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| Often regarded as a symbol for safe passage over water, the makau, or fishhook, brings good fortune and strength to those who wear it. |
Often regarded as a symbol for safe passage over water,
the makau, or fishhook, brings good fortune and strength to those
who wear it.
If you have been to Hawaii, it is very likely you’ve seen
the makau, or fishhook. It’s also likely that you might not know the enormous
cultural importance of the fish hook. A symbol of safe passage over water, the
makau has held a deep cultural significance throughout the Hawaiian Island
chain and the Polynesian Triangle for over a thousand years.
Thought to bring good fortune and strength to those who
wear it, the makau was traditionally carved from a variety of materials,
including bone, wood, stone, coral, and even turtle shells. Different
variations were created to catch different species of sea creatures, and the
art of their creation is something that was passed down through generations.
The connection to the sea was passed along with it.
Over the years, they became something more than a common
fish hook. They became prized possessions that were thought to have a spiritual
life force, which you probably know as “mana.” The makau became a part of
Hawaiian lore when the god Maui used one called MÄnaiakalani to hook the
islands together in an effort to unite them. Now, the makau is “a symbol of
humans’ connection with the sea, its creatures and the fragile balance of life
on the Islands.”
