The one who makes the water rise and the body live
Warning
He is the source and he does not bargain
Resonance
Those who work with water those who keep the land
Symbols
Fresh waterThe springThe sunThe water of life
Mythology Summary
Kane is one of the four great akua of the Hawaiian tradition, with Ku, Lono and Kanaloa, the god of fresh water, procreation and life. In the Kumulipo and the mo'olelo he is the creator and the bringer of the water of life, and the creation traditions make him the one who formed the human body; he is paired with Kanaloa in some traditions, the two travelling together and opening springs. The Hawaiian Kane is cognate with the Polynesian Tane, but the Hawaiian figure is its own. The religion was outlawed after the 1819 'Ai Noa and suppressed by missionaries, and it is being revived.
Modern Practice
Kane is honoured at fresh water, with the first of the harvest, kava and taro, and the practice is the keeping of the springs and the uplands. The water is the offering and the shrine at once. The revival of Hawaiian religion since the late twentieth century keeps his place in the four.