Oahu is the most populated and third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. The island of Oʻahu and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands constitute the City and County of Honolulu. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oʻahu's southeast coast. Oʻahu has a population of 995,638, up from 953,207 in 2010.
In Hawaiian religion, Hiʻiaka is a daughter of Haumea and Kāne.
In Hawaiian mythology, an ʻaumakua is a personal or family god that originated as a deified ancestor, and which takes on physical forms such as spirit vehicles. An 'aumakua may manifest as a shark, owl, bird, octopus, or inanimate objects such as plants or rocks. The word ʻaumakua means ancestor gods and is derived from the Hawaiian words au which means period of time or era, and makua meaning parent, parent generation, or ancestor. Hawaiians believed that deceased family members would transform into ʻaumakua and watch over their descendants with a loving concern for them while also being the judge and jury of their actions.
Hula is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.
Kaimū was a small town in the Puna District on Island of Hawaiʻi that was completely destroyed by an eruptive flow of lava from the Kūpaʻianahā vent of the Kīlauea volcano in 1990. In Hawaiian, kai mū means "gathering [at the] sea" as to watch surfing. The lava flow that destroyed Kaimū and nearby Kalapana erupted from the southeast rift zone of Kīlauea.
Paʻao is a figure from Hawaii. He is most likely a Hawaiian historical character retold through Hawaiian legend. According to Hawaiian tradition and folklore, he is said to have been a high priest from Kahiki, specifically "Wewaʻu" and "ʻUpolu." In Hawaiian prose and chant, the term "Kahiki" is applied in reference to any land outside of Hawaii, the linguistic root is conclusively derived from Tahiti. "Upolu" point to actual places in, Samoa, and Hawaiian scholars and royal commentators consistently claim Paʻao came from Samoa.
A Hawaiian name is a name in the Hawaiian language. Such names are popular not only in Hawaiian families, but also among other residents of Hawaii, and even in the United States mainland among both non-native and native Hawaiians.
Keaīwa Heiau State Recreation Area is the ruins of a temple at the summit of a hill and neighborhood called ʻAiea Heights on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. The recreation area includes camping facilities and a 4.8-mile (7.7 km) trail. It also offers clear views of Pearl Harbor. The high point of Puu Uau is about halfway down the trail, where native ohia lehua and koa trees may be viewed. The remains of a military plane that crashed in 1944 can also be seen along the trail. The hike is not particularly difficult, however it does include one quite steep switchback stretch and can be extremely muddy if it has just rained. Allow for around 2.5 hours of easy strolling. A possible translation of Keaʻiwa would be mysterious, incomprehensible. It is believed that this name was given in reference to the healing powers of the plants that no one could really explain. In addition, Keaiwa Heiau may have also been known as a "Heiau Hoʻola," or the healing or life-giving heiau according to native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui.
The Hawaiian tropical rainforests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of 6,700 km2 (2,600 sq mi) in the windward lowlands and montane regions of the islands. Coastal mesic forests are found at elevations from sea level to 300 m (980 ft). Mixed mesic forests occur at elevations of 750 to 1,250 m, while wet forests are found from 1,250 to 1,700 m. Moist bogs and shrublands exist on montane plateaus and depressions. For the 28 million years of existence of the Hawaiian Islands, they have been isolated from the rest of the world by vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean, and this isolation has resulted in the evolution of an incredible diversity of endemic species, including fungi, mosses, snails, birds, and other wildlife. In the lush, moist forests high in the mountains, trees are draped with vines, orchids, ferns, and mosses. This ecoregion includes one of the world's wettest places, the slopes of Mount Waiʻaleʻale, which average 373 in (9,500 mm) of rainfall per year.
A heiau is a Hawaiian temple. Made in different architectural styles depending upon their purpose and location, they range from simple earth terraces, to elaborately constructed stone platforms. There are heiau to treat the sick, offer first fruits, offer first catch, start rain, stop rain, increase the population, ensure the health of the nation, achieve success in distant voyaging, reach peace, and achieve success in war (luakini).
Fagraea berteroana, commonly known as the pua keni keni, pua kenikeni or perfume flower tree, is a small spreading tree or a large shrub. It is known as the pua-lulu in the Samoan Islands, and as pua in Tonga and Tahiti.
Metrosideros polymorpha, the ʻōhiʻa lehua, is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaiʻi. It is a member of the diverse Metrosideros genus, which are widespread over the southwest Pacific. It is the state tree of Hawai‘i.
Lauhala, lau meaning "leaf" in the Hawaiian language, refers to the leaves of the hala tree (Pandanus tectorius).
Kokia kauaiensis, the Kauai treecotton or Kauaʻi Kokiʻo, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is endemic to Kauaʻi, Hawaii.
Hawaiian religion refers to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of native Hawaiians, also known as the kapu system. Hawaiian religion is based largely on the tapu religion common in Polynesia and likely originated among the Tahitians and other Pacific islanders who landed in Hawaiʻi between 500 and 1300 AD. It is polytheistic and animistic, with a belief in many deities and spirits, including the belief that spirits are found in non-human beings and objects such as other animals, the waves, and the sky. It was only during the reign of Kamehameha I that a ruler from Hawaii island attempted to impose a singular "Hawaiian" religion on all the Hawaiian islands that was not Christianity.
Thyrocopa is a genus of moths in the family Xyloryctidae endemic to Hawaii. The taxon has approximately forty species, including some flightless species.
Pleomele is a former genus of flowering plants. All its species are now placed in the genus Dracaena. The Hawaiian name for plants in this genus is hala pepe, which translates to crushed or dwarfed Pandanus tectorius.
Microsorum scolopendria, synonym Phymatosorus scolopendria, commonly called monarch fern, musk fern, maile-scented fern, breadfruit fern, or wart fern is a species of fern within the family Polypodiaceae. This fern grows in the wild in the Western Pacific rim from Australia to New Caledonia to Fiji and throughout the South Pacific to French Polynesia.
Hewahewa was a Hawaiian religious leader who served as kahuna nui of King Kamehameha I and his successor Kamehameha II. Hewahewa was a powerful figure in the royal court of Hawaii and played a major role in the abolition of the kapu system, the decline of the native religion of Hawaii, and the introduction of Christianity to the Hawaiian Kingdom.
