Koa Mo‘o-lelo

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Koa

• Brave, bold, fearless• Soldier, warrior, fighter• Koakoa – arrogant, impudent

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/hawaii/explore/king-of-the-forest.xml

Mo‘o-lelo

• Mo‘o-lelo: Story, tale, tradition– Mo‘o – lizard, succession,

strip of land, ridge, brindled– Lelo – tongue

• Mo‘o-meheu: footprint• Mo‘o-puna: spring• Kuna Mo‘o: freshwater eel • Mo‘o-kū-‘au-hau: geneology

http://www.flickr.com/photos/_ana_/7111205111/

http://pacificislandparks.com/2011/03/31/oasis-of-life-in-forest-island/

Koa relationships

• Wa‘a, surfboards• Medicine- induce sleep,

burnt leaves ‘ea and pā‘ao‘ao

• Bark – dye and tanning• Hula• “Ka ulu koa I kai o

Oneawa” Legend of Hi‘iaka - Koa grove at sea

http://data.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/images/koa_surfboard_D01555.jpg

http://www.bigislandchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/kamehameha_landing.jpg

Koa Mo‘o-lelo

• Context of wa‘a – canoe or trench– Shaped by fierce winds of the mountains– Beaten by overwhelming waves– Rolled over sandy beaches– Smashed against coral or lava reefs– Until finally, lay worn and conquered

• Ready to meet the roughest life

Koa Mo‘o-lelo• Ka-hanai-a-ke-akua – a chief resided near

Kou– Nu‘uanu valley – cool height

• Good koa trees but guarded by mo‘o and e‘epa

– Mo‘o sends winds, black clouds, discouraging omens• Priests persisted• Log became stuck pulled to the stream

– Mo ‘o let go• Stopped up the springs, turned streams dry

– Hold the wa‘a• Ka-ho‘o-kane- place of sharp turns, steep

banks, great stones• Wedged the stone fast

– Now known as “The canoe of the dragon god”

• “E ola koa” Live like a koa tree

Ke-au-hou

• Ka-pāpala – Ahupua‘a, home of Kilauea, abode of the goddess Pele– The Charpentiera shrub

• Ke-au-hou – an ‘ili in the ahupua‘a of Kapapala– Au – period of time, era, cycle;

current or flow, movement, motion, weather

– Hou – new, fresh, again, to push, perspiration

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