kauhuhu,1915 named narrative passage, printed page49; documentary source-page facsimile
Documentary text facsimile of the exact named narrative, not a creature picture. Local facsimile PDF zero-based index70, printed page49.
Overview
The narrative places Kauhuhu in a coastal cave guarded by two moʻo. Kamalo reaches it after other specialists cannot help him obtain redress for Kupa’s killing of his sons. The guardians hide the grieving father, but Kauhuhu discovers him and nearly swallows him. Kamalo speaks quickly enough to explain his loss; the shark deity listens and agrees to become his protector.
Kauhuhu’s promised arrival is marked by a cloud travelling from Lānaʻi and a rainbow above the valley. A storm sweeps Kupa and his followers toward a bay filled with sharks, while the boundary around Kamalo’s household is spared. Protection and destructive power are both central to this particular account. The story should not become a claim that every Hawaiian shark deity is hostile or that a historical storm has been scientifically identified.
Origins & earliest records
Westervelt printed this account in his 1915 Legends of Gods and Ghosts, with a chapter devoted to Kauhuhu. The publication is a collected and translated witness shaped by its editor. It establishes a readable early twentieth-century presentation, not the origin of Molokaʻi oral knowledge or an exhaustive account of local religious relationships.
Records & interpretation
The inspected chapter supplies the cave encounter, plea for redress, promised cloud and storm, and protection of Kamalo’s household. These are evidence of a specific published narrative. They do not independently confirm supernatural weather control or a coordinated historical shark attack, and ritual passages have not been reproduced as practice instructions.
In the literature
“the friend of a priest who is seeking revenge for the destruction of his children.”
VII: Kauhuhu, the Shark-God of Molokai; printed p.49; paragraph beginning “The story of the shark-god Kauhuhu…”
The chapter introduces Kauhuhu as Kamalo’s ally in vengeance for his killed children.
“Here the shark-god had gathered his people.”
VII: Kauhuhu, the Shark-God of Molokai; printed p.57; paragraph beginning “The storm arose at the head…”
Kauhuhu’s storm sweeps Kupa and his followers into the harbor where sharks devour them; the following page says the flood respects Kamalo’s sacred boundary and spares his people.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Legends of Gods and Ghosts, VII: Kauhuhu, the Shark-God of Molokai
Selected inspected chapter; a dated collected witness, not a comprehensive bibliography.
- 02
Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology)
Boston: Press of Geo. H. Ellis,1915, first edition; University of California Libraries facsimile.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology)
Boston: Press of Geo. H. Ellis,1915, first edition; University of California Libraries facsimile.
- The chapter introduces Kauhuhu as Kamalo’s ally in vengeance for his killed children.
- Kauhuhu’s storm sweeps Kupa and his followers into the harbor where sharks devour them; the following page says the flood respects Kamalo’s sacred boundary and spares his people.
Historical English Hawaiian narrative witness as edited by Westervelt; not an original-language transcript or universal account. Scan checked visually because OCR contains spacing errors.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textLegends of Gods and Ghosts, VII: Kauhuhu, the Shark-God of MolokaiResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical text facsimilekauhuhu,1915 named narrative passage, printed page49; documentary source-page facsimile
Documentary text facsimile of the exact named narrative, not a creature picture. Local facsimile PDF zero-based index70, printed page49.