Kumulipo
Encyclopedia
In ancient Hawaiian mythology
, the Kumulipo is a chant
in the Hawaiian language
telling a creation story. It also includes a genealogy
of the members of Hawaiian royalty.
In some cultures, children are brought up thinking that the dark is a bad place, one to avoid. Ancient Hawaii
ans thought of it as a place of creation.
In the Kumulipo the world was created over a cosmic night. This is not just one night, but many nights over time. The ancient Hawaiian kahuna
s and priests of the Hawaiian religion
would recite the Kumulipo during the makahiki
season, honoring the god Lono
. In 1779, Captain James Cook
arrived in Kealakekua Bay
on the island of Hawaii
i during the season and was greeted by the Hawaiians reciting the Kumulipo. Some stories say Cook was mistaken for Lono, because the type of sails on his ship and his pale skintone.
In 1889, King Kalākaua
printed a sixty page pamphlet of the Kumulipo. Attached to the pamphlet was a 2 page paper which on how the chant was originally composed and recited.
Years later Queen Liliuokalani described the chant as a prayer of the development of the universe and the ancestry of the Hawaiians. Liliuokalani translated the chant under house arrest in Iolani Palace.
The translation was published in 1897, then republished by Pueo Press in 1978.
The Kumulipo is a total of 2012 lines long, in honor of Lonoikamakahiki, who created peace for all when he was born. There was a lot of fighting between his I and Keawe family, who were cousins so his birth stopped the two from feuding. The Kumulipo is a cosmogonic genealogy, which means that it relates to the stars and the moon. Out of the 2012 lines, it has 16 "wā" which means era or age. In each wā, something is born whether it is a human, plant, or creature.
may or may not exist, but the events described do not take place in a physical universe. The words show the development of life as it goes through similar stages as a human child. All plants and animals of sea and land,earth and sky, male and female are created. Eventually, it leads to early mammals.
These are the first four lines of the Kumulipo:
The second section, containing the remaining eight wā, is ao and is signaled by the arrival of light and the gods, who watch over the changing of animals into the first human
s. After that is the complex genealogy of Kalani‘īimamao that goes all the way to the late 18th century.
Hawaiian mythology
Hawaiian mythology refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the Hawaiian religion...
, the Kumulipo is a chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
in the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
telling a creation story. It also includes a genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of the members of Hawaiian royalty.
Creation chant
Many cultures have their own beliefs on how the earth came to be created. He Kumulipo means "A source of darkness or origin".In some cultures, children are brought up thinking that the dark is a bad place, one to avoid. 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...
ans thought of it as a place of creation.
In the Kumulipo the world was created over a cosmic night. This is not just one night, but many nights over time. The ancient Hawaiian kahuna
Kahuna
Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession." Forty different types of kahuna are listed in the book, Tales from the Night Rainbow...
s and priests of the Hawaiian religion
Hawaiian religion
Hawaiian religion is the term used to describe the folk religious beliefs and practises of the Hawaiian people. It is unrelated to, though commonly confused with, the philosophy of Huna....
would recite the Kumulipo during the makahiki
Makahiki
The Makahiki season was the ancient Hawaiian New Year festival, in honor of the god Lono of the Hawaiian religion.It was a holiday covering four consecutive lunar months, approximately from October or November through February or March. Thus it might be thought of as including the equivalent of...
season, honoring the god Lono
Lono
In Hawaiian mythology, the deity Lono is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, and music. In one of the many Hawaiian legends of Lono, he is a fertility and music god who descended to Earth on a rainbow to marry Laka. In agricultural and planting traditions, Lono was identified with...
. In 1779, Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
arrived in Kealakekua Bay
Kealakekua Bay
Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona.Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places listings on...
on the island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
i during the season and was greeted by the Hawaiians reciting the Kumulipo. Some stories say Cook was mistaken for Lono, because the type of sails on his ship and his pale skintone.
In 1889, King Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
printed a sixty page pamphlet of the Kumulipo. Attached to the pamphlet was a 2 page paper which on how the chant was originally composed and recited.
Years later Queen Liliuokalani described the chant as a prayer of the development of the universe and the ancestry of the Hawaiians. Liliuokalani translated the chant under house arrest in Iolani Palace.
The translation was published in 1897, then republished by Pueo Press in 1978.
The Kumulipo is a total of 2012 lines long, in honor of Lonoikamakahiki, who created peace for all when he was born. There was a lot of fighting between his I and Keawe family, who were cousins so his birth stopped the two from feuding. The Kumulipo is a cosmogonic genealogy, which means that it relates to the stars and the moon. Out of the 2012 lines, it has 16 "wā" which means era or age. In each wā, something is born whether it is a human, plant, or creature.
Divisions
The Kumulipo is divided into sixteen wā, or sections. The first eight wā fall under the section of pō (darkness), the age of spirit. The EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
may or may not exist, but the events described do not take place in a physical universe. The words show the development of life as it goes through similar stages as a human child. All plants and animals of sea and land,earth and sky, male and female are created. Eventually, it leads to early mammals.
These are the first four lines of the Kumulipo:
| Hawaiian language Hawaiian language The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii... |
English |
|---|---|
O ke au i kahuli wela ka honua O ke au i kahuli lole ka lani O ke au i kukaiaka ka la E hoomalamalama i ka malama |
At the time when the earth became hot At the time when the heavens turned about At the time when the sun was darkened To cause the moon to shine |
The second section, containing the remaining eight wā, is ao and is signaled by the arrival of light and the gods, who watch over the changing of animals into the first human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s. After that is the complex genealogy of Kalani‘īimamao that goes all the way to the late 18th century.
Births in each wā
The births in each age include:- In the first wā, the sea urchins and limu (seaweed) were born. The limu was connected through its name to the land ferns. Some of these limu and fern pairs include: 'Ekaha and 'Ekahakaha, Limu 'A'ala'ula and 'ala'alawainui mint, Limu Manauea and Kalo Maunauea upland taro, Limu Kala and 'Akala strawberry. These plants were born to protect their sea cousins.
- In the second wā, 73 types of fish. Some deep sea fish include Nai'a (porpoise) and the Mano (shark). Also reef fish, including Moi and Weke. Certain plants that have similar names are related to these fish and are born as protectors of the fish.
- In the third wā, 52 types of flying creatures, which include birds of the sea such as 'Iwa (frigate or man-of-war bird), the Lupe, and the Noio (Hawaiian noddy tern). These sea birds have land relatives, such as 'Io (hawk), Nene (goose), and Pueo (owl). In this wā, insects were also born, such as Pe'elua (caterpillar) and the Pulelehua (butterfly).
- In the fourth wā, the creepy and crawly creatures are born. These include Honu (sea turtle), 'Ula (lobster), Mo'o (lizards), and Opeopeo (jellyfish). Their cousins on land include Kuhonua (maile vine) and 'Ohe'ohe bamboo.
- In the fifth wā, Kalo (taro) is born.
- In the sixth wā, 'Uka (flea) and the 'Iole (rat) are born.
- In the seventh wā, 'Ilio (dog) and the Pe'ape'a (bat) are born.
- In the eighth wā, the four divinities are born: La'ila'i (Female), Ki'i (Male), Kane (God), Kanaloa (Octopus), respectively.
- In the ninth wā, La'ila'i takes her eldest brother Ki'i as a mate and the first humans are born from her brain.
- In the tenth wā, La'ila'i takes her next brother Kane as a mate after losing interest in Ki'i, she then had four of Kane's children: La'i'olo'olo, Kamaha'ina(Male), Kamamule (Male), Kamakalua (Female). La'ila'i soon returned to Ki'i and three children are born: Ha'i(F), Hali'a(F), and Hākea(M). Having been born during their mothers being with two men they become "Po'olua" and claim the lineage of both fathers.
- The eleventh wā pays homage to the Moa
- The twelfth wā is very important to Hawaiians because it honors the lineage of WākeaWakeaIn Hawaiian mythology, Wākea is the eldest son of Kahiko , and lives in Olalowaia. Wākea is the ancestor of the aristocracy, the ali‘i. The priests and common people come from his brothers. In another legend, Wākea lives in Hihiku and marries Pāpā, also called Pāpā-nui or Pāpā-nui-hanau-moku, who...
, whose son Hāloa is the ancestor of all people. - The thirteenth wā is also very important to Hawaiians because it honors the lineage of Hāloa's mother Papa.
- In the fourteenth wā Li'aikūhonua mates with Keakahulihonua, and have their child Laka.
- The fifteenth wā refers to Haumeanui'āiwaiwa and her lineage, it also explains Māui's adventures and siblings.
- The sixteenth wā recounts all of Maui's lineage for forty-four generations, all the way down to the Mo'i of Maui, Pi'ilani.
Comparative literature
Comparisons may be made between marital partners (husband and wife often have synonymous names), between genealogical and fauna-fauna names, and in other Polynesian genealogies.External links
- The Kumulipo Another copy of "The Kumulipo" with commentary and translations by Martha Warren BeckwithMartha Warren BeckwithMartha Warren Beckwith was an American folklorist, ethnographer, and English teacher. She was born in Wellesley Heights, Massachusetts.-Education:...
. - The Kumulipo: a Hawaiian creation chant Another online copy of the Beckwith book, Paperback edition 1981. University of Hawaii PressUniversity of Hawaii PressThe University of Hawaii Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaii.The University of Hawaii Press was founded in 1947, with the mission of advancing and disseminating scholarship by publishing current research in all disciplines of the humanities and natural and social...
- Into the Source Article about Kumulipo translations by Shannon Wianecki. Maui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui Nō Ka Oi Magazine is a bi-monthly regional magazine published by the Haynes Publishing Group in Wailuku, Hawaii.The phrase Maui nō ka ʻoi means "Maui is unparallel" in the Hawaiian language. Maui Nō Ka Oi Magazine features stories relating to the culture, art, dining, environmental issues,...
Volume 12 Number 6 (November 2008).