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Lono
fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music and peace.
Late 18th-century figure of Lono, on display at the Louvre.
Gendermale
Genealogy
Born
near the graves of Keawe

In Hawaiian religion, the god Lono is associated with fertility, agriculture, rainfall, music and peace. In one of the many Hawaiian stories of Lono, he is a fertility and music god who descended to Earth on a rainbow to marry Laka. In agricultural and planting traditions, Lono was identified with rain and food plants. He was one of the four gods (with Kū, Kāne, and Kāne's twin brother Kanaloa)[1] who existed before the world was created. Lono was also the god of peace. In his honor, the great annual festival of the Makahiki was held. During this period (from October through February), war and unnecessary work was kapu (taboo).

In Hawaiian weather terminology, the winter Kona storms that bring rain to leeward areas are associated with Lono. Lono brings on the rains and dispenses fertility, and as such was sometimes referred to as Lono-makua (Lono the Provider). Ceremonies went through a monthly and yearly cycle. For 8 months of the year, the luakini (temple) was dedicated to Ku-with strict kapus. Four periods (kapu pule) each month required strict ceremonies. Violators could have their property seized by priests or overlord chiefs, or be sentenced to death for serious breaches.[2]

Lono and Captain Cook

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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."[3] It would not be abnormal for an akua to journey across an ocean, or physically appear, compared to the Abrahamic god.[4]

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 "Kahiki", he promised to return "by sea on the canoes ʻAuwaʻalalua". An unidentified queen identified it as a "Spanish man of war", recalling the alleged arrival of a Spanish galleon. 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 Portuguese man o' war, which Hawaiians called ʻAuwaʻalalua.[5]

Noenoe Silva offers the alternate perspective that Cook may not have been perceived as an akua. Instead "Cook may also just have been nicknamed Lono because his ship reminded Kanaka of the mo'olelo, and because 'Cook' was impossible to pronounce."[4]

Other Lonos (different cultures and beliefs)

[edit]

Better known to the Hawaiian mythology is an earlier Lono-i-ka-makahiki from the ʻUmi line of ruling Hawaii Island aliʻi (i.e., chiefs, royalty). This Lono was born and raised near the graves of Keawe and his descendants, which were near the place of Captain Cook's monument. This Lono may have cultivated the arts of warfare and puns as well as riddle games and spear-dodging games for the Makahiki.[5]

However, it is unlikely either late ruling chiefs on the ʻUmi line was the mythological Lono who departed to Kahiki. Both chiefs were born in Hawaii, and no legend tells of either of them sailing away with a promise to return. A more plausible candidate for the god Lono is the legendary Laʻa-mai-Kahiki (i.e., the "Sacred-one-from-Tahiti), who purportedly lived several centuries earlier.

Laʻa came as a younger member of the Moikeha family of North Tahiti, older members of whom had settled earlier in the Hawaiian archipelago. He brought with him a small hand-drum, and a flute for the hula. Upon his arrival, the locals heard his flute and the rhythm of the new drumbeat, believing it was the god Kupulupulu.

Kupulupulu was worshiped as god of the hula, who also took the form of the flowering lehua tree as well as the god of native fauna that sustained early Polynesian settlers. Especially on Oahu, this Laʻa-mai-kahiki took wives in various districts. Oahu Island was the stronghold of Lono's worship, where many families claimed descent from La'a. He seems to have sailed back to Tahiti at least once before his final departure. This traveler of a great Tahitian family, who appeared like a god, enriched the New Year festivals with games and drama, ultimately influencing the Hawaiians into believing he was a god.[5]

See also

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References

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Lono

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Lono is a major deity in the traditional Hawaiian pantheon, primarily associated with agriculture, fertility, rainfall, peace, music, and natural phenomena such as clouds, thunder, lightning, and rainbows. As one of the four principal gods—alongside Kāne, Kū, and Kanaloa—Lono governs aspects of prosperity and the seasonal cycle, with worship focused on invoking rain for crops, ensuring bountiful harvests, and promoting health. His cult centers on the Makahiki festival, an annual four-month period of tribute collection, athletic games, and enforced peace during which warfare was prohibited and offerings were made to wooden images representing Lono as he symbolically circumnavigated the islands. Representations of Lono include staff gods (kiʻi lono) with human or gourd-like forms, often carried in processions, and he manifests in diverse aspects such as Lono-makua (progenitor Lono) for healing and Lono-i-ka-makahiki for the festival rite. In Polynesian comparative mythology, Lono corresponds to Rongo, the god of cultivated food, underscoring a shared ancestral emphasis on agricultural abundance across the Pacific. Scholarly accounts, drawing from 19th-century ethnographic records like those compiled by Martha Beckwith, portray Lono's role as rooted in empirical observations of seasonal weather patterns and crop yields rather than abstract cosmogony.

Role in Hawaiian Religion

Attributes and Domains

In , Lono holds primary domains over , , and rainfall, embodying the life-sustaining forces of the land and weather. He is invoked for bountiful harvests and the replenishment of through seasonal rains, particularly during the wet hoʻoilo period when clouds and storms signal his presence. These associations position Lono as a of and renewal, contrasting with more combative gods like . Lono's attributes extend to and , fostering communal and celebratory arts tied to agricultural cycles. He manifests through heavenly signs such as thunder, , rainbows, and winds, which ancient Hawaiians interpreted as omens for planting and growth. In aspects, forms like Lono-pūhā address ailments through restorative powers linked to his fertile essence. Scholarly analyses, drawing from oral traditions documented in early 20th-century ethnographies, emphasize Lono's role in maintaining ecological balance via predictable wet-season patterns that supported and other staple crops.

Kinolau and Manifestations

In Hawaiian cosmology, kinolau—literally "many bodies" or multiple forms—represent the diverse physical embodiments of a , allowing gods to manifest as elements of the natural world aligned with their attributes. For Lono, the god of , , rainfall, and seasonal peace, these manifestations emphasize productive and regenerative aspects of the environment, such as weather patterns essential for crop growth and specific cultivated or wild symbolizing abundance. This polymorphic nature underscores the interconnectedness of divine influence and ecological processes in traditional Hawaiian worldview. Lono's meteorological kinolau primarily include rain clouds, heavy rainfall, thunder, and winter storms, which deliver moisture to the land during the (hoʻoilo), enabling planting and harvest. These forms arrive from the Kona (leeward) direction, nourishing patches and other gardens, and are invoked in chants for bountiful yields. Thunder, in particular, signals Lono's active presence, resonating with his domain over atmospheric fertility rather than destructive force. Among vegetal kinolau, Lono embodies key agricultural staples and trees: the sweet potato ('uala, Ipomoea batatas), valued for its reliability in dry soils; the (ipu, Lagenaria siceraria), used for containers and instruments; the hala tree (), providing thatching and mats; and the kukui tree (), whose nuts yield light and oil. These plant forms reflect Lono's patronage of cultivation, where offerings of their products during rituals like honored his life-giving essence. Priests and farmers recognized these as direct extensions of the deity, guiding sustainable practices tied to seasonal cycles.

Key Myths and Legends

In Hawaiian mythology, one of the central legends involving Lono recounts his marriage to the goddess Ka-iki-lani (also known as Kaikilani-mai-Panio), whom he selects after his brothers search the islands for a suitable consort. Lono descends to on a , wedding her at Ke-ala-ke-akua and establishing a period of prosperity marked by fertility and abundance. This union symbolizes Lono's domain over rainfall and , with their life together evoking the rainy season's bounty. The narrative culminates in conflict when Lono, overcome by jealousy, accuses Ka-iki-lani of —prompted by her wearing a feathered gifted by a rival—and strikes her down, resulting in her death. In remorse, Lono institutes the festival, a four-month period of games, tribute collection, and abstinence from war, held from roughly to to honor her memory and appease the gods. He then departs for Kahiki (the mythical southern homeland), vowing to return as a laden with coconuts and swine, an event tied to the festival's close and the promise of renewed fertility. This legend provides an etiological explanation for the seasonal cycle in Hawaiian cosmology: Lono's corresponds to the dry summer months of and conflict under Kū's influence, while his anticipated return heralds the wet winter season of peace, growth, and abundance. Variants emphasize Lono's thunderous voice during storms as calls for reconciliation, reinforcing his identity with cloud formations and atmospheric phenomena. Additional narratives link Lono to other deities, such as his association with , the hula god, through shared symbols of the ʻōhiʻa lehua tree and , though these lack the detailed quarrel motif. The hero Lono-i-ka-makahiki, a semi-divine chief of the , embodies Lono's attributes in epic cycles, including exploits during Makahiki-like travels, but these blend historical and mythical elements rather than forming discrete origin tales. These stories, preserved in oral chants and 19th-century collections, underscore Lono's role in balancing productivity with ritual cessation, distinct from the warlike pursuits of sibling gods like .

Worship and Rituals

The Makahiki Festival

The festival constituted the primary seasonal observance dedicated to Lono in ancient , spanning roughly four lunar months and emphasizing themes of peace, fertility, and harvest thanksgiving. This period, often regarded as the , suspended normal societal activities such as warfare and intensive labor, redirecting communal efforts toward , gathering, and rituals honoring Lono's domains of , rainfall, and abundance. Primary accounts from Hawaiian scholars like David Malo describe it as a time when "men, women and chiefs rested and abstained from all work, either on the farm or elsewhere," underscoring its role in societal renewal. The festival's commencement was determined astronomically by the of the star cluster (Makali'i) at sunset, signaling the onset around late October or early November in the , though aligned with the Hawaiian lunar months of Welehu or Ikuā. It extended through the into late or , concluding with rites to dispatch Lono's spirit back to Kahiki (the mythical homeland). During this interval, a kapu () prohibited conflict and certain fishing practices, fostering a statewide truce enforced through Lono's authority. Central rituals featured processions of Lono's akua loa, elongated poles approximately 16 feet tall topped with a carved , crossarms supporting white cloth sails, and sometimes a jawbone rattle, symbolizing the god's manifestation. These images, tended by olohe ma'i (athletic specialists), were carried circuitously around each island's districts by canoe or on foot, visiting (temples) to collect ho'okupu—tributes of , woven goods, feathers, and such as pigs, dogs, and —deposited as offerings to Lono. Malo notes that these collections supported chiefly sustenance and temple maintenance, reflecting Lono's association with prosperity rather than conquest. Amid the tributes, emphasized communal leisure through athletic contests and arts, including ulu maika (disc bowling), 'ūlua (bone-breaking arts), moa pahe'e (dart sliding), haka moa (chicken fighting), and performances with chants invoking Lono. These activities, per Kamakau's accounts, honored Lono as patron of games and music, promoting physical prowess and social cohesion without competitive violence. The season's closure involved purifying rites, such as shaking a large-meshed net filled with produce to prognosticate the coming year's yield, followed by the ritual launching of Lono's image seaward on a mast-like structure. This cycle reinforced causal links between ritual observance, agricultural success, and Lono's benevolence, as empirically tied to seasonal rains essential for and other crops.

Agricultural and Seasonal Practices

Lono was invoked through prayers and offerings during planting and cultivation to ensure , , and bountiful harvests, reflecting his domain over and food plants. Farmers addressed Lono alongside other deities like to request aid in agricultural tasks, such as tilling fields and irrigating patches, often using chants that personified natural phenomena like rain clouds and thunder as manifestations of the . These invocations emphasized empirical dependence on seasonal for non-irrigated crops, with ancestors observing heavenly signs—such as rainbows and storms—as indicators of Lono's favor for garden productivity. Ceremonial use of taro elements symbolized Lono in farming rituals; young taro leaves (lūʻau) and the cup-shaped leaves of the ipuolono taro variety represented the god during offerings to promote crop growth and land renewal. Such practices extended to broader fertility rites, where Lono's association with the wet season (hoʻoilo) prompted petitions for abundant precipitation to sustain wetland agriculture, particularly in valleys like Mānoa where spiritual protocols integrated with tools like the digging stick (‘Ō‘ō). Historical accounts, including those from native scholars like Samuel Kamakau, document these rituals as mechanisms to maintain the land's fruitfulness through structured prayers rather than sporadic appeals. Seasonal transitions beyond the involved ceremonies shifting from Lono's agricultural phase to Kū's drier period, marking the end of intensive wet-season farming around or May with rituals honoring Lono's role in completion and soil rest. These included communal prayers for sustained into the leaner months, underscoring causal links between divine and observable cycles of rainfall and , as verified in ethnographic records of pre-contact Hawaiian systems. Offerings of or plants propagated by Lono, such as those legendarily introduced by him, reinforced these practices, prioritizing empirical agricultural success over abstract symbolism.

Encounter with Europeans

Captain Cook's Arrival

Captain , commanding HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery, sighted the island of Oʻahu on January 18, 1778, during his third voyage of Pacific exploration, marking the first recorded European contact with the Hawaiian archipelago. Two days later, on January 20, the expedition anchored off Waimea on Kauaʻi, where Cook and a party went ashore amid initial curiosity from local inhabitants who approached in canoes. The landing at Waimea encountered a mix of caution and exchange; Hawaiians offered provisions such as hogs, yams, and salt in return for iron nails and other metal items from the ships, facilitating trade despite early instances of theft and minor hostilities like rock-throwing. Over the following weeks, the vessels circumnavigated parts of the islands, visiting Niʻihau, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island, where similar bartering occurred and the crew replenished water and food stocks, with an estimated population of around 300,000 inhabitants observed across the chain. Cook named the group the "Sandwich Islands" in honor of the Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty. Departing in late February 1778 for the North American coast, the expedition returned to Hawaiian waters on January 17, 1779, anchoring in on the island of Hawaiʻi after masts on the Resolution required repair. The reception here differed markedly in scale, with hundreds of canoes converging on the ships, their occupants delivering abundant supplies of fish, , coconuts, and hogs without immediate expectation of , as documented in crew accounts. On January 26, 1779, the ruling chief boarded the Resolution with a large entourage, presenting ceremonial gifts including feathers, cloth, and hogs in exchange for metal tools and medals, an event witnessed by Cook's officers as indicative of high regard. This phase of interaction lasted until early February, when the ships departed amid ongoing provisioning, though tensions arose from cultural misunderstandings and resource strains on the isolated community.

The Lono Identification Theory

The Lono Identification Theory asserts that perceived Captain as a manifestation of the god Lono upon his arrival at on January 17, 1778, due to alignments between the explorer's circumstances and Lono's ritual attributes during the festival. This interpretation, structurally analyzed by anthropologist in his 1981 work Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities, frames Cook's voyage as fitting into Hawaiian mythic expectations rather than mere coincidence. Sahlins argues that the theory emerges from the intersection of historical events with cultural structures, where empirical details of Cook's ships and itinerary resonated with Lono's and seasonal rites. Central to the theory are symbolic correspondences: the white sails of HMS Resolution and Discovery paralleled the kapa banners carried in Lono processions, while the ships' masts evoked the akua loa, a tall staff emblematic of the god. Cook's anchoring occurred amid Makahiki observances, a four-month period from approximately October to February dedicated to Lono, featuring kapu on warfare, agricultural tribute, and a ritual circuit of the island bearing Lono's image counterclockwise—mirroring the path Cook's ships took around Hawaii Island. These parallels, per the theory, prompted behaviors such as widespread prostrations, offerings of food and mats, and chants invoking Lono, interpreting the foreigners as divine returnees from Kahiki, the mythic homeland. Proponents emphasize that Lono's mythology includes earthly avatars and seasonal returns, allowing flexible identification of auspicious figures as the god without literal deification. The theory posits causal realism in how pre-contact Hawaiian cosmology predisposed islanders to map novel European phenomena onto established mythic templates, evidenced by consistent ritual responses across multiple sites during Cook's visit. This framework contrasts with views of Hawaiian agency as passive, instead highlighting active cultural synthesis of the event.

Primary Accounts and Empirical Evidence

James Cook anchored Resolution and Discovery at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaiʻi Island, on January 17, 1779, during the Makahiki festival period honoring Lono, which typically spanned from late October or early November to late January or February. Lieutenant James King, in his journal, described Hawaiian priests approaching the shore party with wands tipped in white dog's hair—similar to Lono's akua loa ritual staffs—and chanting phrases repeatedly invoking "Orono" (a variant of Lono) as they addressed Cook. The assembled crowd prostrated themselves repeatedly, laying cloaks and mats at Cook's feet without demanding trade, which King interpreted as signs of veneration akin to religious adoration. Cook was then conducted to a nearby (temple), where high priest Koah (also recorded as Puou) and assistants performed rituals including recitations from the creation chant, pig sacrifices, and alternating hymns with responses explicitly naming Cook as Lono. Crew observations noted the ships' white sails, when furled, resembling the kapa banners carried in Lono processions, and later, during mast repairs, the cloth-wrapped foremast of Resolution evoked the anthropomorphic image of Lono borne aloft in rites. On February 14, 1779, amid escalating tensions over a stolen cutter, a crew member's log recounts urging aliʻi nui aboard by informing him that "the Lono was there," referring directly to Cook, prompting the chief's compliance until violence erupted. These accounts, drawn from voyage logs and the published narrative completed by after Cook's , provide the core empirical observations: ritual behaviors, nomenclature, and seasonal alignment aligning with Lono's domains, though Hawaiian motivations—deific belief versus chiefly honor—remain interpretive.

Scholarly Debates and Criticisms

A central scholarly controversy surrounding Lono concerns the interpretation of Captain James Cook's 1779 arrival in Hawaii and whether native observers identified him with the deity, as argued by anthropologist Marshall Sahlins in works such as Islands of History (1985). Sahlins maintained that Cook's ships entered Kealakekua Bay on January 17, 1779—aligning with the Makahiki festival's sea procession for Lono—and that Hawaiian responses, including mass prostrations, taboo-breaking offerings of food and women, and ritual circuits around the bay mirroring Lono's akua processions, reflected a structural incorporation of Cook into the god's mythic template of arrival, provision, and seasonal departure. This view drew on primary accounts from Cook's voyage journals, Hawaiian oral traditions recorded in the 19th century, and the festival's empirical timing from October to February, during which Lono's peace aspect suspended warfare and emphasized fertility rites. Challenging this, cultural anthropologist Gananath Obeyesekere contended in The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific (1992) that the Lono identification was not a native perception but a post-hoc European narrative imposed to romanticize imperial encounters and portray Pacific peoples as irrational myth-makers. Obeyesekere, drawing on comparative ethnography from and other non-Western contexts, asserted that Hawaiians likely viewed Cook as a high-status ali'i (chief) or mana-endowed visitor rather than a literal , citing the absence of unambiguous deification rituals in eyewitness logs and arguing that Sahlins' functionalist approach overlooked native agency and universal human pragmatism in interpreting foreigners. He further critiqued for essentializing cultures, positioning his own non-European background as enabling a less biased "practical" reading of events. Sahlins responded in How "Natives" Think: About Captain Cook, for Example (), reaffirming the evidence from Cook's third voyage logs—such as the placement of white tapa flags on his mast evoking Lono's symbols and the subsequent violence upon his untimely return in late February, post-Makahiki— as demonstrating causal alignment with Lono's cycle of benevolence turning to conflict when the god's departure is violated. He accused Obeyesekere of selective reading and projecting Enlightenment rationality onto 18th-century Hawaiians, ignoring testimonies like those from voyage surgeon William Anderson noting divine honors reserved for akua, and contended that denying native mythic cognition perpetuated a different form of condescension by assuming thought like modern skeptics. The exchange, facilitated by forums like the 1992 CA* on in edited by Borofsky, highlighted tensions between structural determinism and postcolonial skepticism, with empirical primary sources—voyage narratives cross-verified against Hawaiian chants like the —favoring interpretive flexibility over outright rejection of the Lono fit. Archaeologist Patrick Kirch has supported Sahlins' framework, citing temple alignments at Kealakekua and oral histories equating Cook's bones' treatment with Lono's relics, as of genuine identification rooted in seasonal cosmology rather than fabricated . More recent analyses, such as Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa's 2024 rethinking, propose that Lono priests at Kealakekua deified Cook politically to bolster their order's influence amid chiefly rivalries, using Hawaiian-language sources to argue the akua's invocation served instrumental ends without implying naive . Criticisms of Lono's depiction as an unalloyed peace deity note mythic episodes, like his jealous pursuit of the goddess Hina leading to and thunderous quarrels, which parallel storm aspects and suggest a dual nature balancing fertility with disruptive forces, contrasting the war god but not excluding tension. These debates underscore interpretive challenges in reconstructing pre-contact cosmology from fragmented ethnohistoric data, where varies: European logs provide contemporaneous details but potential cultural , while later Hawaiian accounts risk mission-influenced reframing.

Comparative Mythology

Equivalents in Polynesian Cultures

In of , the god (or Rongo-mā-Tāne) serves as the primary equivalent to Lono, presiding over cultivated plants such as kūmara (), , , and . embodies attributes of growth and harvest, mirroring Lono's role in Hawaiian seasonal cycles and rainfall provision for crops. In Tahitian and traditions, Ro'o functions as a counterpart, associated with , weather phenomena, and as a messenger linked to and natural abundance. Ro'o's invocation for curing ailments and guiding prosperity parallels Lono's healing and peaceful domains. Southeastern Polynesian variants, including Roʻo, extend these traits, emphasizing cultivated foods and harvested seafood. In the , Ono represents a localized form, retaining connections to and agricultural bounty akin to Lono's manifestations. These equivalences reflect a shared Proto-Polynesian pantheon, where the quartet of major deities—variously /, Tū/, /Lono, and /—underwent cultural adaptations while preserving core functions related to sustenance and environmental harmony. Linguistic cognates and ritual parallels, such as harvest observances, substantiate these correspondences across archipelagoes.

Broader Cross-Cultural Parallels

Lono's depiction as a deity tied to seasonal renewal and agricultural abundance aligns with the archetype of harvest gods in various global mythologies, who cyclically depart and return to symbolize vegetation's dormancy and regrowth. In Hawaiian lore, Lono's annual procession during the Makahiki festival, marking the wet season's onset, evokes this motif, with his absence linked to dry periods and his return heralding rains and fertility. This functional similarity underscores convergent patterns in agrarian societies, where such figures ensure communal peace and bounty amid environmental rhythms, independent of direct cultural transmission. Scholars have drawn parallels to the "dying and rising god" pattern in comparative mythology, as outlined by James Frazer, wherein deities undergo symbolic death and resurrection mirroring crop cycles. Lono's exile and homecoming narratives, intertwined with Makahiki rituals, fit this framework, much like Osiris's dismemberment and revival in Egyptian myth, tied to the Nile's inundation, or Dionysus's dismemberment and rebirth in Greek traditions, reflecting wine's dormant-to-fruitful transformation. These resemblances highlight shared causal responses to agricultural imperatives—ritualizing uncertainty in rainfall and yields—rather than historical diffusion, given Polynesia's isolation from Old World pantheons until European contact. Such archetypes emphasize empirical adaptation to ecological realities over speculative syncretism.

Modern Interpretations and Legacy

Cultural Revivals and Practices

In the late 20th century, the festival honoring Lono was revived as part of the broader , a cultural movement sparked by events like the 1976 Hokule'a voyaging canoe's successful , which rekindled interest in pre-contact traditions after the festival's discontinuation following the 1819 abolition of the kapu system. This revival emphasized Lono's attributes of fertility, peace, and agriculture through community-led adaptations of ancient rites, including processions with akua loa staffs symbolizing Lono and ho'okupu offerings of . Contemporary practices, observed roughly from mid-October to January aligning with the ' , incorporate athletic competitions such as 'ulumaika (), kimo (dart throwing), and wrestling, alongside , chanting, and feasting to invoke Lono's blessings for abundance and non-violence. Organized events, like the annual Festival at Waimea Valley on O'ahu scheduled for November 11, 2025, feature demonstrations of these games, lei-making workshops, and educational talks on Lono's role in seasonal cycles, drawing hundreds of participants to foster cultural continuity. In rural areas such as Hāna on , community gatherings in 2025 included tug-of-war matches, shared meals of traditional foods like poi and fish, and and , reflecting localized emphases on Lono's wet-season domain. Transitional rites, such as the Lono-to-Kū ceremony documented in 2021, mark the shift from Lono's peaceful, fertile era to the war god Kū's domain, involving offerings and chants to balance agricultural rest with productivity, often led by cultural practitioners in settings like community sites. These revivals, supported by institutions like the at , prioritize empirical reconstruction from oral histories and archaeological evidence over speculative interpretations, though participation remains voluntary and integrated with modern Hawaiian identity rather than formal worship.

Representations in Art, Media, and Tourism

![Wooden figure representing Lono]float-right In traditional Hawaiian art, Lono is primarily depicted through wooden kiʻi (carved images), which embody aspects of the deity associated with agriculture, fertility, and peace. These sculptures, often featuring elongated bodies and simple facial features, were placed at sacred sites such as the Hale o Keawe temple complex within Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, where they represent multiple manifestations of Lono alongside other . Feathered basketry forms also served as ritual representations of Lono, contrasting with more rigid wooden figures used for . Modern artistic interpretations of Lono appear in tiki carvings and paintings, emphasizing his role as a god of prosperity and natural abundance. Commercial tiki artisans craft Lono figures with motifs of rainfall and , drawing from mythological attributes to symbolize and . Such works, while stylized for contemporary audiences, maintain core elements like headdress-like features denoting divine authority. Representations in media remain sparse, with Lono featuring mainly in educational documentaries and literary retellings of Polynesian myths rather than commercial films or television. For instance, discussions of Lono's agricultural domain appear in cultural programs exploring Hawaiian cosmology, but the lacks prominent roles in mainstream productions. In , Lono's imagery promotes Hawaiian heritage at sites like Hale o Lono on Oʻahu's North Shore, a preserved temple dedicated to the that attracts visitors interested in ancient practices. Cultural festivals reenacting rituals, which honor Lono through processions and offerings, are staged for tourists, incorporating carved images and symbols of rainfall and harvest to highlight pre-contact traditions. Resorts and tiki-themed establishments further utilize Lono motifs in decor to evoke themes of fertility and tranquility, blending mythological reverence with visitor experiences.

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  33. https://bulletin.punahou.edu/arrival-of-foreigners/
  34. https://is.muni.cz/el/1423/jaro2006/SAN102/um/1108737/Sahlins_Marshall._2004._1981._Historical_Metaphors_and_Mythical_Realities.pdf
  35. https://open.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1328&context=all_theses
  36. https://yvesgingras.uqam.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/150/Borofsky.pdf
  37. https://hawaii.com/captain-cook-monument/
  38. https://sacred-texts.com/pac/ku/ku07.htm
  39. https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/puhina-o-lono-heiau/
  40. https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/education/captain-cook.pdf
  41. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/204608
  42. https://lir.byuh.edu/index.php/pacific/article/download/2478/2400/4716
  43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23163004
  44. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6ouqft/did_the_hawaiians_actually_believe_that_captain/
  45. https://journal.equinoxpub.com/IRT/article/view/25641
  46. https://www.academia.edu/16093912/_Hawaiian_Mythology_in_History_with_a_Special_Eye_on_the_Akua_Lono_
  47. https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/the-gods-who-brought-the-plants/
  48. https://sacred-texts.com/pac/hm/hm06.htm
  49. https://sacred-texts.com/pac/hm/hm10.htm
  50. https://seaparadise.com/hawaiian-gods-and-goddesses-a-list/
  51. https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/World%2520Tracker%2520Library/worldtracker.org/media/library/Reference/Encyclopedia%27s/The%2520Gale%2520Encyclopedia%2520of%2520Religion%25202nd%2520Ed%2520Vol.%25209.pdf
  52. https://kawaiola.news/moomeheu/the-return-of-lono/
  53. https://www.waikikibeachwalk.com/Blog/July-2022/Special-Mele-Halia-Celebrating-Hawaiian-Culture.htm
  54. https://tropicalguides.com/blogs/f/makahiki-the-sacred-season-of-ancient-hawaii
  55. https://www.mauimagazine.net/makahiki-2/
  56. https://kawaiola.news/moomeheu/makahiki-in-hana-maui/
  57. https://www.waimeavalley.net/makahiki
  58. https://www.nps.gov/puho/learn/historyculture/kii.htm
  59. https://www.ipl.org/essay/How-Lono-And-K%25C5%25AB-Are-Represented-In-D1E8ACC77F1A9490
  60. https://makanahut.com/blogs/news/hawaiian-tiki-god-lono-1
  61. https://www.instagram.com/p/DH86dsTszTj/?hl=en
  62. https://mythlok.com/lono/
  63. https://www.to-hawaii.com/oahu/ancientsites/haleolonoheiau.php
  64. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/hawaiian-god-lono.html
  65. https://www.tikimaster.com/tikimaster-blog/hawaiian-tiki-gods-meanings-mythology-symbolism/
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