In
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 Tahitian ...
, Nu'u was a man who built an ark with which he escaped a
Great Flood
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...
. He landed his vessel on top of
Mauna Kea 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 environment and local peoples' ability to withstand them.
Missionaries to Hawaii in the 19th century considered him analogous to
Noah 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 ...
.
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
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Hawaiian mythology
Flood myths