Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1902-09-25


In the old idolatrous days the Ha.
waiians had legion of gods. Some
Of them were worshiped by the peo.
pie Of ail the islands, while others
had as worshipers the inhabitants
OF single island. districs, a vii
lage, and In many instances q family.
or o single individual.
The lesser gods, those with whom
the common people came into the
closest relation, s.ere OF two classes.
the unihiplili and the nuuakua.
The difference between the two was
that the unihiplili was created and
became the slave OF q single kahuna.
or sorcerer, who had the entire re-
sponsibility Of It's care; while the
nusaalula. % the contrary, was gen-
orally an ancestral god, as.d had
frequently host OF devotees.
The battle Of Kunmoo, fought about
December 20, 1919, marked the end
of heathenism as the religion of the
stase, and after very short period
Christianity became the recognized
religion. But while the public wor.
ship of the old god ceased, there
were many who still cherished them
in secret and presented their pct;-
tions as of yore, and this continues
to the present day.
The fisherman have always formed
almost a distinct community, having
their own gods and peculiar beliefs,
and they have clung TO these more
persistently than any of the other
craftsmen. In the oIden times their
small heians, or temples, often call
ed kuulas, stood on almost every
promontory, while they could not
use new net, fishing rod, line or
canoe without prayer and sacrifice
10 their patron god
In addition, each fisherman had
his fetichcs, or gods, and these Iis-
tie images are found from time 10
time in secret places, where they
were hidden away when idol wor-
ship was abolished i'm 1919.
The chief god of the fisherman
was Kuula, whose worship extended
to all the islands, and to whom they
looked for abundant supplies OF fish
and other products of the sea.
On Lanai two large stone images,
personifying the deities supposed TO
preside over the sea, were much
honored by the fishermen of that is
land.
A large puhn, or eel, called knona,
whose home was said to be at Wailau
on the Koolau, was deified by the
people of that place. This god
achieved quite a reputation by kill
ing large shark which attacked 1t.
LOnoakihi was the eel god of all
the islands, while hineheIe and her
daughter were the goddesses of the
fishermen OF Hawaii.
The god OF the canoemakers was
Mokualii, while the fishermen had
a god, Maikahulpu. who assisted
them in righting their canoes when
they were upset.
The fisherman. 10 q certain extent.
believed in the transmigration OF
souls, and frequently cast their
dead into the sea to be devoured by
the sharks which infested the waters.
Their souls were supposed ever af-
ter to animate those fishes and 10 in
cline them to respect the bodies of
the living.
The shark occupied unige posi-
tion among the people generally.
Its worship was quite common on
the islands, each one having a spe-
cial shark as its ancestral god.
Each of these sharks had a special
keeper or kahu, who was response
BILE for its care and worship. The
Office of kahu was hereditary and
was handed down from parent to
child for generations, or until the
family became extinct, when il
void be taken up by another family.
Intimate relations were generally
supposed to exist between the shark
and his keeper, and in return for
pig, foul, a native, or other nice
tit bit, the shark was believed to be
ready to aid and assist him should
any danger threaten. Should the
kahu be upset in a canoe and be in
serious peril, the faithful shark
would appear just in time to take
him on his back in safety to the
nearest shore.
The largest of the sharks was
Kuhalmoana, a male. whose mouth
was said TO be as large as an ordina-
ry grass house.