Haloa () is a Hawaiian mythological figure who was born of Hawaiian gods, and is the ancestor of the

Hawaiian people Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous ethnic group of Polynesians, Polynes ...

. The title of a well-known

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

about him and the creation of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

is also "Haloa".

Birth of the islands

Papahānaumoku In the religion and mythology of the ancient Hawaiians, Papahānaumoku (pronunciation: ɑːpɑːˈhɑːnaʊmoʊku — often simply called Papa — is a goddess and the Earth Mother. She is mentioned in the chants as the consort of the sky god W ...

, the mother of Earth, married

Wākea In the Hawaiian religion, Wākea, the Sky father weds Papahānaumoku, the earth mother. The two are considered the parent couple of the ruling chiefs of Hawaii. ''Wākea'' was the eldest son of Kahiko ("Ancient One"), who lived in Olalowaia. ...

, the father of Heaven, and gave birth to the islands of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

and

Kahoʻolawe Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe (), is the smallest of the eight main volcano, volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, Lānaʻi, and it is long by wide ...

. While she was away in her native land (

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

etc.), Wākea was united with other goddesses and had the islands of

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

and

Lanai Lanai ( haw, Lānai, , , also ,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple pl ...

with them. Later, Papa returned to Hawaii and was united with another god, and gave birth to the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. She then was united with Wākea again, and gave births to the islands of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

and

Niihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland hab ...

in the far west, thus completing the creation of the

Birth of Haloa

Papahānaumoku and Wakea had many children, including a daughter called

Hoʻohokukalani Hoʻohokukalani is a Hawaiian goddess, mentioned in the ancient chants. She is described as a beautiful woman, who Inbreeding, became a consort to her own father. Her full name is given as Kahoʻohokuokalani-i-kau-i-kaheahea ("she who sets the st ...

. When she turned into a beautiful girl, Wakea was united with her, but their first baby, named Haloa, was still-born. As the baby was buried to the ground, there came out from the ground the

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

, which became the important

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply a staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...

of the

. Their second baby, also called Haloa, grew to become a healthy child, and was the ancestor of the Hawaiian people.

Haloa chant

The story of the creation of the Hawaiian Islands and the first Hawaiian was told orally from generation to generation for a long time. When the Hawaiian writing system was established in the 18th century, it was put into documents, especially the

Kumulipo In Hawaiian religion, the Kumulipo is the creation chant, first recorded by Westerners in the 18th century. It also includes a genealogy of the members of Hawaiian royalty and was created in honor of Kalaninuiamamao and passed down orally to his ...

of the Hawaiian royalty's story of creation and genealogy. The Kumulipo was later opened for public and was translated into English. This chant can be recited by one person, or by a group of people with its leader and the other people in responsive reading. A similar chant is also available as "Mele a Pākui".(2) Mele a Pakui(Hawaiian Mythology)
(in Japanese)]

References

{{Reflist Hawaiian music Hawaiian songs Hawaiian words and phrases Hawaiian mythology

Birth of the islands

Birth of Haloa

Haloa chant

See also

References