In the religion and mythology of the

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the establishment in 1795 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporad ...

ans, Papahānaumoku (pronunciation: apahaːnaʊmoku — often simply called Papa — is a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

and the Earth Mother. She is mentioned in the chants as the consort of the sky god

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 Olalowa ...

. Their daughter is beautiful goddess Hoʻohōkūkalani, the main character of one myth. Papa is still worshipped by some Hawaiians, especially by women, as a primordial force of creation who has the power to give life and to heal. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument was renamed in 2007 to the

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage Site, World Heritage listed National monument (United States), U.S. national monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of th ...

, in honour of Papa.

Mythology

According to the ancient myths, Papa is the wife of

, son of the god Kahiko. Wākea is the Father Sky in the Hawaiian religion and a personification of the male creative power. He and Papa are representations of the divine masculinity and

femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

. Together, they created the Hawaiian Islands and became the ancestors of the Hawaiian chiefs and noblemen. The most important offspring of Papa are the islands called

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

(the ''Big Island''),

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

and

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

. Chiefs claimed their descent from Papa and it was believed they were divine as well. The most famous child of Wākea and Papa is called Hoʻohōkūkalani,Peleioholani, Solomon Lehuanui Kalaniomaiheuila (1906), ''Genealogy of the Robinson family, and ancient legends and chants of Hawaii''. Honolulu Bulletin Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908, Hawaii State Archives (Photocopy), CS 2209. R62 P45 1908. Translated into English by J. M. Poepoe. and she became Wākea's lover, according to the famous myth. When Hoʻohōkūkalani gave birth to a stillborn baby, it was Papa who named the child Haloa and buried him in the soft earth; from that place sprung the first ''taro''. Hoʻohōkūkalani again mated with her father, and had a living child, who was also named Haloa.

Worship

A womenʻs temple, called ''Hale o Papa'', is the primary religious structure associated with the worship of this goddess. ''Hale o Papa'' are often built in connection with '' luakini'', or "men's temples" (places of "official" ceremony, which are primarily dedicated to the gods Kū and Lono), although it is believed by many practitioners that they may also exist independently. In the '' Aloha ʻĀina'' movement, Papa is often a central figure, as her spirit is that of the life-giving, loving, forgiving

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

who nurtures human life, and who is being abused by the misdeeds of mankind, especially in regard to the abuse of nature.

Sources

{{Authority control Hawaiian goddesses Earth goddesses Creator goddesses Legendary progenitors

Mythology

Worship

See also

Sources