Hawaiian Tiki God Glossary

akua                                cosmic deity, spirit

ali’I                                  chief or chiefess, ruler, king

‘aumakua                         family or personal god, deified ancestor

hale                                house, dwelling

heiau                              religious place, shirne, temple

ka’ai                               sash, sennit casket; protective cloth wrapped
                                      around an object

kahuna                           priest; expert in any profession

kahuna kalai                   carving expert

Kanaloa (Tangaroa)          major god, companion of Kane

Kane (Tane)                     leader of the four major Hawaiian gods

kapa                                bark cloth traditionally made from
                                       paper mulberry or mamaki

kapu                                prohibition, sacredness; prohibited or sacred

ki’i                                   image, statue

konohiki                           headman overseeing a land, working for a  
                                       higher chief

Ku                                   major god, associated with war

lauhala                             pandanus leaf used in plaiting

Lono                                major god, associated with agriculture and peace

luakini                               large sacrificial heiau

lu’au                                feast with traditional Hawaiian foods

makahiki                          period from about mid-October to January 
                                       during which lono, the agricultural god, replaced
                                       Ku, the war god, marking a time dedicated to
                                       farming and peace

mana                               divine or spiritual power, life force

menehune                         Hawai’i’s earliest, legendary settlers

moai                                 Easter Island images

‘ohi’a                                native tree considered sacred

pohaku                             stone

pu’ukonua                         place of refuge

tiki                                   generic work for all wooden images associated
                                        with Polynesia