In Hawaiian mythology, Welaʻahilaninui ("Welaʻahilani the Great") was a god or the first man, the forefather of Hawaiians.J. Kēhaulani Kauanui (2008). Hawaiian blood: colonialism and the politics of sovereignty and indigeneity.The Journal of the Polynesian Society He is mentioned as an ancestor of Hawaiian chiefs in the ancient Hawaiian chant Kumulipo.Kumulipo
Etymology Welaʻahilaninui's name can also be spelled as Wela-Ahi-Lani-Nui. Wela means "heat" or "lust",Wela, Hawaiian dictionary whilst ahi means "fire".Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel Hoyt Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian. Lani is a word for sky.Wiktionary entry for "Lani": Lani Nui means "the great".
An alternative (or secondary semantic layer) to "fire" is "one", or "first" as with kahi. This is possible through a phenomenon known in linguistics as t-glottalization or glottal replacement, which occurs when the letter "t" shifts to become the glottal stop, or ʻokina. This is a pattern frequently seen in many languages, such as the Cockney form of the English language Roach, Peter (2004), "British English: Received Pronunciation", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (2): 240, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001768Gimson, Alfred C. (1970), An Introduction to the pronunciation of English, London: Edward Arnold While "kahi" does not have an onset "t", it should be recognized that "kahi" and, from the Samoan language, "tasi" share a common origin as both mean "one", or "first".Tregear, Edward. Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary. Lyon & Blair, 1891. (p. 443)
Thus Wela-Kahi-Lani-Nui may allude to "the great, original burning fire in the heavens".
Family Welaʻahilaninui's wife was called Owe.Samuel Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, Revised Edition, (Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press, 1992).Hawaiian Genealogies: Extracted from Hawaiian Language Newspapers, Volume 2 by Edith Kawelohea McKinzie"In the tradition of Welaahilaninui, he was of the true original ancestors of Hawaii's chiefly generations..."Pacific Studies, Svesci 1-2. Brigham Young University, Hawaii Campus, 1977. Their son was Kahiko,Hawaiian Mythology by Martha Warren Beckwith who fathered Wākea the Sky father.Chant KumulipoAbraham Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origin and Migrations, Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1969
Welaʻahilaninui's parents were Iwahinakiʻiakea (son of Hikiuanahina by WaluanahinaKumulipo) and his consort Lohanakiʻipapa (Umiwahinakiʻipapa),Samuel M. Kamakau, Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, Revised Edition, (Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools Press, 1992) whose parents are not known.Wala-Ahi-Lani-Nui
Mythology There are many Hawaiian traditions of how people obtained fire. According to one, fire was obtained in the time of Welaʻahilaninui.Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication, volume 61 This is related to his very name.
Abraham Fornander mentioned that Welaʻahilaninui and his wife were the first couple of humans. They were created by the great gods Lono, Kāne and Kū.
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