Namaka
In
Hawaiian mythology,
Namaka (or
Na-maka-o-Kaha'i, the eyes of Kaha'i) appears as a sea goddess or a water spirit in the Pele cycle. She is an older sister of
Pele-honua-mea.
[One version states that Pele was born from the head of Haumea, while Namaka was born from her thighs (Beckwith 1970:171).] She is the daughter of
Ku-waha-ilo and
Haumea, whose other children are Pele, the
Hi'iaka sisters, the Kama brothers, and the bird Halulu.
Aukelenuiaiku becomes her husband in Kahiki, then later the husband of Pele, and because of this Pele, the Hi'iaka sisters, Malulani, and
Ka'ōhelo migrate to Hawaii. In Thrum's
Kane-huna-moku myth she is called the chiefess of the Mu and
Menehune people when they are summoned to build the watercourse for Kikiaola at Waimea on Kaua'i (Beckwith 1970:193, 495).
When Pele causes a conflagration by staying too close to the fire god
Lono-makua, Namaka drives her away (Beckwith 1970:170). Another legend mentions that Namaka's guardian dog, Moela is reduced to ashes when he touches
Aukele (Beckwith 1970:348).
*M. Beckwith,
Hawaiian Mythology (University of Hawaii Press: Honolulu) 1970.
