Kamapua'a is the pig god of Hawaii.
Overview[]
Kamapua’a is the pig god of the islands. He represents male power, especially adolescent make power with all of its rampant, ungovernable emotions. Kamapua’a ran about the islands, tearing them up.
There is a tale of Kamapua’a’s and Pele’s stormy relationship. The pig arrived on the Big Island and was attracted to Pele. After a period of throwing taunts and insults back and forth, the two finally got together. But their… coupling… was dangerous to the island and the people. The kahunas pleaded with Pele’s sister Kapo, who lured the pig away by detaching her… well, sexual organ… and leading him to the other islands, where his pursuit of her… organ… caused many craters to form. Meanwhile, Pele went home and declared the right of separate domain, whereby Kamapua’a got the wet, windward sides of the islands, while Pele got the dry, leeward sides.
Pigs are important to the Hawai’ians not only as a food source, but sacramentally as well. A roasted pig was important to every holy feast. Hunting the pig was also a holy activity.
Traditional Hawai’ians still carry these beliefs, and problems have arisen between them and conservationists of late. Foreign boars are tearing up the ecosystems of many forests, uprooting native plants and carrying the seeds of foreign plants in their fur. Invariably, the tenacious foreign plants take over the uprooted land.
Natives don’t like the pig population control plans instituted by conservationists in their attempt to save the delicate, native ecosystem. They see is as an insult to Kamapua’a and their traditional ways. It is ironic that the eco-sensitive natives now have to suffer insults to their traditional beliefs in an attempt to save their native ecology.
See also Kamapua'a's Get
References[]
- CTD. Immortal Eyes: Shadows on the Hill, p. 19.