 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Hawaiʻiloa (alt.Hawaiʻi Loa orKe Kowa i Hawaiʻi) is a mythical Hawaiian fisherman and navigator who is said to have discovered theisland of Hawaiʻi.
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Hawaiʻiloa was an expert fisherman and navigator who was famous for his lengthy fishing expeditions.[1] While on a prolonged voyage, his principal navigator, Makaliʻi, asked Hawaiʻiloa to steer eastward towardsAldebaran (Hokuʻula, meaning "red star") and thePleiades (near theCluster of Makaliʻi). After sailing in this direction, he and his crew stumbled upon the island of Hawaiʻi, which was named in Hawaiʻiloa's honor. Hawaiʻiloa returned to his homeland,Ka ʻāina kai melemele a Kāne ("the land of the yellow sea ofKāne"), to bring his family back with him to Hawaiʻi. He then organized a colonizing expedition with his family and eight other skilled navigators. They settled on what is now theIsland of Hawaiʻi, named in his honor.[2][better source needed]
The legend contains reference to his children:[3]Māui (his eldest son),Kauaʻi (son), andOʻahu (daughter) who settled on the islands that bear their names.
The Hawaiʻiloa legend is popular amongstHawaiians as a realistic Hawaiian origin story that is consistent with modern anthropological and historical beliefs.[citation needed]
However, there is currently little evidence to support its historical accuracy. The story is attested only by 19th-century sources such asAbraham Fornander andThomas George Thrum, neither of whom provided their sources.[citation needed]
Hawaiʻiloa is also unmentioned by earlier Hawaiian historians such asDavid Malo. Malo chronicled many Hawaiian origin stories, migration tales, and legends of indigenous origin.[citation needed]Samuel Kamakau tells of an alternate legend that the first man (Kumu-Honua) and woman (Lalo-Honua) were created on Oʻahu.[citation needed]
Hawaiʻiloa is also the name of a voyaging canoe, built between 1991 and 1994.[4] Named after the legendary navigator, the canoe was built for ocean navigation and has sailed internationally. The canoeHawaiʻiloa is now docked atHonolulu Harbor. It is often sailed on long voyages throughout thePacific Ocean, studying voyaging techniques used inAncient Hawaii.
To make the canoe, two Sitka spruce logs were brought to Hawaiʻi from SoutheastAlaska, donated by the SeAlaska Corporation (owned by theTlingit,Haida, andTshimshian tribes). These came from 400-year-old, 200 feet high trees, a size which could not be found in modern Hawaiʻi. The hulls of the canoe were designed by Rudy and Barry Choy and Dick Rhodes, and also used numerous woods from more local sources.[4] The canoe was made without metal parts, and used three miles of lashing.[5]
Hawaiʻiloa is 57 feet (17 m) long, with a beam of 19 feet (5.8 m). She has two sails, each of 240–420 square feet (22–39 m2). She was initially launched in July 1993, and subsequently modified in dry dock before being re-launched a year later.[4]
In 1995,Hawaiʻiloa sailed her maiden voyage toTahiti,Raʻiatea, andNuku Hiva in theMarquesas Islands[6] in company withHōkūleʻa and a third canoe from Hawaiʻi calledMakaliʻi together with two canoes fromRarotonga:Te ʻAu Tonga andTakitumu, and the canoeTe ʻAurere, fromNew Zealand. Subsequently that year,Hawaiʻiloa was shipped toSeattle and then sailed north to Alaska, visiting twenty native villages on the coastal journey betweenVancouver andJuneau.[5]
