- Laka
:"For the Tibetan village see
Laka, Tibet . For Polish place names seeŁąka ."InHawaiian mythology , Laka is the name of a popular hero from Polynesian mythology. (In other parts of Polynesia he is known as Rātā, Rata, Lata, Ata, or Lasa). Lengthy legends of his exploits extend throughout the islands, and the kings of Tahiti and Hawai'i claimed him as their ancestor.In the Hawaiian legend, Laka is the son of
Wahieloa andHina-hawa'e . He plans to sail to Hawaii to revenge 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 he binds together for his long voyage. He and his companions successfully steal the bones of his father from the cave ofKai-kapu .In Hawaii, Laka was also a deity identified with the
hula and the red lehua blossom and is a deity of fertility.In the story of
Hi'iaka , Laka is one of Pele's sisters and guardian of the woodland.:Sources: :*R.D. Craig, "Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology" (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 134.:*M. Beckwith, "Hawaiian Mythology"' (Yale U.P.: New Haven, 1948), 263-75.
Hawai'i
Four deities of this name may be distinguished [Martha Beckwith : "Hawaiian Mythology". Yale U Pr, 1940. p. 569] :-
*(1) Ku-ka-ohia-LAKA, male patron of the hula-dance [Martha Beckwith : "Hawaiian Mythology". Yale U Pr, 1940. p. 40] ;
*(2) Papa-o-LAKA, the 'aumakua world of Kumu-honua [Martha Beckwith : "Hawaiian Mythology". Yale U Pr, 1940. pp. 161-162] ;
*(3) LAKA, female goddess of forest growth;
*(4) LAKA, son of Wahie-loaMarquesas
In the Marquesan version of the myth, Aka is a great voyager, grandson of Tafaki. He made a historic voyage to
Aotona in what are now theCook 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.:Sources: :*R.D. Craig, "Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology" (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 6.:*E.S.C. Handy, "Marquesan Legends" (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu, 1930), 130-1.
amoa
In Samoa, where this hero's name is Lata, he is a great canoe builder originally from Fiji. He builds a huge out-rigger canoe on the island of
Ta'u and sails toSavai'i , where a mountain is named after him. From there, he sails to Tonga where he teaches the inhabitants better ways to build canoes.:Sources: :*R.D. Craig, "Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology" (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 134.
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.:Sources: :*R.D. Craig, "Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology" (Greenwood Press: New York, 1989), 134.:*E.E.V. Collocott, "Tales and Poems of Tonga" (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Press: Honolulu, 1928), 15-16.
Notes
ee also
*
Rātā (Māori mythology)
*Rata (Tahitian mythology)
*Rata (Tuamotu mythology)
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