Editing Lono (section)

==Lono and Captain Cook==
There is some debate to whether Native Hawaiians perceived Captain [[James Cook]] as Lono's incarnation, which may have later caused Cook's death (see [[Third voyage of James Cook]]). A Hawaiian god or "an ak[ua] is a being of nature, one of immense power, which may be an invisible spirit or a living person."<ref>Herb Kawainui Kāne, in ''Current Anthropology''{{'s}} forum on Robert Bor-ofsky,"Cook, Lono, Obeyesekere,and Sahlins," ''Current Anthropology'' 38,no. 2(April 1997):265, as cited in Silva, Noenoe K.(2004). ''Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism''. Duke University Press Books. p19 {{ISBN|978-0822333494}}</ref> It would not be abnormal for an [[wikt:akua|akua]] to journey across an ocean, or physically appear, compared to the [[Judeo-Christian-Islamic]] [[god]].<ref name= "Silva">Silva, Noenoe K.(2004). ''Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism''. Duke University Press Books. p19 {{ISBN|978-0822333494}}</ref>

In [[Martha Beckwith]]'s telling Cook was perceived to be the god Lono. It was traditionally held that the god Lono had appeared as a human who then established games and the annual taxing. Before departing to "[[Tahiti|Kahiki]]", he promised to return "by sea on the [[canoe]]s ʻAuwaʻalalua". An unidentified queen identified it as a "[[Spain|Spanish]] [[Man-of-war|man of war]]", recalling the alleged arrival of a Spanish [[galleon]]. [[Mary Kawena Pukui|Mary Pukui]] interpreted this as "very large double canoe", from ʻAu[hau]-waʻa-l[o]a-lua. However, Pukui may have been referring to the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Man-of-war|man o' war]], which Hawaiians called ʻAuwaʻalalua.<ref name="Beckwith">Beckwith, Martha (1951). ''The Kumulipo: A Hawaiian Creation Chant''.</ref>

[[Noenoe Silva]] offers the alternate perspective that Cook may not have been perceived as an [[wikt:akua|akua]]. Instead "Cook may also just have been nicknamed Lono because his ship reminded [[Kanaka Maoli|Kanaka]] of the [[mo'olelo]], and because 'Cook' was impossible to pronounce."<ref name= "Silva"/>