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The Hawaiians have this to say about sacrifices for the aumakuas: If a mo-o, or dragon-god, was angry with its…

Date of account
Published 1915
Source
Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian
Reference
Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian · selected passage 149
Rights
public_domain
Language
English
Record updated
2026-08-25

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Record summary

The Hawaiians have this to say about sacrifices for the aumakuas: If a mo-o, or dragon-god, was angry with its caretaker or his family and they became weak and sick, they would sacrifice a spotted dog with awa, red fish, red sugar-cane, and some of the grass growing in taro patches wrapped in yellow kapa

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

The Hawaiians have this to say about sacrifices for the aumakuas: If a mo-o, or dragon-god, was angry with its caretaker or his family and they became weak and sick, they would sacrifice a spotted dog with awa, red fish, red sugar-cane, and some of the grass growing in taro patches wrapped in yellow kapa. This they would take to the lua, or hole, where the mo-o dwelt, and fasten the bundle there. Then the mo-o would become pleasant and take away the sickness. If it were a shark-god, the sacrifice was a black pig, a dark red chicken, and some awa wrapped in new white kapa made by a virgin. This bundle would be carried to the beach, where a prayer would be offered:

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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