Lono And Kū In Hawaiian Art

Lono and Kū are two Hawaiian gods that were most often represented through feathered basketry and wooden sculptures. Lono is known as the god of agriculture, plants, rain, pigs, peace, and most often connected to the idea of genealogy; while Kū is well known as the god of war, forests, canoes, houses, and crafts. These are two opposing gods in Hawaiian culture and are dependent on each other because of their juxtaposition to one another. They complete a sort of higher balance between each other and are two of the main gods in Hawaii. This essay will explore and discuss how Lono and Kū are represented in Hawaiian art, through style, usage, and historical context. It will also discuss how the context of both the art and the gods have changed …show more content…
The wooden sculptures in Hawaiian art had all the symbolic examples that the people thought would appease the gods. They were used as ways to show of qualities that were tied in with a particular god, in hopes that the gods would enjoy it. The people wanted their gods to enjoy these descriptions of them so they could draw these deities to their respective ceremonies. Both forms of sculpture were used for ceremonial purposes. The feathered ones were often used for ceremonial processions, carried by priests before a battle. Only a priest would be allowed to touch the sculptures during these ceremonies, and carry them around in the processions. Additionally, only a priest or a chief could honor Lono and Kū in private rituals. There were particular priests for certain gods and they could not perform ceremonies, prayers, or dances for other gods. These formalized rituals would take place in heiaus. Each god had their own temple to use and their own specific rituals to go with them. Lono’s temple had offerings of pigs, vegetables, and bark cloth, in hopes that there would be good fertility of the land. Kū’s temples were used for human sacrifice before a battle, or even during an emergency crisis of the land. For sacrifices, though, only a chief could perform the ceremony, not a priest. The temples associated with these gods …show more content…
They were represented by feathered basketry and wooden sculptures, usually to encourage the gods to join them in their ceremonies, and to welcome them into their communities. There were ceremonies held to ensure the wellbeing of life in Hawaii, in honor of the gods. Both Lono and Kū had certain qualities attributed to them to make reference to who they were. For Lono, he was most popularly depicted with a backbone to imply genealogy, and Kū was most often represented with the mouth of disrespect, and a pig's nose to ward off enemies. These were just some of the few attributes contributed to them in sculptures of them. As time went on, Kū became the patron god and Lono was worshipped less or at least was elevated to a lower standard. Eventually, the two were disregarded completely and instead became symbols of elements in nature instead of two overarching forces. The country seemed to struggle between Christianity and the traditional religion, the destruction, and neglect of their once religious centers being a very noticeable example of this. The preservation of art is still a big topic, that is important to the people today, even if the meanings of the pieces have shifted due to the change in the political and religious