Sue Kuentz's Door to Lore
  • About Sue
    • Hear Stories
    • Press Kit
    • What folks are saying about Sue
    • Where Have I Been Storytelling?
  • Programs
    • Pre-K through 8th grade
    • Reading, Writing, and Storytelling Workshops
  • Storytelling Links
    • Just for Students
    • Just for Teachers
  • Power of Story Blog
  • Calendar
  • Contact Sue
    • Storytelling Fees for Schools and Libraries >
      • Save 50% with TCA
      • Storytelling Fees for Schools and Libraries

H is for Hero Tale from Hawaii

4/9/2015

5 Comments

 
"Every Hero Has A Story." My Blogging From A to Z theme bridges the summer library reading programs throughout the U.S. with storytelling opportunities, ideas, and activities.
Picture
Aloha from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. Turn on your Pandora radio station and select some tropical music to listen to; slip your flip flops on, and imagine pristine blue ocean water, luscious green valleys and mountains, waterfalls with rainbows hanging above, the smell of plumaria trees, and palm trees swaying. These islands are filled with myths and legends. Maui is our hero for this tale called "Hina and the Wailuku River." I've included a pronunciation chart below to help you out a bit with the beautiful Hawaiian language.

Stressed vowels
a - ah, as in car: aloha
e - a, as in may: nene
i - ee
, as in bee: honi
o - oh
, as in so: mahalo
u - oo
, as in spoon: kapuUnstressed vowels
a - a, as in about: ali`i
e - eh, as in met: kane
Source: Popular Hawaiian Words and Phrases
Picture
Hina, the moon goddess of the Polynesians, lived in a large cave, hidden by a wondrous waterfall with a rainbow veil near Hilo, Hawaii.  The Wailuku River flows through this basin of Rainbow Falls. Hina's son, the mighty demigod Maui, owned this land and also had his home situated here. But, far above the cave dwelt the evil dragon, Kuna. Kuna would annoy Hina to no ends! He would dam up the river and fill it with dirt. He would throw logs and huge rolling stones into the stream in hopes they would be carried over the waterfall and push Hina from her home in the cave. Hina feared nothing that Kuna could do and would use her chants to ward off his misdoings. Kuna, the dragon, became quite impatient and hatred swelled in him this last time. He uttered great curses causing dark, dangerous clouds and storms to appear and then called on all the magical forces he could muster and hurled a great stone into the gorge of the river below Hina's home, flooding the river from bank to bank. Hina quickly became aware of this dire situation she was in as the unrelenting water poured into her cave. Her powers didn't include flying so she called on her son, Maui to come to her aid. Her voice projected out from the cave, piercing through the storms and the clouds, sweeping beside the great mountain of Haleakala. It was this mountain that Maui heard his mother's cry for help while he was trying to lasso the sun's rays to slow it down. Courageous Maui ran down the mountain, into his magical canoe and with 2 powerful strokes of his paddle, he found himself across the sea to the mouth of the Wailuki River. Maui jumped out of his canoe, grabbed his magic club and swung it once around his head and then striking the dam that Kuna had maliciously created, causing the water to flow freely now back into a new channel. Maui's mother was safe. Maui, being the brave demigod, continued to search out Kuna, knowing that Kuna hid himself in deep waters. Maui readied his magical spear and thrust it through the dirt and lava rocks beside the river, creating a long hole through which the waters ran - revealing Kuna's hiding place. This long hole is called Ka-puka-a-Maui (The Door Made by Maui) a.k.a. "the natural bridge of the Wailuku River." Maui persevered and followed Kuna along several deep pools and riverbeds which the Hawaiians accounted for several earthquakes. While Kuna thought he was safe, Maui poured red hot lava and burning stones into the water which boiled . The dragons tough skin wasn't tough enough. Maui pounded him with his weapons until Kuna battle was up - his body hurled over the falls and was swept through the new channel made by Maui's club. A mighty hero was Maui this day.

Pau (The End)
Story Source is below: Myths and Legends of Hawaii

Resources

Picture
Myths and Legends of Hawaii by W.D. Westervelt
Picture
Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes by W.D. Westervelt
Hawaiian Myths and Legends website - appropriate tales for kids
The Owl's Gift - A Hawaiian Legend
The King of Sharks - Hawaiian Legend
5 Comments
Tasha link
4/9/2015 02:00:21 am

A mighty battle that must have been, a demi-god and a dragon.
Tasha
<a href="http://tashasthinkings.blogspot.co.uk/">Tasha's Thinkings</a> | <a href="http://www.wittegenpress.com/wp_main/blog">Wittegen Press</a> | <a href="http://fantasyboysxxx.blogspot.co.uk/">FB3X (AC)</a>

Reply
Diane Coto link
4/9/2015 02:46:01 am

Hi there - wonderful post. I hope to visit Hawaii some day. BTW, I gave a shout out to your site on my 'H' post on FictionZeal.com. :)

Reply
Rosie Amber link
4/9/2015 05:10:08 am

Oh Aloha too, makes me feel like I'm on holiday. Lovely story. Just dropping in from the A to Z and a shout out from Diane Coto's blog FictionZeal

Reply
Kat Morrisey link
4/9/2015 02:31:15 pm

I went to Hawaii in 2011 and fell in love with the islands. I'd never heard this story before, though. I will have to check and see if my library has any books on more Hawaiian myths & legends! Great post and good luck as the AtoZChallenge continues!

Reply
Alex Hurst link
4/9/2015 11:38:06 pm

I should have expected that Maui was the name of a character in Hawaii'an mythology, but it never crossed my mind! Thanks for sharing the retelling. :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Book me as a storyteller. TCA can help pay fees.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Want to follow my blog? Just fill in your email below and you'll receive new posts!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2018
    February 2018
    February 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    398.2 Poem And Rap
    7 Habits Of Happy Kids
    Anchor
    Anchor Quotes
    Artifacts
    A To Z Blog Challenge
    Birthday Surprises
    Blogging A Z Challenge
    Blogging A - Z Challenge
    Blogging From A-Z April Challenge Reflection
    Books
    Books About Quilts
    Cari Young
    Chris Van Allsburg
    Chuck Wagon
    Civil War Stories
    Class Activity
    David Novak
    David Titus
    Descriptions
    Digital Storytelling
    Dust-bowl
    Epitaphs
    Fan-activities
    Fishing Jokes
    Fish-tales
    Five Senses
    Gadgets And Gizmos
    Giving Credit To A Written Story
    Hawaiian Stories
    Historical Photographs
    Historical Stories
    IPad
    Iphone Apps
    Jamberry Nails
    Japanese Fans
    Japanese Stories
    Japanese Storytelling
    Joshua Chamberlain
    Journals
    Kamishibai Storytelling
    Leader In Me
    Librarians
    Luggage
    Mentor-texts
    Metaphors
    Museums
    Ocarina App
    Old West
    Paintings
    Paintings-and-storytelling
    Pictures
    Poetry
    Primary Resources
    Quick-write
    Quilts
    Radio
    Rakugo
    Reading
    Research
    Stephen Covey
    Stories
    Storytelling
    Storytelling Organizations
    String Figures
    Sue Kuentz
    Talk Like A Pirate
    Tandem Telling
    Tejas Storytelling Festival
    The Secret Knowledge Of Grown-Ups
    The SOS File
    The Wreck Of The Zephyr
    Truisms
    UTSA Storytelling Festival
    Violins
    Visualizing
    Wagons
    Westward Expansion
    Winter And Holiday Stories
    Writing

Sue Kuentz's Door to Lore Website
Kuentz Creative Consulting, LLC
151 Saur Road
Bulverde, TX 78163



cell: 210-326-7877
email:  sue.kuentz@gmail.com

© Sue Kuentz 2018
Photos used under Creative Commons from h.koppdelaney, ken ratcliff, pellaea, a.dombrowski, steveczajka, Mellicious, Dougtone, Peter G Trimming, CraigMoulding