Hawaiian Skies: Kaʻaona 2026
Kaʻaona 2026 (Iune 15 - Iulai 13, 2026)
Na Leilehua Yuen, Hawaiʻi Culture and Language Resident at Gemini / NOIRLab
Kaʻaona starts with a “lei of stars,” a lovely celestial lineup. Mahina-o-Hilo, the new crescent moon, leads the strand to the horizon, followed by Kaulia (Mercury), Hōkū-mānalonalo (Jupiter), and Hōkū-kau-ahiahi (Venus). The belly of the crescent will always face the sun. One way to know which half of the lunar phase we are in is to remember that the waxing moon follows the sun and the waning moon leads the sun.
This month I present to you a moʻohōkū (star story) centered around Boötes, a prominent shape in the Hawaiian sky throughout our hurricane season. Our cast of constellations and stars consists of those traditionally recognized names and some reconstructed here to set the vast stage of the sky for our story. Let us begin with naming our ulu hōkū (constellations) before sharing the story of The Wind Gourd of Laʻamaomao.
Click to view in detail - Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/L. Yuen
Click to view in detail - Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/L. Yuen
The most common Hawaiian name for the Boötes constellation is Hōkū-ʻiwa, “Frigate Bird Star.” In ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, “hōkū” may refer to a single star, an asterism, or a constellation. So the name could possibly refer to Arcturus or to the whole constellation. In this moʻohōkū, we shall call it Ka-ipu-makani-o-Laʻamaomao, a huge gourd which holds the winds. Pākaʻa also used it to carry other things, including an ʻapu named Ka-ua-mea (the Corona Borealis). Ka-ua-mea was Keawenuiaʻumi’s ʻawa cup, which Pākaʻa had charge of and which now holds the rain. Hōkū-leʻa is the piece of ʻawa Pākaʻa placed in the ipu.
Ikiiki (Regulus) forms the hole in Lei-Niho-Palaoa, through which a finely braided lei lauoho can be fastened. The head and mane of Leo form the carved sperm-whale-ivory pendant—the niho palaoa—part of the sacred regalia of an aliʻi. It shall stand for Keawenuiaʻumi, renowned offspring of ʻUmialiloa.
Crater—a Hawaiian name for this constellation has not yet been uncovered—stands in for Ku-a-nuʻuanu, the kahu iwikuamoʻo, something like a seneschal for Keawenuiaʻumi.
Meʻe is a new Hawaiian name for Corvus. It was given by the Polynesian Voyaging Society. It translates to English as "hero." I originally knew it as “the Man,” but that is obviously not its old Hawaiian name. In any case, it will make an excellent Pākaʻa, the son of Kuanuʻuanu.
Hercules, another constellation for which we have not yet found the Hawaiian name, can play the role of Ku-a-pākaʻa, Pākaʻa’s son.
Meanwhile, we shall assign Kaʻa-lolo (Denebola) and Hikianalia (Spica) to play the villains, Hoʻokele-i-Hilo and Hoʻokele-i-Puna.
Nā-hiku, “The Seven," or the Big Dipper, will loan us six stars to form Lapakahoe, the famed steering paddle of Pākaʻa, which he had named for his younger brother. We'll also borrow 83 Ursa Majoris and Theta Boötis to finish the handle. After all, the handle of a steering paddle is generally a bit longer than that of the others.
Draco plays a role as Hekau-o-Pākaʻa, the stone anchor and anchor rode used by Ku-a-Pākaʻa to save Keawenuiaʻumi and his waʻa, his canoe.
Even Polaris plays a role this month, choosing from its many names Hōkū-pā. At the time our story takes place, it did not sit at the north celestial pole but instead moved with the rest of the Little Dipper and the tip of Draco’s tail as they encircled the Earth’s celestial pole. Pā translates to English as an enclosure.
At the right hand of Ku-a-Pākaʻa is Keoe (Vega), one of the sweet potatoes he survived on during his abandonment. Keoe is not only the name of the star but also the name of a sweet potato variety. Beside it is ʻEhā-keoea, four of the dried fish he also ate.
At his feet is his Papa Heʻe Nalu, his surfboard, for which we borrowed some stars from Ophiuchus.
The Wind Gourd of Laʻamaomao
The moʻolelo concerning Laʻamaomao is quite long. The saga runs for three generations and across the Hawaiian archipelago. You can read it at this link.
Pākaʻa is Kuanuʻuanu’s son through the woman Laʻamaomao, whom he met while traveling through the islands. They married and lived on Kauaʻi until Keawenuiaʻumi recalled Kuanuʻuanu to his side. Laʻamaomao and her brother reared Pākaʻa until he was old enough to sail to Hawaiʻi and join his father. Laʻamaomao’s parting gift to her son was a large ipu containing the winds she had inherited from her wind akua ancestor. She taught Pākaʻa all of the wind names and the proper chants to control them.
Upon reaching Waipiʻo and proving his lineage, Pākaʻa joined his father in the service of Keawenuiaʻumi. His father trained him to be the next kahu iwikuamoʻo for the aliʻi. And so, when his father passed, Pākaʻa was granted the role.
But there were jealous and evil people there who lied about all Pākaʻa did. They blamed their mistakes on him, and they took credit for his work. Keawenuiaʻumi did not examine these cases thoroughly, but began to see Pākaʻa through their eyes, which were increasingly hostile. At last, understanding that his aliʻi no longer cared for him, Pākaʻa left Waipiʻo and sailed for Molokaʻi, where he settled, married, and had a son, Kuapākaʻa. He taught Kuapākaʻa all he knew, until the boy had complete mastery of the winds and of human nature, which can seem as fickle as the wind.
Through cleverness, knowledge of human nature, and adept manipulation of the winds, Kuapākaʻa was able to prove the deceit of the bad stewards and return his father to his rightful place beside Keawenuiaʻumi.
As a girl gazing up into the star-spangled deep, it often was my storybook. I did not know the constellation highlighted by Hōkūleʻa (Arcturus) was Boötes (a hunter). I knew it as a great ipu, the wind gourd of Laʻamaomao. Ipu or ʻUmeke that held the bones of kūpuna were long and slender — long enough to hold a femur. They were lidded to protect the contents. In the story of Laʻamaomao, the winds are controlled by chanting to call out specific winds and opening the lid enough to control the strength of the wind. What I find most interesting about this moʻohōkū is that the Ipu-makani-o-Laʻamaomao is such a prominent constellation throughout our hurricane season.
I originally learned the story in an abbreviated form. Now we are fortunate to have Moses Nakuina's wonderful version fully translated by Esther Moʻokini and Sarah Nākoa. Now, I do want to point out that many of the stories I learned were handed down in my own ʻohana and not necessarily recorded by Beckwith or Westervelt. But I still cherish them, and I think it is important that these family traditions be recorded as well. And who knows? As we find and translate more and more newspapers, letters, and other long-mislaid resources, perhaps more of them will come to light.
A few more notable and upcoming celestial events are listed below.
Summer Solstice: June 20, 20:24 (10:24 pm Hawaiʻi Time)
Betelgeuse sets 18:32
Elnath sets 18:38
Sun sets 19:01
The summer solstice presents us with an interesting research problem. “Kaulanaakalā” poetically refers to the west, most specifically the area of the sun's setting at the summer solstice. It also likely refers to both Betelgeuse and Elnath, according to archaeoastronomer Rubellite Johnson. Her research found references to them setting after the sun at the June solstice. However, running Stellarium (a free, open-source, downloadable desktop planetarium atstellarium.org) finds that in June they set before the sun. At the winter solstice, however, they set shortly before dawn. Someone doing a deep dive into all the whys and wherefores of the cultural/linguistic/astronomical connections could get a nice paper out of it.
Mokumanamana is one of the northern Hawaiian islands and lies just north of Ke-alanui-polohiwa-a-Kāne, the “black shining road of Kāne," and the Tropic of Cancer, currently at 23°26′09.1″ North. This is the latitude which marks the northernmost track of the sun as the earth spins about it on its yearly journey. The movement of the sun is very significant in Hawaiian cosmology, non-instrument navigation, and traditional cultural ceremonies. Mokumanamana, at about 23°34′ north, is nearly under the Alanui-polohiwa-a-Kāne, making it the northernmost island the sun would stand over. This may be why it is more densely covered with ceremonial sites than any other location in Hawaiʻi.
Mercury in Retrograde: June 29 - July 23
An ukali-ʻaliʻi is a type of attendant for an aliʻi. The ukali runs about taking care of various errands. This is one of the names for Mercury, and may specifically refer to the planet when in retrograde, when it is acting like an ukali, running back and forth attending its chief, the Sun.
Names for Mercury that we have found so far are:
Hōkūʻula - red star
Ka-ʻā-wela - the burning heat
Kaulia - hung, suspended, hanging
Ka-wela - the heat
Ukali - attendant
Ukali-ʻaliʻi - chief’s attendant
