Author notes on elements of Hawaiian mythology in the book

(chapter references where appropriate)
Upwind - Chapter 1, 4, 6, 10, 11
Asking rule - 2, 3, 9
Honi breathing - 1, 4, 9, 14, 18
Kino lau (multiple forms) -7
Sentient earth
Akua
Mana - 7
Polynesian origins -2, 4 7, 11
Precognition
Role of ali’i - 11, 14, 15
Teleportation -10
Leina -20

Gleanings

When an ali’I nui died, their bodies were lowered over a cliff along the Napali coast.  A volunteer was also lowered, who would bury the king in a cave, then close the cave with rocks and then jump to his own death, sealing the secret of the cave’s location.  Could Whu be such a volunteer, instead going to another galaxy?

The core is the interrelationship and harmony between God, Man and Nature.  What Whu does is expose the lack of harmony in our world by enabling gravitational anomalies.

Akua (pronounced ah-khoo’-[w]ah) is the essence; mana the power.  Akua almost sounds like Whu.  It’s the akua that counts; it’s the akua that is inside the dog’s body that makes Whu what he is.  In fact, that is the title of the book!  (but from a marketing perspective, only if it is easily pronounceable.)

From Man, Gods and Nature, p67ff:
Akua is translated as “sentient spirit” or “spirit consciousness.”  There is ordinary akua and divine akua.   The latter is distinguished by a greater amount of mana (spiritual power).

• Mana is the enhancing power that enables akua to perform in a preternatural or supernatural manner
• With the fullness of mana comes extensive knowledge, wider ranging precognition, teleportation, control over matter, and greater ability to assume multiple forms (all of which Whu has).
• Divinities are distinguished from other akua by the amount of mana they possess; Whu has a fair amount
• Mana is a body of spiritual power which may be drawn upon and directed by those with the “right” or “gift” to do so; Whu uses his mana all the time
• Mana can be transferred into the possession or control of others (as Whu gives AE mana when he leaves at end); Is there a conscious transfer or gift?

Hawaiian geography divides places into upwind or downwind. Places to the NE are upwind, to the SW downwind.  This comes from the migration from Polynesia.  Hawaii is upwind.  Whu migrates to earth; is that downwind or upwind?  Going upwind is harder.  Should going home be harder or easier?  Wheir is the ancestral home, and thus downwind from earth.

If the earth is sentient, conscious, as believed, then we should be able to communicate with it.  Whu doesn’t make the inanimate house move; he makes the ground underneath move, which moves the house.  Whu communicates with the essence of the earth, and eventually AE learns to do so too.

Never take anything without asking.  This is the asking rule.  Replace what you take with something else.

Dualism: male and female, light and dark, etc.  What pairings can we find for Whu?

Kino lau – assuming multiple forms.  That’s what Whu does, appearing in different guises to different people.  Used to form familial ties.

Leina -- a leaping place, a jumping off place

Hawaiians believe that fish hear, that you need to ask plants for their permission before picking its flowers, and that people are related as family to all the species in nature. Howcan this be used: can Whu hear animals?  Does anyone ask permission?  Whu can feel related to HD and AE.

The world is conscious and can be communicated with.  Does Whu achieve the gravitational effects by communicating with the world?

Tao: bring one’s actions into harmony with one’s true nature.  In contrast, Hawaiians see themselves as reflecting nature, using nature to their own advantage, also protecting nature.  Hawaiians bring nature into acting in a way favorable to him/her.  Hawaiians nurture nature.  Taoists are more passive toward nature.  Hawaiians see nature as sentient.

Ethical environmentalism is a reflection of Hawaiian beliefs.   Part II is Nansy’s crusade for these ethics.

Alice Elizabeth's name changes to Alice E. or Ali E. which is similar to ali’i from the Hawaiian for ali’i nui, for chief.  Aliss Elizabeth tells her father that she wants to be called Aliss E.  Then as she gains some understanding (and power?) she changes again to Ali E.  She announces, after some promptings by Whu, this latest change after flexing her powers.