KUMULIPO 1

The Kumulipo is the most sacred chant of Hawaiian history. It is a cosmogonic genealogy, which means that it relates to the stars and the moon. This chant is 2102 lines long and describes how the world was created over a cosmic night.

Just like everything on our precious Hawaiian islands was birthed out of fire and pushed through the fierce lava, we as human beings often experience the creation of our ideas, dreams and desires through moments of extreme struggle.

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The bottom part of this piece symbolizes the era of darkness, where earth was created through the extreme heat and fire from the center of our planet. The golden crack represents the occurrence of the Big Bang, where in the spur of a moment total darkness turned into life-giving light.

 

In the depth of the ocean all life began and the sea urchins and limu (seaweed) were born, followed by sharks, fish and plants of the waters. The first creature from the deep sea that ever touched land were the sacred Honu Turtles. From there all animals and plants developed until deities, gods and human beings appeared, steadily moving toward the light of the heavens... and so the story continues.