KUMU HONUA

Ka Pae ‘Āina o HawaiʻiThe archipelago of Hawaiʻi consists of eight major islands, 124 small islands, reefs and shoals – 6,425 Sq. mi. of land

‘O WĀKEA NOHO IĀ PAPAHĀNAUMOKU

Hānau ‘O Hawaiʻi, he moku

Hānau ‘O Maui, he moku

Ho’i hou ‘O Wākea noho iā Ho’ohōkūkalani

Hānau ‘O Moloka’i, he moku

Hānau ‘O Lānaʻi-kaʻula, he moku

Lili ʻōpū punalua ‘O Papa iā Ho’ohōkūkalani

Hoʻi hou ‘O Papa noho iā Wakea

Hānau ‘O Oʻahu, he moku

Hānau ‘O Kauaʻi, he moku

Hānau ‘O Niʻihau, he moku

He ‘Ula aʻo Kahoʻolawe

THE BIRTH OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

This chant describes one version of Hawaiian Cosmology.

Wākea- Skyfather and Papahānaumoku-

gives birth to islands, create Hawai’i and Maui.

Wākea and Hoʻohōkūkalani - Celestial bodies,

Give birth to Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

Papa becomes jealous and returns to Wākea

Born are Oʻahu, Kauaʻi and Niʻihau,

Kahoʻolawe is the placenta.

MELE A PĀKUʻI

MELE A PĀKUʻI

• Mele a Pākuʻi is a genealogical moʻolelo/chant for the birthing of the Hawaiian islands. Please note that there other chants and stories that account for the creation of the Hawaiian islands that differ in order and other information.

PAPA & WĀKEA• Papahānaumoku (Earth Mother) was born in darkness

• Wākea (Sky Father) was created in the light

• Their union, symbolizing male light’s penetration into female’s darkness, brought forth the birth of the Hawaiian islands and the Hawaiian people.

KAHIKI• Though many believe that Kahiki is a reference to “Tahiti,” in old Hawai`i, Kahiki was a term for any place outside of Hawai`i. In other words, it was a broad term for a foreign place, a place beyond the horizon.

• Hānau Kahiki-kū, Kahiki-moe gives us an indication of how birthing will take place according to this chant (from SE to NW).

KAHIKI-KŪ• Kahiki-kū literally means “upright Kahiki” and refers to the sky just above the horizon. It is also an ancient reference to the east, the rising up, or standing up of the sun. The east signifies birth, life, and growth. Tangarō states that “the birth of the sun in the east is the birth of consciousness, it relates to this sacred space.” Kahiki-kū defines a time of full awareness and is compared to the blinding sun.

KAHIKI-MOE• Kahiki-moe literally means

“prostrate Kahiki” and refers to the horizon. On a deeper level, it refers to the setting sun in the west that culminates at the end of the conscious activity of day, making room for the activities of night, where sleeping returns us to the unconsciousness, to the unknown (through dreams). Kahiki-moe defines a time that allows for our ancestral memories and our distant thoughts related to Wākea to enter into the now. In deeper terms, Kahiki-kū nad Kahiki-moe calls to us to foster the growth of logic and abstract thinking.

HAWAIʻI• Hawaiʻi is referred to as makahiapo (eldest). It is not the oldest geologically, but went first and is is given the title of “eldest” in the family of islands because of its name.

MAUI

• Maui was called Mauiloa because there was land access to Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. In other words, those islands were connected by land and collectively known as Mauiloa.

MOLOLANI

 • Mololani refers to the phenomenon when one gives birth. It refers to the image of the cord still being attached to the mother. Molo refers to the action of pulling something behind a canoe. Lani refers to a chief. According to legend, Kāne, Kū and Lono created man in a place called Mololani.

KAHOʻOLAWE

• Kanaloa is the archaic name for Kahoʻolawe. Papa was in sacred pain because it was a supernatural birth.

LAUKAULA

• Laukaula (plover) – Laukaula was the name of a plover. The kōlea, or plover, is a migratory bird.

KAUAʻI

The archaic name for Kauaʻi is Kamawaelualani.

The closing charm tells of the placenta (Niʻihau), cord (Lehua), and afterbirth (Kaʻula).

Click here to listen to Mele A Pākuʻi by Charles Kaʻupu on Hapa’s CD “In The Name of Love”

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Mahalo!