Kanekua’ana
Kanekua’ana
ORIGIN:
Hawaii
CLASSIFICATION:
Mo’o
Kanekua’ana is the lizard goddess of Pearl Harbor. This Mo’o spirit and divine ancestress brought pearl oysters from Tahiti to Oahu but then later brought them back again. Kanekua’ana was angered when in the 1850s, after traditional Hawaiian religion was abolished, harvest taboos were broken. Human greed and disrespect offended her, too: the oyster beds were ceded to the control of human landlords. An old woman, a descendent of Kanekua’ana who served as her spirit medium, was caught harvesting oysters without permission from the landlord. She was punished. Kane kua’ana, outraged at the treatment of her medium (and by extension the disrespect shown to the goddess), took the pearl oysters back to Tahiti.
Kanekua’ana is invoked and propitiated when fish are scarce. Heiau (traditional Hawaiian stone shrines) are erected in her honor; cooked offerings are given and blessings requested from Kanekua’ana. Kane kua’ana communicates via spirit mediums and will ritually possess her female descendents. Kanekua’ana still guards freshwater ponds in the vicinity and blesses and protects those she loves.
Sacred site:
Pearl Harbor where she once had a shrine
Sacred creatures: Pearl oysters (In Hawaiian: pipi); oysters in general
COLOURS:
Saffron; turmeric
SEE ALSO:
Aumakua; Ka’ahu Pahau; Kihawahine; Mo’o
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses– Written by Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.
