Hawaiian Ancient Gods

• Kanaloa: Ruled the Pacific. Guardian of the underworld. Lives in “the hidden” and is from the “outer void.” Christian missionaries equated him with the Devil and say he led a rebellion against the other gods, though this is debatable. He is the teacher of magic. The octopus/squid god, also called Kahe’ehaunawela (“evil smelling squid”). He is associated with Milu.
• Milu: Ruler of the dead. God of the underworld. Former sorcerer/chief.
• Lono: God of fertility, pleasure, leisure.
• Ku: God of war and sorcery. All Ku class gods are sorcery gods.
• Kuwahailo: “Ku of the maggot-dripping mouth.” Devourer of souls, eater of men, and conductor of the dead.
• Kaili: a god seen flying around at night as a comet. Called “the snatcher.”
• Uli: Female principle deity invoked to kill enemies.
• Makakukoae: Brings madness and renders stupid. Invoked to kill enemies.
• Alaeahina: Was a sorceress from the island of Maui who wrested the secrets of fire from the gods. Invoked to kill enemies.
• Lolupe, or ‘Ololupe: God invoked in rite of deification of the dead or restoration of life to the dead (necromancy). Consecrated the dead to become guardian spirits.
• Kaonohiokala: “Eyeball of the sun.” Conductor of souls.
• Pele: Fire goddess.
• Haunea: Earth goddess. Mother of Pele.
• Kapo and Pua: Both worshiped as akua noho. Females. Both female.
• Pahulu: Female deity invoked by sorcerers.

As we can clearly see, many, if not all, of the Hawai’ian pantheon served a role in Hawai’ian sorcery. Though not all of these gods were malevolent all of the time, they all did have some degree of malevolence that could be invoked by the knowledgeable sorcerer.

Gods weren’t the only entities invoked by the Hawai’ian sorcerer to invoke his wrath upon his victims, however. There are any number of other spirits, demons, sprites, and what have you that they would employ to serve their ends, such as:

• Varua ‘ino: Devils or demons.
• ‘Oromatua’aiaru: Disembodied evil spirits.
• Kalaipahoa: Tree gods worshiped by poisoners.
• Amakua: Ancestors as guardian spirits who manifest in the form of real, living animals (sharks, sea turtles, birds, etc.). They are to be worshiped lest they wreak havoc and vengeance on their descendents. Their unihipili (bones) are to be kept in a sacred place to be honored and worshiped, usually a familial home.
• ‘Oromatua niho roroa: Long-toothed amakua or possessed ti’i.
• Akua noho: Gods of possession.

Polynesian religion and sorcery did not lack in imagination. Like many ancient nature centered societies, they had a god for anything and a spirit in everything. This by no means suggests that they were a peaceful, egalitarian society. They strategized wars and were every bit the opportunists we see in today’s civilization. Hence, the demand for sorcerers.

Polynesian sorcerers varied greatly in practice and specialty. Because there is even less known today about Hawai’ian sorcery than even of Hawai’ian religion, we are lucky to have a few oral traditions surviving among the few native-speaking families in the islands, though even these folks have been, for the most part, Christianized and made to deny any parts of their heritage not in compliance to whatever their charismatic pastor is preaching. Of the few known varieties of sorcerer in Hawai’i, here is what I was able to dig up:

• Kahuna ho’ounauna: Necromancer. Could find the root of an illness and exact revenge by sending sickness and trouble.
• Kahuna o milu: Sorcerers who work by night, sending out evil spirits.
•  Kahuna ana’ana: Would practice in secret and at night, using parts of the victim (nails, hair, etc.) and would bury these to kill. “Ana’ana” means “eater of filth.” Would “pray people to death.”
• Kahuna kuni: Could use a corpse to find a murderer and get revenge (necromancy). Also practiced divination by burning.
• Kahuna ho’opi’opi and Kahuna pahiuhi’u: Would mark roads with death spells.
• Kahuna apo leo: Would steal ones voice.

Kahuna means a person who has mastered a given area of interest or profession.