Hawaiian He'e "Octopus"

Octopus in Hawaii is known as "He'e", particularly the Hawaiian Day Octopus is known as he'e, he'e mauli, day octopus, day squid, or by its scientific name "Octopus cyanea". It is difficult to know if it is a Crescent Octopus as it is also known as "He'e" and by its scientific name "Octopus hawaiiensis". It is sometimes confused for the Hawaiian Night Octopus called the "He'e Mākoko" (Callistoctopus ornatus), or the Pacific Giant Octopus "He'e Pūloa" (Enteroctopus dofleini). In Hawaii they are a familiar presents as they are in dishes that take many forms like: Sash (Sliced Sashimi), Barbecue Octopus (Grilled), Squid Luau (Stew), Laikiku Rice (Steam Rice), Hawaiian Raw Tako, and the trendy Octopus Poke (Tossed Foods).

Heʻe as a Aumakua "The Sagacious enigma", the Heʻe is called a Aumakua of ancient wisdom and the eight-armed enigma of the Hawaiian Sea... It represents generational knowledge, observational protectors, and guidance. The Hawaiian word for octopus is heʻe and is steeped in thought, taking history seriously, and reverence for the wonders of the ocean. While "tako" is commonly heard it is good to know how the roots of Olelo have its own definitions to add to the overall "octopus". It is a thinking creature, captivating people, and has remarkable intelligence, and they were expected to be profound and multifaceted.

Ancient Hawaiians valued the tender meat of the heʻe as it was highly prized and incorporated into a variety of traditional Hawaiian dishes, including hearty stews. A variation on palu was made with ground fish, octopus ink, and various plants. Octopus also was used in Kapa as a dye for barkcloth prints in artworks found on Molokai, but it was one of many types of Hawaiian Black Dyes that were made. A type of healing called “heʻe mahola” which heals one that had fallen victim to sorcery; or a patient was fed he’e so that the sickness would flee (heʻe - lit., – slide, slip, flee) and spread out, away from the victim (mahola – to spread out). Heʻe Koko "hemorrhage, flow of moving blood" it means to change or state of flow that could implicate blood of ones lineage of a bloodline. Heʻe nalu is "surfing" or "wave sliding" and it can relate to a flowing motion that has a person adapting with a tool in a marine environment. Heʻe Holua "lava sledding" is a person adapting with a tool with a flowing motion on mountainous hills. Waihe’e meaning to lie, and translated literally it means "slippery mouth".⁠ Heʻe nehu refers to the time when nehu fish run and is associated to rain.

Octopus appear in Hawaiian Legends and Hawaiian designed garments as well as quilts and patchwork blankets. They are depicted in tattoos, prints, and paintings, and is very much part of Hawaii Society. In Hawaii it has a kind of a Strong presence while places like Japan emphasize its cuteness and the image to the west is a sort of Western alien. Kanaloa a Hawaiian Deity that was sometimes envisioned as a octopus, so the image of octopus and as a food were ingrained in everyday life. Some Hawaiians believed that the strength of the ocean that is shown from the raging waves that crash against the coral reef pools was the same strength as the suckers on an octopus. A strength that could nourish the body, mind, and spirit, deeply connecting individuals to the kai (sea) that sustained them. 

"Kāne and Kanaloa are often depicted as traveling companions who journey across the Hawaiian islands, seeking out and opening up freshwater springs. In these legends, Kāne might be the one to strike the earth with his staff to bring forth the water, while Kanaloa helps locate the sources or provides the "urge" or vision. I tell my students who I call my children to take a bath rid themselves of negativity." -Olelo Language Teacher

Nutritious: The Hawaiians would eat it a lot and it was nutritious because it contains plenty of protein, low in calorie, and lots of taurine that is good for the liver. It is a healthy food and has contributed to its popularity. Lawaia that were fishing near the reefs or going in at low-tides were often time skilled women who would catch octopus and bring them back to the village. 

Hawaii people eat a lot of seafood per person more than many other places, unless they to are surrounded by large vast waters as those who share the Pacific. Seafood is a staple and the quantity is influenced from price and availability, but the preference has been built into the culture and the people, especially with lower-income residents struggling to afford certain types of seafood. Hawaii eats octopus more than many other places because generational recipes that require octopus or certain sorts of octopus and many use the whole animal. Historically it was central to Hawaiian life and was one of the reasons immigrants from the East found Hawaii so appealing "Its just like the food back home" and one of the reasons the West found Hawaii so exotic and alien "These uncivilized people eat whatever they can get their hands on. They are unsettling and disgusting...".

In the plantation days, as new technology came along with the railroads and the refrigeration, Hawaiian-Japanese entrepreneurs were able to further ration their foods they caught from the ocean. As freezers came to be there was a whole market for turning octopus into a "Octopus Industry" where it would follow the rules of octopus supply and octopus demanded price. While prices have changed the significance of octopus meat is there on the table after its been pounded away via kui (to pound), thrown in a cement mixer, or even a old washing machine specialized for softening the octopus.

Kanaloa is one of the four principal akua (gods) in traditional Hawaiian religion, associated with the ocean, long-distance voyaging, and healing. He has many body forms as he can become parts of creatures most notable octopus and squid as his kinolau (body forms). While Hawaiian oral histories offer less information about him compared to Kāne, Lono, and Kū, tradition describes him as Kāne's companion. Migrating from Kahiki, they journeyed together throughout the Hawaiian Islands, opening freshwater springs for their ʻawa. Kanaloa holds significant role across cultures in the Pacific: In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the Māori know him as Tangaroa or Takaroa, god of the sea. In Sāmoa, Tagaloa is believed to be the creator of the universe. In Tonga, Tangaloa ruled the heavens, and his offspring are the high chiefs. The Tahitian counterpart, Taʻaroa, was alone in the universe until he formed the world from his own cracked shell.

There are stories where Kanaloa and Kāne build fishponds and end famine. They even test the integrity of people they meet in their travels to make sure they are for this value. Because of this there are practitioners as well as scientists that see Kanaloa as a symbol for sustainability efforts towards foods from the ocean that are connected to farming and repopulation efforts. Through several key aspects of Hawaiian tradition, Kanaloa is Kāne's companion who helps locate and open freshwater springs, which are absolutely essential for any agriculture and for sustaining human life. It is about well-being, resilience of a population, which is fundamental to its ability to grow. Stories also show the connection to Kahoʻolawe, a sacred kino (form) of Kanaloa, represent a profound act of ecological "farming" and the "repopulation" of native flora and fauna, plants, seabirds, insects, and marine life in the surrounding waters directly honoring him.

There is said to be an old article about Kanaloa and Kāne confirms their godly powers according to the Kumukahi Organization. 

"Their powers were such that if one withheld something that they asked for, such as ʻawa or something else, they could take his life if they saw fit to do so." -Kumukahi Organization

Heʻe as Kinolau of Kanaloa, the heʻe is linked to Kanaloa in a way that is spiritual and it can go places where people aren't aware of. Kanaloa reigns as the powerful deity of the ocean, one of the four main Hawaiian gods, the god of navigation, and the mysterious depths of the underworld. He was believed to manifest in various kinolau or body forms, and the octopus was one of his most recognized and potent embodiments. Hawaiian mythology, Kāne (god of creation) and Kanaloa are often seen as complementary forces, Kāne was invoked for the physical act of canoe building, while Kanaloa's presence was crucial for the successful and safe journey across the vast ocean. This association elevated the heʻe to the ancestors and it represented divine power of the sea and the boundless nature of it. 

Luhe’e Lure: Fishing for octopus (he’e) was dance between a octopus and lifting and dropping lure of pure artisanal beauty. The right stone, the right cowry shell, the right technique of lure dragging along the ocean floor would be key in attracting an octopus. It is a tool of trickery according to the Natural History Museum Smithsonian, because the octopus is encircled around the lure and yanked up with its body penetrated from the hooks that dig into its body. As it enters the boat it is tradition to bite the octopus's main brain with ones teeth to instant kill it on the spot, or the modern way of turning it inside out.

“The handsome stone was the ‘husband’ to the cowry, and the cowry was ‘married’ to the stone. When the two matched in beauty, and they swayed in dance in the ocean, the he’e came to watch the joyful dance. Those of them who wished to honi (kiss) the cowry, leaped to embrace and kiss her because they were aroused by the dance. When the he’e took hold of the cowry, the fisherman pulled up the cord swiftly with his right hand, grabbed it with his left, and pulled it hard against the side of the canoe, which forced the hook into the he’e.” -Samuel Kamakau,The Works of the People of Old

Hawaiian Folklore (Molokai), the Heʻe shapeshifter of Kupeke is known as the protector of the fishpond. It is said that Kupeke was responsible for the disappearance of children who would walk the path near the territory of his pond to get to school. A father who had lost their child went to a kahuna to find the cause of the children’s disappearances. His long wait had him petrified into pure rock. Kupeke has been known to reveal himself to when people have pork. 

The boundlessness can come in the form of sustainability as the relationship of practices of Lawai'a (fishermen) and the He'e with the actions of the Lu'e He'e (octopus charm hook) for a raising of and capturing of He'e as a food, a respected creature, and a relationship by way of the hook. In the way of knowing, He'e are said to be the survivors from a previous Universe within the Kumulipo, the sacred Hawaiian chant of creation. The octopus, the sole survivor, a primordial being that endured from a previous universe of the before was the watcher of it all from the cosmic transitions, enduring all when all has died, the ancient of origins.  

The eighth wā (era) of the Kumulipo, the god Kanaloa is born, and the octopus is  his form. 

"Hānau ka heʻe noho i kai." 
"Born is the heʻe (octopus) living in the sea."

"Kiaʻi ia a ka waleheʻe noho i uka."
"Guarded by the waleheʻe (a shrub/plant, likely with a similar name) living on land."

Ancient Hawaiians really took the time to commit to understanding the animal as another person as it was a being of wisdom. They had observed the remarkable intelligence and resourcefulness of the heʻe, seeing it move rocks, protect its family, and out strategize their prey. They were known to be cunning problem-solvers, masters of camouflage, and incredibly adaptable. This was not lost on the Hawaiians as it showed tactics in the sound of the word heʻe itself – which can imply "to slip away," "to surf," or "to flee" – likely contributed to their perception as elusive and it would be doing things while remaining hidden and not humble, but as a being within the ocean's intricate ecosystem. It was un-noticed, being overlooked, and unsuspecting.

The He'e was one of the most vital food sources for ancient Hawaiians and they had understood the entire life-cycle to ensure a consistent catch that was enhanced through rituals that involved practices of ocean and animal care. Fishing for octopus was a common and skilled activity, often caught by hand, deftly speared, or lured out and not outright hunted. The sustainability was important because the octopus were also utilized as effective bait for catching other fish as it was treated as one part of the ocean resources as food source, bait source, and prey of others, all for the sustenance of the oceans appetite. 

There were strict seasonal regulations on the harvesting of heʻe, demonstrating their foresight of abundance as mentioned in the Hawaiian proverb, "Pua ke kō, kū mai ka heʻe" (When the sugarcane flowers, the octopus appears).

Hawaiians believed it was a powerful metaphor for adaptability and transformation. It was also seen as a symbol of mystery and power, embodying the enigmatic depths of the ocean in Hawaiian folklore. The heʻe was said in legends to shape-shift in form and abilities as it frequently appears in traditional Hawaiian art and storytelling. It is often serving as a symbol of protection and guidance, particularly for those who navigated the vast Pacific.