Hawaiian Skies: Nana 2026
Nana 2026 (Malakai 19 - ʻApelila 17, 2026)
Na Leilehua Yuen, Hawaiʻi Culture and Language Resident at Gemini / NOIRLab
This is a month of animated growth. The rains will soon let up, the sun is shining more, trees are blooming, kalo is pushing up new mahola, the long tightly furled center leaves, and the mālolo fish, like the puffy clouds, are scudding across the surface of the sea.
Click to view in detail - Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/L. Yuen
As we look at the 8pm star chart, you may notice that Mūlehu appears a bit differently. I recently came upon this article on Mūlehu from Ka Nūpepa Kuokoa, Volume IV, #52, 30 December 1865, pasted down below. The translation is mine, so if there are errors, please let me know!
“Eia ka lua o na inoa o na hoku o keia lalani hoku. O Mulehu, aole nae oia inōa wale no, aka, he mau inoa e ae no kekahi o keia hoku, oia hoi o Poloahilani a me Poloula. O ke ano o keia hoku, he hoku makapo, a he pohina no kona ano ke nana aku kakou i ka po.
Ua kapaia no hoi ka inoa o keia hoku mamuli o kekahi alii o Hawaii nei, oia hoi o Poloahilani, a o kona ano o ka noho ana, he alii makapo, elua mea nana ia e alakai iwaho, a iloko; e paa ana kekahi ma ka lima akau, a pela na hoi ma lima hema.
A no ka makapo o keia alii, ua lele kona hauli iluna o ka lani, a kau i kela mau hoku i kapaia i na inoa ekolu maluna ae.
O ke kau ana o keia mau hoku, hookahi mawaena, oia ka hoku pohina, a o kekahi hoku ma kekahi aoao, a o kekahi no hoi ma kekahi aoao, e like me keia kii malolo iho, a pela ko lakou ano ke nana aku i ka po. ₓ ˣ ₓ O keia hoku ua pili ia Kuakini a me kana mau mamo.”
So, here are many names of the stars of this constellation. Mulehu isn’t the only name, but each of the stars have their own names, as thus, Poloahilani and Poloula. The nature of this star is a blind star, and its appearance is dark when we look at it at night.
This star is named after a king of Hawaiʻi, namely Poloahilani. He ruled as a blind king, with two guides to lead him about; one holding his right forearm and the other the left forearm.
Because a blind king was notable, their names were elevated and placed in commemoration on those three named above.
The placement of these stars, one in the middle, that is the dim star, and another star on one side and another star on the other side, just like this picture, and that's how they look at night. ₓ ˣ ₓ This star is associated with Kuakini and his descendants.
Now, it seems to me, and to some others, that Mūlehu would be the aliʻi star because the ulu hōkū takes its name from that star. But Kupahu is clear that the aliʻi star is visibly more dim than the others and that the name of the aliʻi is Poloahilani.
Originally I was taught to use the three most prominent stars in the left wing of the constellation Iwalani for Mūlehu. However, it’s always been awkward using Caph for Poloahilani because the two alakaʻi stars are supposed to be leading him. However, if Poloahilani is Achird (η Cas), to me, it works beautifully.
On to the next ulu hōkū:
Click to view in detail - Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/L. Yuen
Another name of Polaris is Kio-paʻa, the “Fixed Projection.” I’ve been chasing down the Kaulua star names, and this may tie in nicely with those.
Notice that we have two Kaʻalolo showing, Hamal and Denebola. They bracket +20°. This can be handy, having one rising when one is setting, or one in front and one behind. As we look at the many star names, some patterns are appearing: Stars that “hand off” their position may share names. Stars that appear in the same area of the sky more than five hours apart may share names. Stars that look similar or are in huihui that have similar configurations may share names. I’d love to have navigators, hikers, farmers, and other applied stargazers chime in on this and tell me your experiences!
Soon to set is Nā Hōkū Pā, the head of Cetus. “Pā” is an enclosure or fence.
This month we are showing the Big Dipper as Nā Hiku, The Seven, and enumerating them, starting with “First Hiku" and ending with “Last Hiku.”
Ikiiki (Regulus) is the titular star for the first month in Kau, the hot season, which begins in only two mahina. Following Ikiiki is our second Kaʻalolo, Denebola. Heading south, we find Ke-aliʻi-o-kona-i-ka-lewa, Canopus, ruler of the southern sky.
There is a set of stars known as “Kaulua,” a group of five stars that “resembles a double canoe and is below the Makaliʻi group,” which makes sense as “kaulua” is commonly used in reference to “waʻa kaulua,” a double-hulled canoe. To me, the description of this ulu hōkū most closely fits Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Capella, and Procyon.
Each of the five star names has several variants, which makes me think that the moʻolelo for this moʻohōkū is an old one, as the names have drifted over time and distance. Based on the work of Johnson, Mahelona, and Ruggles, I have tried to narrow down the names to the five most representative and then figure out which belong to what stars through elimination.
Kaulua is the name for the Ulu Hōkū itself as well as the primary star, which I assume to be Sirius.
Kaulua-koko, “blood red,” seems a perfect name for Betelgeuse.
Kaulu-wena, hot and burning, suits Aldebaran. Kaulu-wena also is the wife of Kaulua. In the Māui moʻohōkū, the Hyades form the firepit of Hina-i-ke-ahi, mother of our hero, so this star is associated with heat, fire, burning, and the female aspect across different moʻolelo.
Kaulua-lena, “yellow,” describes Capella.
This leaves us with Kaulua-i-haʻi-mōhaʻi, possibly referencing one who breaks sacrifices as if they were sticks, and Kaulua-okaoka, which is chewing things up into tiny pieces. With time, original meanings can be lost and change, but the dictionary is still my first stop when hunting for clues. We do have a location for Kauluaihaʻimōhaʻi as being below Keoea (Lyra) and above Kaulua-Koko (Betelgeuse). Given that location, the only star that makes sense to me is Elnath, which happens to be where one would step the mast if we think of the Kaulua stars as an ulu hōkū of a waʻa kaulua. That leaves Okaoka for Procyon. Let me know your thoughts!
Drawing a waʻa kaulua using those ulu hōkū as our guide, Kio-paʻa makes an excellent masthead, and Nā-hiku is a perfect hulumanu, tell-tale, for the Lā, the sail!
Now looking at our 5am chart, enjoy the beauty of ʻAi-kanaka, the great shark ancestor of the Maui ʻohana, as he swims the Milky Way. There are many names for the Milky Way, and I am starting to think that some of them are for portions of it. ʻAi-kanaka, Ka-iʻa, and Iʻa-lele-i-aka, I think, all apply to this portion, whereas perhaps the other names apply to other regions.
Maliu (Spica) is another important navigational star. The Hawaiian cognate for Polapola (Hadar, β Cen) is Bora Bora. Polapola is one of the navigational stars for sailing to Bora Bora. Melemele (Rigel Kentaurus, α Cen) is its partner in pointing the way to Bora Bora. "Melemele" translates to English as “yellow,” fitting for this lovely G2V star. The pair are also known as Ka-maile-mua (β Cen) and Ka-maile-hope (α Cen).This blog post shares a bit about sailing on Hōkūleʻa.
Speaking of Hōkūleʻa, the kupuna wahine/grand dame of the Hawaiian ocean-going waʻa fleet, Arcturus, the star for which she is named, graces the sky in the morning, set like a jewel in Hōkūʻiwa, a nine-star ulu-hōkū that crosses the zenith of our sky.
Koea (Vega) and ʻEhā-keoea (Lyra, “Four Keoea”) shine forth above the shark’s tail. Below his tail are the Humu-mā, Au-haele (Tarazed), Humu (Altair), and Pai-kauhale (Alshain).
Just as we have two Kaʻalolo, we also have two Au-haele and two Pai-kauhale, each bracketing a brighter center star. Hua (Antares) is the knot that ties the fish line to the leader of Maui’s great hook, Ka-mānai-a-ka-lani, “The Needle of Heaven" or "The Needle of the Chief." The hook and line together are Ka-makau-nui-o-Maui, “The Great Fish Hook of Maui.” This was the hook with which Maui tried to fish up Pimoe (Luehu, if you are from Kauaʻi), the giant ulua.
Have a question or an experience to share? Visit Leilehua’s blog — Hawaiian Stars
