In one Hawaiian legend, Laka is the daughter of the Ali'i nuiWahieloa and Hoʻolaukahili, grandson of Kahaʻinuiahema. He plans to sail to Hawaii to avenge the murder of his father, but his canoe-building is thwarted by the little gods of the forest. Because of his offerings to the great gods, however, they give him two outriggers that binds together for his long voyage. He and his companions successfully steal the bones of his father from the cave of Kai-kapu.[1]: 263
Four deities of this name can be differentiated:[2]
(1) Ku-ka-ohia-LAKA, male patron of the hula-dance[3] Ku-ka-ohia is the god of Hula dancing and canoe building. He is married to Hina-lula-ohia. In temple, he is shown as a feather god and worshiped with the other Ku gods. He is associated with ohia lehua tree, and the flowers are used for decorations on altars during performances.
(3) LAKA, goddess of forest growth. Laka is the goddess of Hula. Laka is said to be the inspiration a person thinks of while they dance. She is what causes the movement while the dancer is moved. She is also the goddess of the forest. She has reproductive energy which is said to help the forest grow and thrive. Laka is associated with the Lama tree, the Maile Vine, and the a’ali’i plant. They are her kinolau, which means they are the form she can be found in. These are very cherished and treated with high levels of respect.[5]
(4) LAKA, son of Wahie-loa
Marquesasedit
In the Marquesan version of the myth, Aka is a great voyager, grandson of Tafaki. He made a historic voyage to Aotona (Rarotonga) in what are now the Cook Islands to obtain the highly prized feathers of a red parrot as gifts for his son and daughter. The voyage was done in a great outrigger canoe named Va'ahiva that had 140 rowers. Of these, 100 die of hunger before they reach Aotona, where they capture enough parrots to fill 140 bags with their feathers.[6][7]
Samoaedit
In Samoa, where this hero's name is Lata, he is a great canoe builder originally from Fiji. He builds a huge outrigger canoe on the island of Ta'u and sails to Savai'i, where a mountain is named after him. From there, he sails to Tonga where he teaches the inhabitants better ways to build canoes.[8]
Tongaedit
In Tonga, he is Lasa, who captures the chief of the forest elves, Haelefeke, and compels him to help him build a great canoe and pilot it to Fiji. En route, they are tested by various demons.[8][9]
^ abR.D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 134.
^E. E. V. Collocott, Tales and Poems of Tonga (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu, 1928), 15-16.
1) Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Charles Russell Coulter, Patricia Turner . Routledge, 2013. pg 277.
January 01, 1970
laka, other, uses, disambiguation, hawaiian, mythology, name, different, popular, heroes, from, polynesian, mythology, other, parts, polynesia, they, known, rātā, rata, lata, lasa, lehua, blossom, metrosideros, polymorpha, hawaiian, legend, daughter, wahieloa,. For other uses see Laka disambiguation In Hawaiian mythology Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology In other parts of Polynesia they are known as Rata Rata Lata Ata or Lasa Red lehua blossom Metrosideros polymorpha In one Hawaiian legend Laka is the daughter of the Ali i nui Wahieloa and Hoʻolaukahili grandson of Kahaʻinuiahema He plans to sail to Hawaii to avenge the murder of his father but his canoe building is thwarted by the little gods of the forest Because of his offerings to the great gods however they give him two outriggers that binds together for his long voyage He and his companions successfully steal the bones of his father from the cave of Kai kapu 1 263 Contents 1 Hawaii 2 Marquesas 3 Samoa 4 Tonga 5 See also 6 ReferencesHawaii edit nbsp Hula dancers in a Luau in Lahaina in traditional ki leaf skirts Four deities of this name can be differentiated 2 1 Ku ka ohia LAKA male patron of the hula dance 3 Ku ka ohia is the god of Hula dancing and canoe building He is married to Hina lula ohia In temple he is shown as a feather god and worshiped with the other Ku gods He is associated with ohia lehua tree and the flowers are used for decorations on altars during performances 2 Papa o LAKA the aumakua world of Kumu Honua 4 3 LAKA goddess of forest growth Laka is the goddess of Hula Laka is said to be the inspiration a person thinks of while they dance She is what causes the movement while the dancer is moved She is also the goddess of the forest She has reproductive energy which is said to help the forest grow and thrive Laka is associated with the Lama tree the Maile Vine and the a ali i plant They are her kinolau which means they are the form she can be found in These are very cherished and treated with high levels of respect 5 4 LAKA son of Wahie loaMarquesas editIn the Marquesan version of the myth Aka is a great voyager grandson of Tafaki He made a historic voyage to Aotona Rarotonga in what are now the Cook Islands to obtain the highly prized feathers of a red parrot as gifts for his son and daughter The voyage was done in a great outrigger canoe named Va ahiva that had 140 rowers Of these 100 die of hunger before they reach Aotona where they capture enough parrots to fill 140 bags with their feathers 6 7 Samoa editIn Samoa where this hero s name is Lata he is a great canoe builder originally from Fiji He builds a huge outrigger canoe on the island of Ta u and sails to Savai i where a mountain is named after him From there he sails to Tonga where he teaches the inhabitants better ways to build canoes 8 Tonga editIn Tonga he is Lasa who captures the chief of the forest elves Haelefeke and compels him to help him build a great canoe and pilot it to Fiji En route they are tested by various demons 8 9 See also editRata Maori mythology Rata Tahitian mythology Rata Tuamotu mythology Domesticated plants and animals of AustronesiaReferences edit Beckworth Martha Warren 1977 Hawaiian mythology Honolulu University Press of Hawaii ISBN 9780824805142 Martha Beckwith Hawaiian Mythology Yale U Pr 1940 p 569 Martha Beckwith Hawaiian Mythology Yale U Pr 1940 p 40 Martha Beckwith Hawaiian Mythology Yale U Pr 1940 pp 161 162 Laka Kamehameha Publishing Retrieved 24 August 2021 R D Craig Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology Greenwood Press New York 1989 6 E S C Handy Marquesan Legends Bernice P Bishop Museum Press Honolulu 1930 130 1 a b R D Craig Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology Greenwood Press New York 1989 134 E E V Collocott Tales and Poems of Tonga Bernice P Bishop Museum Press Honolulu 1928 15 16 1 Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities Charles Russell Coulter Patricia Turner Routledge 2013 pg 277 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laka amp oldid 1219945458, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
