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Tiki Central / General Tiki / A Brief History of Tiki Gods

Post #351182 by VampiressRN on Tue, Dec 25, 2007 8:31 AM

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Thanks Chris...I have looked for lists of the gods with pictures before and it is hard to find. Here is another list also.

Gods and Goddesses of Hawaii (Hawaiian Mythology)

Hawaii's ancient beliefs contained gods and goddesses revered throughout all the Islands, as well as many locally important gods. To Westerners it seemed that the ancient Hawaiian gods were a mix of Christian and ancient Roman and Greek gods, though by the time Missionaries arrived in the Islands from New England in the USA, Hawaii's royal rulers had officially cast the ancient Hawaiian religious system aside.

For centuries the belief system in Hawaii was enforced by priests (kahunas) and the notion of chief and priest privilege called "kapu," which simply meant "do this or die," ruled secular and religious life in Hawaii. But in 1819 Prince Lilolilo, who had just been crowed Kamehameha II, broke the kapu by dining in public with his mother and other women of the royal court.

All kapu were abolished, but they also destroyed Hawaii's temples (heiaus), relics and artifacts because kapu had been so inextricably intertwined with the Islands temples, priests and beliefs. The burning of the temples was urged by the high priest to Hawaii's royal family.

However Hawaii's rich cultural heritage is still alive in the Islands, binding oral tradition, archeological science, history and the ecology of the Islands, and there are many historic sites around the Islands that can help visitors and natives better understand the history and the legacy of the ancient Hawaiians.

And though all this talk of ancient gods may seem like ancient history, visitors to the volcanoes continually hear about tourists mailing back volcanic rocks and artifacts, originally taken as souvenirs from Kilauea, in order to appease Pele and end their streak of bad luck. Despite everything, the gods live on within their people.

Here's a list to help introduce you to Hawaii's ancient deities, along with a set of Web site links covering Hawaii's rich culture.

Major Dieties
• Kane - the creator
• Ku - the architect and maker of war
• Lono - god of peace and prosperity, wind and rain
• Kanaloa - god of the ocean.

Gods in the Realm of Death (Po)
• Akea - first Hawaiian king who founded a kingdom in the afterlife.
• Milu - suceeded Akea.
• Manua - supreme soverign of Po, the spirits of chiefs and priests live within him.

Celestial Dieties
• Kaonohiokala, dead chiefs are brought to him in the eyeball of the sun
• Kuahairo, Kaonohiokala's messenger
• Olopue, a god on Maui who brought the dead chiefs to Kaonohiokala

Pele - Goddess of the Volcano
• Pele had five brothers and eight sisters who did her bidding, among them:
• Kamooalii - King Moho, the god of steam.
• Keuakepo - god of rain of fire.
• Hiiakawawahilani - the cloud holder.
• Keoahikamakaua - the child of war.

Gods and Goddesses of the Natural World
• Laamaomao - god of winds, lives on Molokai.
• Hinakuluiau - goddess of rain.
• Mooaleo - a gnome who lives on Lanai.
• Kuula - god of fishermen - his wife is Hina.
• Ukanipo - the shark god of Hawaii.
• Moaalii - the shark god of Molokai and Oahu.
• Apukohai - shark god of Kauai.
• Haulili - god of speech.
• Koleamoku - god of the art of healing - patron of the kahunas.
• Lakakane - god of the hula.
• Mokualii - god of canoe makers.
• Ulaulekeahi - god of distillers.

Gods and Goddesses of Arts and Professions
• Kalaipahoa - goddess who harms trees.
• Kuahana - god who kills men.
• Lie - goddess of the mountains.
• Kiha - a goddess of Maui.
• Uli - god of sorcerers.
• Hiaka - a mountain god on Kauai.
• Ouli - god who could kill people if prayed to.
• Mahulu - names of gods in Lono's temples.
• Puea - a god worshipped in darkness.
• Kaluannuunohonionio - a god of a temple's sacrificial house.