Kane

Kane dwelt alone in continual darkness during the first era described by Hawaiian Mythology (2021), when neither heaven nor earth existed. Light appeared in the second era. Kane, Ku, and Lono then fashioned the earth and the things upon it. In the third era, the three gods created a man and a woman. They named the pair Kumu-honua, meaning Earth beginning, and Lalo-honua, meaning Earth below.

Kane also formed an upper heaven for the gods, a lower heaven above the earth, and the earth itself as a garden for mankind. He furnished the garden with sea creatures, plants, and animals, then fashioned man and woman to inhabit it. The genealogical account identified Kumuhonua as the first man fashioned by the gods. Kane held the dominant role as creator, with Ku and Lono assisting him. The three gods formed a trilogy called lahui akua, meaning a union of gods, or he papa Kane, the Kane class. Hawaiians worshipped them under the name Ku-kauakahi. When missionaries reached the islands, Hawaiians named Kane as the leading god among their great gods. He represented procreation, and chiefs and commoners worshipped him as an ancestor.