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Sokology Of Hawaiian Mythology

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Charles M. Ross Jr.
Ms. Lisa Lamkin
English II, Period: 2
13 November, 2017
Hawaiian Mythology Research Paper

Hawaiian mythology is both animistic and polytheistic. Animism is the religious belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence and polytheism is the belief of multiple deities in one religion (Hawaiian Folk Tales). Hawaiian religion also believes that passed away souls exist as non-human beings like animals and abiotic objects (Hawaiian Folk Tales). The mythology encompasses the vast Polynesia region (See Figure 1 for map), and really centers around nature as opposed to other cultures; most deities are associated with the surrounding environment such as Pele-honua-mea (Pele), Goddess of Volcanoes, and creator of the Hawaiian islands (Beckwith). Another example is would be Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi (Nāmaka), sister of Pele and the two are often known to clash. Nāmaka is associated with the seas (Beckwith). (See Figure 2 for Visual of Deities) Figure 1 shows the region encompassed by Hawaiian mythology

Figure 2: A collection of a few major Hawaiian deities

Robin Wylie has provided a possible explanation for the immense use of nature in Hawaiian mythology; he suggests it could be because of the influence of their environment. The early Polynesian sailors to first discover the Hawaiian islands must’ve been astonished. The discovery of new land prompted the need for an explanation, but without the tools of modern science, the early

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