Hawaiian Mythology: Part Three. The Chiefs: XX. Papa and ...

This is a scholarly ethnographic and comparative mythological study of Hawaiian genealogical tradition, situated within the broader context of Polynesian cultural history. Its central subject is the Wakea-Papa lineage, the founding ancestral line from which all Hawaiian chiefs and commoners trace descent, and the text analyzes how this tradition functions to legitimate social hierarchy — the division of society into chiefs, priests, and commoners. A key argument is that the Wakea-Papa myths are not uniquely Hawaiian but cognate with traditions across the South Pacific (Maori, Tahitian, Moriori), suggesting shared ancient origins, while Wakea's status as a man rather than a god distinguishes Hawaiian tradition from southern Polynesian equivalents. The text gives sustained attention to the political theology embedded in these genealogies: Wakea's legendary seizure of power from his priestly brother Lihau-ula, and his incestuous union with daughter Ho'ohoku-ka-lani, are read as mythological encodings of a historical struggle to fuse chiefly and priestly authority into a single ruling class. The origin of the taro plant from the deformed firstborn child of this union, and the naming of the second child Haloa, is treated as the mythic foundation for Hawaiian food tapus and the ritual separation of men and women. Readers interested in Hawaiian religion, Polynesian comparative mythology, or the use of genealogical narrative to construct and justify social order will find dense primary material here, though the text assumes familiarity with the field and moves quickly between ethnographic detail and cross-cultural comparison.

Hawaiian Mythology: Part Three. The Chiefs: XX. Papa and ...

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