Nate’s Adventures: Moʻo - Water Protectors
By Nate Yuen | Reading time: 2 minutes
It is time for the stories of moʻo — Hawaiian reptilian deities — to resurface to defend our irreplaceable sources of fresh water.
Particularly important are ground water resources that need to be recharged and safeguarded for future generations. Rainfall has been declining over the past 50 years and is expected to decline further as climate change affects planetary weather systems.
Hoʻokupu -- offering -- of hau flowers -- yellow, orange, and red -- to Hauwahine, the ʻaumakua -- ancestral god -- of Kawainui. Hauwahine is a moʻo -- Hawaiian reptilian deity -- a shape-shifter who protects the waters of Kawainui. In her human form Hauwahine would wear hau flowers in her hair behind her ear.
Our dry seasons have become drier and hotter, with the leeward and coastal areas often catching fire in the intense heat of summer. We need to raise public consciousness about water in Hawaii.
Moʻo are believed to be the ancestral memory of giant monitor lizards or salt-water crocodiles encountered by the Polynesians during their epic journeys across the ocean. Moʻo are water protectors who guard mountain pools, freshwater springs, fishponds, wetlands, rainforests, and other water features. Moʻo are shape-shifters who can take multiple forms.
The Polynesians inadvertently brought geckos and skinks – also called moʻo -- with them to Hawaii in their voyaging canoes.
As shape-shifters, moʻo could take human form. One of the moʻo on Oʻahu - Hauwahine - would take the form of a beautiful woman and sunbath on the rocks overlooking the wetlands of Kawainui wearing hau flowers in her hair behind her ear.
These images of hau and moʻo attempt to re-awaken the spirit of the moʻo, to remind us how fundamental water is to our existence, and to confront the challenges that face us:
A moʻo -- gecko -- visits hau flowers on a sacrificial boulder as their color transforms from yellow to orange, and then to red. Moʻo are supernatural lizard spirits who are shape shifters that protect the water. In their human form mo'o often assume the form of a beautiful woman wearing hau flowers in her hair behind her ear.
Hau trees bloom with yellow flowers as sunlight shines on the hanging valleys and waterfalls of Kahoʻoleinaʻiwa carved into the windward-facing cliffs of Lanihuli. According to tradition, a moʻo -- Hawaiian reptilian deity -- dwells in these cliffs to protect the water. Moʻo are also very fond of hau flowers.
A moʻo -- gecko -- crawls on a hau tree as the morning sun light illuminates the yellow flowers and heart-shaped leaves. In her human form, Hauwahine --- the legendary moʻo ʻaumākua of Kawainui -- would pluck hau flowers to wear in her hair behind her ear.
As the morning sunlight illuminates a newly sprouted hau tree, a moʻo -- gecko -- comes to see what is happening. This is the legendary pool where Hauwahine -- the moʻo ʻaumākua of Kawainui -- sunbathes on the rocks overlooking the wetlands with a hau flower behind her ear.