ʻŌʻili ke ao akua

Abstract

I ka wā kahiko, he mau ʻano ānuenue i ʻike ʻia, a he mau hōʻailona ʻano nui ia mau ʻano ānuenue no ka poʻe Hawaiʻi o kēia pae ʻāina nei. Ua unuhi ʻia nā hōʻailona e nā kāhuna kilokilo, nā kāula, a me nā makaʻāinana kekahi. ʻO nā pahuhopu o kēia papahana nei, ʻo ia ka wehewehe ʻana i nā hiʻohiʻona ānuenue, nā pōʻai lewa a me nā manawa o nā ʻano ānuenue e ʻōʻili ai, ko lākou mau hōʻailona/ʻōuli, a me ka hoʻohālikelike ʻana i ka ʻike Hawaiʻi kuʻuna me ka ʻike ʻepekema komohana e pili ana i ke ānuenue. Ua noiʻi ʻia nā nūpepa ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kahiko, nā moʻolelo Hawaiʻi kuʻuna, nā puke a nā mea ʻimi naʻauao Hawaiʻi kaulana, nā lola o kekahi mau nīnauele o kauwahi kūpuna i hala, a me kauwahi nīnaulele o kekahi mau kumu e ola ana i kēia au. Ua noiʻi ʻia nō hoʻi nā ʻike ʻepekema komohana e pili ana i ke kupu ʻana i ke ānuenue. Ua hoʻākāka ʻia nā hopena noiʻi no nā ʻano ānuenue like ʻole. Ua hōʻoia ʻia kanakolu ʻano ānuenue, a me iwakāluakūmākahi hōʻailona. Ua hohonu loa nō ka ʻike Hawaiʻi kuʻuna e pili ana i nā hōʻailona ānuenue a me nā ʻano ānuenue a pau. Ua hohonu loa nō ka ʻike ʻepekema komohana e pili ana i ke kālaikūlohea ānuenue. Waiwai nō ka ʻike o ka lāhui Hawaiʻi a me ka lāhui ʻepekema. Hiki ke hoʻopuka ʻia ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi no ka wehewehe ʻana i ia mau kuanaʻike he ʻelua. In the past, different types of rainbows were known, and they were signs for theHawaiian people of this archipelago. They were interpreted by the priests, prophets, and the commoners alike. The goals of this project are to explain the rainbow features, the vertical strata and the times that the types of rainbows appear, their signs/omens, and to compare the traditional Hawaiian knowledge to the western scientific knowledge concerning rainbows. The research sources include the old Hawaiian language newspapers, traditional Hawaiian stories, books of famous Hawaiian scholars, recordings of interviews of elders that have passed, and interviews of some people that are living today. Western scientific sources were also researched concerning rainbows. The research results are explained for all of the rainbow types. Thirty types of rainbows were identified along with twenty one signs/omens. The traditional Hawaiian knowledge about signs/omens and types of rainbows is very deep. The western scientific knowledge about rainbow physics is very deep. The knowledge of the Hawaiian people and the scientists are both very valuable. The Hawaiian language can be used to explain both perspectives.