Hawaiian mythology Hawaiian religion refers to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of native Hawaiians, also known as the kapu system. Hawaiian religion is based largely on the tapu religion common in Polynesia and likely originated among the Tahitians ...

, Nu'u was a man who built an ark with which he escaped a Great Flood. He landed his vessel on top of

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...

on the Big Island. Nu'u mistakenly attributed his safety to the moon, and made sacrifices to it.

Kāne In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the three major Hawaiian deities, along with Kū and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives ...

, the creator god, descended to earth on a rainbow and explained Nu'u's mistake. The myth has been interpreted as depicting the hazards of the

Oceanian Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million as of ...

environment and local peoples' ability to withstand them. Missionaries to Hawaii in the 19th century considered him analogous to

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

References

External links

Hawaiian Mythology by Martha Beckwith
* Dictionary of World Mythology, Arthur Cotterell reference is also viewable on Google Books without subscription: https://books.google.com/books?id=ExuhmHX4dUEC&q=nu%27u#v=snippet&q=nu'u&f=false {{Oceania-myth-stub Hawaiian mythology Flood myths