Kamohoali'i- Polynesian GodDeity"King of Sharks"
Also known as: Ka-moho-ali'i
Description
Elder brother of Pele who swam alongside the voyaging fleet in shark form to guide the gods from Kahiki to Hawai'i. When sailors lose their way at sea, a shark swimming purposefully toward shore may be Kamohoali'i, come to lead them home.
Mythology & Lore
The Voyage from Kahiki
When Pele and her family left the ancestral homeland of Kahiki for Hawai'i, Kamohoali'i did not ride in the canoes. He took shark form and swam beneath them. While Pele carried her fire in search of volcanic ground, her elder brother held command of the sea. The fleet followed his dorsal fin across the open Pacific. In the Pele migration cycle recorded by Emerson and Beckwith, it is Kamohoali'i who made the crossing possible. Without his navigation, the canoes would have been lost.
Guide of the Lost
His work did not end with the migration. When Hawaiian fishermen lost sight of land or swimmers were dragged out by currents, an enormous shark would appear, circling once, then swimming in a clear line toward shore. If they failed to follow, the shark circled back. Patient. Insistent. This was Kamohoali'i, or one of his emissaries. Sailors who recognized the sign followed without hesitation. On land he could walk among people in the shape of a man, but at sea he was always the shark.
King of Shark 'Aumakua
Certain Hawaiian families claimed sharks as their 'aumakua, their ancestral guardian spirits. As Kamakau documented, these families were bound by kapu: they could not eat shark meat and treated every shark with reverence. In return, their shark ancestor drove fish into their nets and warned them of danger. Kamohoali'i was king over all shark 'aumakua. Families brought offerings of 'awa and pork to coastal shrines. Some fed particular sharks at specific coves, calling them by name. The obligation ran both ways.