Editing Laka

{{short description|Figures in Hawaiian/Polynesian mythology}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Lehua blossoms hawaii 02.jpg|thumb|Red lehua blossom ([[Metrosideros polymorpha]]).]]
In [[Hawaiian religion|Hawaiian mythology]], '''Laka''' is the name of two different popular heroes from [[Polynesian mythology]]. (In other parts of [[Polynesia]] they are known as '''Rātā''', '''Rata''', '''Lata''', '''Ata''', or '''Lasa''').  

In one Hawaiian legend, '''Laka''' is the daughter of the ''[[Alii nui of Hawaii|Ali'i nui]]'' [[Wahieloa]] and [[Hoʻolaukahili]], grandson of [[Kahaʻinuiahema]]. He plans to sail to [[Hawaii]] to avenge the murder of his father, but his canoe-building is thwarted by the little gods of the forest.  Because of his offerings to the great gods, however, they give him two outriggers that binds together for his long voyage. He and his companions successfully steal the bones of his father from the cave of [[Kai-kapu]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Hawaiian mythology |last=Beckworth |first=Martha Warren |publisher=University Press of Hawaii |location=Honolulu |year=1977 |isbn=9780824805142}}</ref>{{rp|263}}

== Hawaii ==
[[File:Old Lahaina Luau 2009-07.jpg|thumb|[[Hula dance]]rs in a [[Luau]] in [[Lāhainā]], in traditional [[palm lily|''kī'' leaf]] skirts]]
Four deities of this name can be differentiated:<ref>[[Martha Beckwith]]: ''Hawaiian Mythology''. Yale U Pr, 1940. p. 569</ref>
*(1) Ku-ka-ohia-LAKA, male patron of the hula-dance<ref>Martha Beckwith : ''Hawaiian Mythology''. Yale U Pr, 1940. p. 40</ref> Ku-ka-ohia is the god of Hula dancing and canoe building. He is married to Hina-lula-ohia. In temple, he is shown as a feather god and worshiped with the other Ku gods.  He is associated with ohia lehua tree, and the flowers are used for decorations on altars during performances. 
*(2) Papa-o-LAKA, the '[[aumakua]] world of [[Kumu-Honua]]<ref>Martha Beckwith : ''Hawaiian Mythology''. Yale U Pr, 1940. pp. 161-162</ref>
*(3) LAKA, goddess of forest growth. Laka is the goddess of Hula. Laka is said to be the inspiration a person thinks of while they dance. She is what causes the movement while the dancer is moved. She is also the goddess of the forest. She has reproductive energy which is said to help the forest grow and thrive. Laka is associated with the Lama tree, the Maile Vine, and the a’ali’i plant. They are her kinolau, which means they are the form she can be found in. These are very cherished and treated with high levels of respect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kumukahi.org/units/ke_ao_akua/akua/laka |title=Laka |publisher=Kamehameha Publishing |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref> 
*(4) LAKA, son of Wahie-loa

==Marquesas==
In the [[Marquesan]] version of the myth, '''Aka''' is a great voyager, grandson of [[Kaha'i|Tafaki]].  He made a historic voyage to [[Aotona]] ([[Rarotonga]]) in what are now the [[Cook Islands]] to obtain the highly prized feathers of a red parrot as gifts for his son and daughter.  The voyage was done in a great outrigger canoe named Va'ahiva that had 140 rowers. Of these, 100 die of hunger before they reach Aotona, where they capture enough parrots to fill 140 bags with their feathers.<ref name="craig6">R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 6.</ref><ref>E.S.C. Handy, ''Marquesan Legends'' ([[Bernice P. Bishop Museum]] Press: Honolulu, 1930), 130-1.</ref>

==Samoa==
In Samoa, where this hero's name is '''Lata''', he is a great canoe builder originally from Fiji.  He builds a huge [[outrigger canoe]] on the island of [[Ta'u]] and sails to [[Savai'i]], where a mountain is named after him.  From there, he sails to Tonga where he teaches the inhabitants better ways to build canoes.<ref name="craig134">R.D. Craig, ''Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology'' ([[Greenwood Press]]: New York, 1989), 134.</ref>

==Tonga==
In [[Tonga]], he is '''Lasa''', who captures the chief of the forest elves, [[Haelefeke]], and compels him to help him build a great canoe and pilot it to Fiji.  En route, they are tested by various demons.<ref name="craig134" /><ref>[[E. E. V. Collocott]], ''Tales and Poems of Tonga'' (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu, 1928), 15-16.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Rātā (Māori mythology)]]
*[[Rata (Tahitian mythology)]]
*[[Rata (Tuamotu mythology)]]
* [[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
1) Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Charles Russell Coulter, Patricia Turner . Routledge, 2013. pg 277.


[[Category:Polynesian mythology]]
[[Category:Hawaiian mythology]]
[[Category:Hula]]