Who is Hina? 

We chose the name for our company with great care, deciding upon one which holds great mana (power, life force) in Hawai‘i and throughout Polynesia:  Hina.  Goddess of Heaven and Earth. 

Hina is one of the prevailing goddesses in our culture, and takes on many forms that are still visible today.  She is most notably associated with the moon, however she also appears in various forms of fish, coral, plants and winds.  Hina is also associated with the power of growth and production. 

It was because of all her associations that we chose this name for our company.  It is our goal to teach others about the various aspects of our environment, and as the goddess Hina appears in all, we felt she was the most encompassing representation we could put forth. 

And so, Hina Adventures pays homage to this great figure, and strives to represent her well in all that we do. 

Hina, Goddess of the Moon

The first of the gods to step foot upon the splashing shores of the volcanic islands of Hawai‘i were Kū and Hina - male and female; Kū the rising sun, Hina setting sun; Kū the east and Hina the west; together, the ancestral gods of the generations of mankind.  As first ancestress, Hina embodied female fertility and the life principle.  As a source of life she was also invoked for healing and balance.  As goddess of the Moon, she reigned over the planting and fishing cycles of all Hawaiians and took many forms among the plants, sea life and birds.  Among her many descendants were Māui, the demigod, sometimes referred to as "The Hawaiian Superman"; and Kamapua‘a, the pig-god, whose insatiable appetite for food, women, and getting into trouble has earned him a reputation as the trickster of Hawai‘i. 

In one legend, Hina lived along the shores of Ka‘uiki headland under the shadow of the great volcano Haleakalā on the island of Maui.  Ka‘uiki was a rugged yet beautiful land - a small bay cut into the lava, dashed with the spray of the ocean and riddled with surging sea caves.  Here Hina pounded her kapa board to make fine clothing and tended her husband and children.  Hina worked long days and months without help, for her husband was lazy and her children heedless.  At last one day Hina saw a beautiful rainbow rising from a grassy field, arching through the clouds and high into the heavens.  She began to climb the rainbow, up and up through the mists until the sun beat down upon her back and seared away the shadow of the clouds.  Up she crawled, but the heat of the sun scorched her strength and Hina slid down the rainbow to lie crumpled upon the earth.  Slowly her strength returned and she arose.  The sun had set and the rays of the full moon gleamed down, softly illuminating a rainbow.  Hina collected her calabash and kapa board and began to climb once again, but as she rose her husband saw her and shouted for her to return.  Hina continued to climb, so her husband leapt into the air, catching her leg.  She shook him but he would not let go.  In desperation she struggled onward and her leg broke off in her husband's grasp, becoming the sweet potato.  Hina limped upwards.  At last she arrived at the Moon and gratefully sank down to rest, her calabash and kapa board resting beside her.  And there she lives to this day.  When next you look up at the full moon perhaps you will see her, Hina, lounging in the moon with her calabash and kapa board, looking down upon her old home Ka‘uiki. 

Sources:  Hawaiian Mythology.  Beckwith, Martha; University of Hawaii Press, ©1970.

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