Rethinking Lono, Cook, and the Kumulipo

Since Captain Cook’s demise at Kealakekua Bay, Hawai'i in 1779, his alleged deification by Hawaiians as their god Lono has been the subject of passionate debate. Despite decades of discussion, indigenous Hawaiian perspectives that prompt different theoretical questions have been ignored. In her translation of Kumulipo, a Hawaiian creation chant, Queen Lili'uokalani states that it was chanted for Cook as part of his deification ceremony. Yet there is no direct connection between Lono and Kumulipo, and while many chants honor Lono during Makahiki rituals, Kumulipo is not one of them. This essay utilizes Hawaiian resources in theorizing that Cook’s deification by the Mo'o Lono priests of Kealakekua was for their own political influence over the chiefs of that region, and they capitalized on Cook’s fortuitous arrival during Makahiki to affirm an ancient prophecy that an ancient chief Lono would return, which does not equate to Cook being accepted as a reincarnation of Lono by all Hawaiians, not even those of Kealakekua.