Author Archives: Kimba

Pele

Being on the island of Oahu, on the side of the Haumea Bay, traveling alongside the immense cliffs with the thundering sapphire sea crashing onto the black stained rocks,I can feel the terrible and awesome power of nature, and how little we people all are in comparison. I can completely understand how people on theContinue reading “Pele”

Sharks

Shark gods in Hawaii come in two kinds. There are benevolent one that dont eat human meat, and malevolent ones that eat people. There is one particularly interesting story about a good (non-people eating) Shark god who fell in love with a beautiful girl, had a child with her (in his human form) and inContinue reading “Sharks”

Kanaloa (the god who became the devil)

The interesting thing about Kanaloa as a god is the fact that he also is a giant squid. And apparently his smell is also noteworthy, his long name meaning “Evil-Smelling Squid.” This makes an easy case for him to later be turned into the devil in opposition to Kane, sulfer and squid stink being ofContinue reading “Kanaloa (the god who became the devil)”

Mana Mana

In traditional Hawaiian beliefs, Mana is the spiritual energy of the world. The divine spark, the most important thing from which all in the worlds are made. My personal spiritual philosophy has this energy as the kind of divine awareness of which all living things are a part. This energy, in Hawaiian tradition, is whatContinue reading “Mana Mana”

Hawaiian Kapa Fabric

So in an attempt to try to find some inspiration for patterns and colors that were valid in a traditional Hawaiian context, I contacted a well-established Hawaiian kapa fabric maker, named Dalani Tanahy. She was kind enough to respond to my ignorant digging for information, and told me that unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on perspective)Continue reading “Hawaiian Kapa Fabric”

The confusing mythic-history of Hawaii

So when I started looking into the stories of Hawaiian culture, I thought that there must be lots of stories, and I was very excited to get started. The more I now read, however, the more detailed and confusing these stories get! There are so many different versions of all the stories, and it turnsContinue reading “The confusing mythic-history of Hawaii”