Inoa | Name(s)
Kū
Hōʻuluʻulu manaʻo
He akua nui ʻo Kū, a wahi a kekahi o nā moʻolelo kahiko, ʻO Kū lāua ʻo Hina nā makamua o nā akua i hōʻea ma Hawaiʻi maiā Kahiki mai. ʻIke pinepine ʻia ma nā moʻolelo kahiko, ʻo Kū lāua ʻo Hina nā makua, me he mea lā ʻo lāua nā mākua o nā kānaka Hawaiʻi. ʻO Kū ke akua nāna ke kuleana o ka mana o ke kāne, a ʻo Hina ke akua nāna ke kuleana o ka mana o ka wahine.
Hoʻolaʻa ʻia ʻo Kū ma o kona mau inoa he nui no ka ua e ulu ai ka ʻāina, ka lawaiʻa, a me ka hana hoʻokalakupua, a kaulana ʻo ia no kona pilina i ka hana kaua. ʻO Kū ka mea i hoʻolaʻa ʻia i wā i ʻohiʻohi ʻia ai e kahi kanaka i ka laʻau lapaʻau me kona lima ʻākau. Kapa ʻia nā pō kūkahi, kūlua, kūkolu, a me kūpau no ke akua ʻo Kū. ʻO ka niu, ka ulu, ka ʻōhiʻa, ka lehua, nā ʻenuhe, nā koʻe, nā loli, a me ka ʻio kona mau kinolau.
Description
Kū is one of the great gods and according to some accounts, Kū and Hina were the first gods to reach Hawaiʻi from Kahiki. It is often seen in the historical writings, Kū and Hina or a version of them are invoked as the parents of various characters, and are seemingly the progenitors of the Hawaiian people. Kū is the god who is associated with male energies and HIna is the god associated with female energies.
Various forms of Kū were appealed to for rain and growth, fishing, and sorcery, but he is best known as a god of war. When gathering medicine with their right hands, people prayed to Kū for success. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth nights of the lunar month were sacred to Kū. He sometimes assumed the form of the coconut, the breadfruit, the ʻōhiʻa tree, the lehua flower, caterpillars, worms, sea cucumbers or the ʻio hawk.
ʻŌlelo kuhikuhi
E koho i kēia huaʻōlelo no nā kumuwaiwai pili i ke akua ʻo Kū, ma ke ʻano laulā.
Instructions
Use this term for resources related to the god Kū in a general sense.
Moʻokūʻauhau | Genealogy
Akua | Deity: Hina2
Hana | Practice: Lawaiʻa3; Hana kaua; Holo kai
Kinolau | Form: Niu; Ulu; ʻŌhiʻa; Lehua; ʻEnuhe; Koʻe; Loli; ʻIo
Kūmole
(1) Pukui, Mary Kawena, and Samuel H. (Samuel Hoyt) Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary : Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian. Rev. and enl. Ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
(2) Westervelt, W. D. (William Drake). Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods. Rutland, Vt: C. E. Tuttle, 1963. pages. 224-240; 116-151.
(3) Kaopio, Matthew. Hawaiian Family Legends. Honolulu, Hawaii: Mutual Pub., 2003.
(4) Armitage, Kimo. Akua Hawaiʻi : Hawaiian Gods and Their Stories. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press, 2005.”Kū.”
(5) Beckwith, Martha Warren. Hawaiian Mythology. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1976.
Hoʻopili ʻia i | Applied to: E Kū ana ka paia : unification, responsibility and the Kū images; ‘Ulu, the breadfruit: gift of Ku; Ku gods
Mea haku | Created by: Puaokamele Dizon; Annemarie Paikai