Ka Iwikuamo‘o
Authors: ASE Tech Team
Ka Iwikuamo’o translates to the backbone (directly: Bone back-lizard). This star line is depicted as the backbone of a lizard or mo’o in this sky culture. It can also be representing a genealogical backbone, each star representing a generation.
Etymology and History
The star line itself starts with Hokupa’a (North Star), the ultimate northern pointer due to the star never moving in the sky, always above north. Hokupa’a connects down to Na Hiku (Big Dipper). Na Hiku translates to “The Seven” as there is seven stars in the Big Dipper. Hokule’a (Arcturus) and Hikianalia (Spica) are the two stars in the middle of the star line. The two PVS canoes are named after these two stars. Hokule’a is the “zenith” star of Hawai’i, meaning it will be directly overhead when you are at the latitude of the Hawaiian Islands. Hokule’a is very important to navigators on finding their way back to Hawai’i. The meaning of Hokule’a is “the star of gladness” because it is the star used to find home bringing joy. Next to Hikianalia is Me’e, a combination of four stars that create a box. Me’e connects down to Hanaiakamalama (Southern Cross) which is the southern pointer for Ka Iwikuamo’o.[1]
Mythology
Weblinks
Reference
- ↑ Mau Piailug of Satawal in Stellarium; printed in appendix of Hoffmann and Wolfschmidt (eds.): Astronomy in Culture – Cultures of Astronomy. Featuring the Proceedings of the Splinter Meeting in the Annual Meeting of the German Astronomical Society, Sept. 14-16, 2021., Reihe: Nuncius Hamburgensis 57, tredition, Hamburg & OpenScienceTechnology Berlin (cBook)
