Kanaloa
Encyclopedia
In the traditions of ancient Hawaii
, Kanaloa is symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne
. It is also the name of an extinct volcano in Hawaii. In legends and chants Kāne and Kanaloa are portrayed as complementary powers (Beckwith 1970:62–65). For example: Kāne was called upon during the building of a canoe, Kanaloa during the sailing of it; Kāne governed the northern edge of the ecliptic
, Kanaloa the southern; Kanaloa points to hidden springs, and Kāne then taps them out. In this way, they represent a divine duality of wild and taming forces like those observed (by Georges Dumezil
, et al.) in Indo-European
chief god-pairs like Odin
–Tyr and Mitra–Varuna, and like the popular yin–yang of Chinese Taoism
.
Kanaloa is also considered to be the god of the Underworld
and a teacher of magic
. Legends state that he became the leader of the first group of spirits "spit out" by the gods. In time, he led them in a rebellion in which the spirits were defeated by the gods and as punishment were thrown in the Underworld.
However, depictions of Kanaloa as a god of evil, death, or the Underworld, in conflict with good deities like Kāne (a reading that contradicts Kanaloa and Kāne's paired invocations and shared devotees in Ancient Hawaii
) are likely the result of European missionary
efforts to recast the four major divinities of Hawaii in the image of the Christian
Trinity
plus Satan
. In traditional, pre-contact Hawaii, it was Milu
who was the god of the Underworld and death, not Kanaloa; the related Miru
traditions of other Polynesian cultures confirms this.
The Eye of Kanaloa is an esoteric symbol associated with the god in New Age
Huna teaching, consisting of a seven-pointed star surrounded by concentric circles that are regularly divided by eight lines radiating from the inner-most circle to the outer-most circle.
Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
, Kanaloa is symbolized by the squid or by the octopus, and is typically associated with Kāne
Kāne
In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the four major Hawaiian deities, along with Kanaloa, Kū, and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives life associated with dawn, sun and sky...
. It is also the name of an extinct volcano in Hawaii. In legends and chants Kāne and Kanaloa are portrayed as complementary powers (Beckwith 1970:62–65). For example: Kāne was called upon during the building of a canoe, Kanaloa during the sailing of it; Kāne governed the northern edge of the ecliptic
Ecliptic
The ecliptic is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. In more accurate terms, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun...
, Kanaloa the southern; Kanaloa points to hidden springs, and Kāne then taps them out. In this way, they represent a divine duality of wild and taming forces like those observed (by Georges Dumezil
Georges Dumézil
Georges Dumézil was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Proto-Indo-European religion and society...
, et al.) in Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European religion
Proto-Indo-European religion is the hypothesized religion of the Proto-Indo-European peoples based on the existence of similarities among the deities, religious practices and mythologies of the Indo-European peoples. Reconstruction of the hypotheses below is based on linguistic evidence using the...
chief god-pairs like Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
–Tyr and Mitra–Varuna, and like the popular yin–yang of Chinese Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
.
Kanaloa is also considered to be the god of the Underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
and a teacher of magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
. Legends state that he became the leader of the first group of spirits "spit out" by the gods. In time, he led them in a rebellion in which the spirits were defeated by the gods and as punishment were thrown in the Underworld.
However, depictions of Kanaloa as a god of evil, death, or the Underworld, in conflict with good deities like Kāne (a reading that contradicts Kanaloa and Kāne's paired invocations and shared devotees in Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
) are likely the result of European missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
efforts to recast the four major divinities of Hawaii in the image of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
plus Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. In traditional, pre-contact Hawaii, it was Milu
Milu
-People:*Milú , Portuguese actress and singer*miLù German singer who has worked with Schiller -Other uses:*The Chinese name for Père David's Deer*Milü, an approximation for pi by Zu Chongzhi...
who was the god of the Underworld and death, not Kanaloa; the related Miru
Miru
In the Polynesian mythology of the Cook Islands, Miru is a goddess who lives in Avaiki beneath Mangaia. She intoxicates the souls of dead people with kava and then burns them eternally in her oven . The Tapairu are her daughters. Also see Tau-Titi....
traditions of other Polynesian cultures confirms this.
The Eye of Kanaloa is an esoteric symbol associated with the god in New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
Huna teaching, consisting of a seven-pointed star surrounded by concentric circles that are regularly divided by eight lines radiating from the inner-most circle to the outer-most circle.
See also
- TangaroaTangaroaIn Māori mythology, Tangaroa is one of the great gods, the god of the sea. He is a son of Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Sky and Earth. After he joins his brothers Rongo, Tūmatauenga, Haumia, and Tane in the forcible separation of their parents, he is attacked by his brother Tawhirimatea, the god of...
, the Māori godMaori mythologyMāori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...
of the sea. - TagaloaTagaloaIn Samoan mythology, Tagaloa is generally accepted as the supreme ruler, the creator of the universe, the chief of all gods and the progenitor of other gods and humans. Tagaloa dwelt in space and made the Heavens , the sky, the land, the seas, the fresh water, the trees and the people...
Samoan mythology - Tangaloa Tongan mythology
- Ta'aroaTa'aroaTa'aroa is the supreme creator god in the mythology of French Polynesia. While the use of the 'eta is appropriate given the pronunciation of his name, as is typically the case with Tahitian words it is often omitted in practice.-The Myth:...
Tahitian mythology