Aloha Traditions

## Hiapo Hōkū (Star Dog)

Meaning "First Born Star," this tale refers to the Aloha dogs' Akua, or "God." He is said to have made the island with his own paws, and is the spirit of the sky and earth. He is said to be the heart of the islands, Hawaii's Volcano. They call him Hiapo Hōkū, or sometimes just Hōkū. Legend has it that he used his own, giant paws to create the smaller islands around him. He is the very spirit of the island, and creator of all.

## Leilani (Earth Dog)

Meaning "Heavenly Flower," this Spirit lives within nature of the island. Daughter of Hiapo Hōkū, she guards the lands, rewarding good souls with good things and bad souls with curses. She brings life to the lands, creating the rivers with her powerful paws and keen eyes. She is the wind and the weather.

## Manu Moku (Bird Island)

Meaning "Bird Island," this tradition is a special one for the pack. For centuries, the Aloha dogs have captured birds by using the Pisonia plant and creating traps. After thanking Leilani for her gifts, the Alpha will take the bird to camp and have the Spirit-walkers strip the bird of their colorful feathers, which come in blues, greens, yellows, reds, etc. The Alpha will retrieve these feathers and keep them in his/her den, rewarding them to Dogs who do good deeds and who deem worthy to have them. When the Alpha decides what color or feather to give a dog, he will call the Spirit-walker to use the Pisonia plant's paste to stick the feather(s) onto his/her fur, just behind the ears and on the back of his neck. Each color represents something different:

**Red feather:** The red feather symbolizes strength and bravery. A red feather is rewarded to a dog for doing a deed such as saving a pack member's life or doing something that requires a lot of effort, such as leading a patrol that was successful and bringing back prey to his/her camp.

**Blue feather:**The blue feather symbolizes leadership. Usually, only elders and leaders will have these, but there is a chance that the Alpha would give one out to someone who proved themselves a worthy leader, typically in organizing a patrol or helping to guard camp, etc.

**White feather:**The white feather symbolizes parenthood. When a mother-dog or sire-dog's pups are finally born, both parents are rewarded a feather for each pup, signifying that they have given the pack new lives.

**Black feather:**The black feather signifies grieving and loss. When a pack member loses a relative, the related canines each recieve a black feather for their loss(es) as a memory.

**Brown feather:**The brown feather signifies loyalty. If a pack member has proven themselves to be loyal, the Alpha will call him/her out and give him/her a brown feather.

**Green feather:**The green feather signifies teaching. If a canine has successfully trained a canine, he/she will be rewarded a green feather. For each dog trained, he recieves another.

**Yellow feather:**The yellow feather signifies that he/she has lead the pack. This feather is only given to leaders or past leaders, and usually are the most respected canines in the pack.

**Orange feather:**The orange feather signifies that he/she has graduated from being a Novice.