“In view of the myth that relates the origin and descent of taro, which was identified with the god Kāne, to that of the ali‘i, or chiefs, of Hawaii, it is surprising that in the pageantry of the Makahiki, or harvest festival, the reigning aIi‘i plays the role of Lono rather than of Kāne.”
“Lono does not have any part in the creation myths of the Hawaiian Islands. This would seem to imply that Lono, with whom were identified the sweet potato, the gourd, and the hog, was a chief who came to these islands after they were already settled.”
“Had Lono come first, we should expect him to appear as a mythological character, and to find Kāne remembered, or recorded genealogically, as subsequent and subsidiary.”
“On the contrary, Kāne is primordial in the creation lore describing the origination of gods and men out of the marriage of Sky and Earth.”
“The sweet potato and gourd were suitable for cultivation in the drier areas of the islands. The cult of Lono was important in those areas, particularly in Kona on Hawaii and ‘Ulupalakua on Maui. At both of these places there were temples dedicated to Lono. The sweet potato was particularly the food of the common people.”
“The festival in honor of Lono, preceding and during the rainy season, was essentially a festival for the whole people, in contrast to the war rite in honor of Kū which was a ritual identified with Kū as god of battle.”
“It seems likely that the four chief gods of Hawaii, with each of whom particular plants and animals that were introduced were identified, represent distinct eras of colonization.”
“Because of Kāne’s place in the religion, his primordial role in the creation mythology, his pantheistic character, and his role as life-giver, it is logical to say that the first colonizers were worshipers of Kāne. With Kāne are identified the taro, sugar cane, and bamboo.”
“Our inference is, therefore, that these were introduced by the first settlers, and that it was these colonizers who established systematic agriculture in those areas that were capable of systematic development by means of irrigation …”
“… in other words, primarily the windward coasts and the valley areas on leeward sides of Kauai, Oahu, and West Maui, where stream systems coming down out of rain-drenched highlands made irrigation feasible.”
“This would have been an era of relative quiet, one of fairly isolated tribalism, before dynastic patterns and aristocratic traditions of ambitious warrior chieftains had become established.”
“Kanaloa perhaps came next after Kāne. The banana is identified with Kanaloa, as it is also in Tahiti. In Tahiti, and in Samoa and Tonga, Tangaloa (or Ta’aroa as the name is there pronounced) was the supreme god, the creator, and the ancestor of the ali‘i.”
“There is no reminiscence of this in Hawaii.”
“In all the southern islands, and as far as New Zealand, this deity is god of the ocean; and this is true also in Hawaii.”
“Here there is an interesting traditional association of Kāne and Kanaloa, in connection with the opening up of springs. Also in the mythological account of the creation of man, Kanaloa is associated with Kāne, although he does not appear at the dawn of creation as does Kāne.”
“It is because of the close association of Kanaloa with Kāne that we infer that Kanaloa and the banana came into the islands next after Kāne.”
“In New Zealand and tropical Polynesia, marine life and reptiles are identified with Tangaroa. In Hawaii this is true of marine life, but not of reptiles.”
“In Hawaii there is more lore relating to reptiles (mo‘o) than in any other island, yet there is no recollection of the relationship of reptiles to Kanaloa.”
“With the god Kū are identified the coconut tree and the breadfruit. Neither of these was planted or utilized, within historic times in Hawaii, nearly as extensively as would probably have been the case had they been in the islands for a long time.”
“It is for this reason that we have concluded that the Kū people were late comers. Kū, although not here regarded as lord of the ocean or particularly identified with it in any other way, was the patron of fishing.”
“Fishing as an organized enterprise was a prerogative of the ali’i, and everywhere in the Pacific the ali’i pre-empted the best fishing localities.”
“On the other hand, they did not by any means pre-empt the best farming localities; instead they depended upon the common people for their vegetable provender.”
“War rituals, in Hawaii as also in New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Marquesas, seem to have been derived from fishing rituals, and Kū was god of war as well as of fishing.”
“What probably happened was that as the worshipers of Kū became numerous, and rivalry over the best fishing localities such as Kona and Ka‘u brought about predatory wars, the chieftains came to realize that power depended upon population, and that population was a matter of food supply.”
“The epithet for Kū as a war god was Kū-the-Iand-snatcher, and this epithet became the symbol of conquest and the means of reduction of the farmers to the status of serfs.”
“The only one of the four major deities in Hawaii who was traditionally a human being is Lono. His apparent historical existence lends credence to the idea that he was the last of the four to come to Hawaii.”
“With Lono, as we have said, are identified the sweet potato, the gourd, and the hog. The sweet potato was taken to New Zealand by the Maori in the 14th century, and there likewise is identified with Rongo (Lono).”
“The hog was not taken to New Zealand, nor was the gourd; or at least if they were, neither survived.”
“The fact that the sweet potato went to New Zealand in the 14th century does not imply that it may not have been in Hawaii at an earlier date. It is possible that it was transported from Hawaii to New Zealand.” (Handy, Handy & Pukui)
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