a very wise woman, and very brave. She rescued her husband from kidnappers and to escape them she leaps with her husband into an ulu tree. When the kidnappers try to capture Haumea and her mate by cutting into the tree with their machetes, the splinters of wood and poisonous sap from the tree kill the axe men. To appease Haumea, the kidnappers carve the tree into a shape of goddess whom Haumea calls Kamehaikana.
The Menehune forest dwellers
Menehune are legendary mystical and shy forest dwellers, small in size, about 3 ft tall, but according to legend, very industrious master builders that use their great strength to accomplish mighty feats of engineering and construction overnight. According to folklore, the Menehune works at night so as not to be seen by others. They cut, transport, and fit stones for their projects in a fireman’s bucket brigade like method. If they are discovered, their work will stop and be abandoned. Popularly, they are described as playful pot-bellied hairy and muscular elves two or three feet tall, with bushy eyebrows over large eyes and a short nose with a trace of mischievousness. Sounds to me like Menehumes are all props.
Kane god of life, sun, forests and trees
Kane is the leading of the great gods, represents the god of procreation and is worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kane is the creator and gives life associated with dawn, sun and sky. According the Kumuhonua legend, Kane formed the three worlds: the upper heaven of the gods, the lower heaven above the earth, and the earth itself as a garden for mankind; the latter he furnished with sea creatures, plants, and animals, and fashioned man and woman to inhabit it. No human sacrifice or laborious ritual is needed in the worship of Kane. That’s a relief!
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