Kū

Materials: Amate paper and gold leaf

Dimensions: 7 ¼”  x 2”  x 8 ⅞”

Technique: Cartapesta

18hrs

Kūkaʻilimoku, the "Snatcher of Land,” or Kū is one of the four great gods and is represented by feathered god images or ʻaumakua hulu manu. Kū rules over eight months of the year, the time of war when the hereditary line of rulers - ali'i - would attack each other to try to steal each other's land.

Kū is the god of war and was known to be a very fierce god. Kūkaʻilimoku is the only god that required human sacrifice rituals, which was not part of the worship of other gods. Humans were killed on his altar as a gift to him.

Also known as Akua, he was the (god) of war, politics, farming and fishing. As the husband of the goddess Hina, it’s been supposedly suggested a form of complementary dualism exists, as the word kū in the Hawaiian language means "to stand" while one meaning of hina is "to fall". However, this assertion remains unsupported by evidence from other Polynesian languages which distinguish the original "ng" and "n". Thus, the Hawaiian name "Hina" is likely more connected to the other Polynesian meanings of Hina, denoting a silvery-grey color like that of Mahina (i.e., the Moon in the Hawaiian language). As primordial gods who have existed for eternity, Kū, Kāne, and Lono caused light to shine upon the world.

Kūkaʻilimoku was the guardian of Kamehameha I, who unified the Hawaiian archipelago under one ruler and established the Hawaiian kingdom. He had monuments erected to the deity at the Hōlualoa Bay royal complex as well as his residence at Kamakahonu, both in the district of Kona, Hawaiʻi. In the animal world Kū is believed to embody the forms of Manō (shark), Kanaka (man), ʻIo (Hawaiian hawk), Niuhi (man-eating shark), ʻĪlio (dog), Moa (chicken) is also for Kane, Iʻa ʻUla (certain red fish). In the plant world, he is believed to embody the forms of ʻIeʻIe (Freycinetia arborea) vine, ʻŌhiʻa Lehua (metrosideros polymorpha) flower, ʻulu (breadfruit), niu (only the coconut tree trunk), and noni (Morinda citrifolia) fruit.