Backbone and Chief’s Fishline Awe ‘Imiloa August 2024 Sky Watch

Summary: Backbone and Chief’s Fishline, as respective Kaiwikuamoo and Manaiakalani navigational star families and star lines, awe ‘Imiloa August 2024 Sky Watch.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

Star maps abound with such ancient Hawaiian cultural aspects as the Kaiwikuamoo (from Hawaiian ka iwi kua mo’o, “the bone[y] back [of the] lizard”) star line. The afore-mentioned star line, as navigational star family, accommodates akau (‘ākau, north, “right [of west-ensconced sun]”) to koolau (north, from Hawaiian ko’olau, “windward”) horizons by the mythological backbone of the lizard. It accounts for Kaiwi-kuamo’o Kekua-o-kalani as the alternate appellation of Keaoua Kekua-o-kalani (died Dec. 1819), nephew of King Kamehameha I (1736?-May 8?/14?, 1819) and rebel against the afore-mentioned uncle’s son, Kamehameha II (Nov. 1797-Jul 14, 1824). Perhaps he added that alternate appellation that addresses Mo’o, who, as mythological Hawaiian archipelago (group of islands, from Greek ἀρχι- πέλαγος, "main sea") protectors and water spirits, adore mischievous actions that not always agree with moon goddess Hina (from Hawaiian hina, “prostrate”). Hina aligns with the other evening- and night-sky navigational star family, Manaiakalani (Mānaiakalani, from Hawaiian māna ia ka lani, “hook fish the chief[Māui‘s]”); Sunday, May 3, 2009, 17:27, image of Keaoua Kekua-o-kalani's gravesite, listed on National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America as reference number 74000714: W Nowicki, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Backbone and Chief’s Fishline, respectively as the Kaiwikuamoo and the Manaiakalani star lines among four navigational star families associated, one per quadrant, with the celestrial sphere, awe ‘Imiloa August 2024 Sky Watch.

Kaiwikuamoo and Manaiakalani (from Hawaiian ka iwi kua mo’o, “the bone[y] back [the] lizard[‘s]”; māna ia ka lani, “hook fish the chief[‘s]”) lines beautify sunless skies. Hawaii-state skies over University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii County and island (from Hawaiian hilo, “thread”; ha wai ‘i, “breath life-force supreme”) configure them 8:00 p.m. onward. Eight p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Time (HAST) denotes 4:00 Chamorro, 7:00 Samoa, 10:00 Alaska, 11:00 Pacific, midnight next-day Mountain, 1:00 a.m. Central, 2:00 Eastern, 3:00 Atlantic Time onward.

The Backbone Kaiwikuamoo, exiting akau’s (‘ākau, north, “right [of west-ensconced sun]”) Hokupaa (North Star, from Hawaiian hōkū pa’a, “star immovable”), enters ho’olua (northwest, “[rain-bearing strong] wind”).

Nahiku (Big Dipper, from Hawaiian Nā Hiku ka Huihui a Makali’i, “the seven of cluster of eyes/stars little [= Pleiades]”) faces northwestwardly the hoolua, northwest horizon.

Hokuleʻa (Arcturus, from Hawaiian Hōkūleʻa, “star clear/happy”) gazes westward to the komohana (west, “[where sun] enters [sea]”) horizon, where nothing celestially gleams, glistens, glitters or glows. Hema (south, “left [of west-ensconced sun]”), malanai (southeast, “gentle breeze”), hikina (“east”), koolau (north, from Hawaiian ko’olau, “windward”), akau horizons hold night-sky I’a (Milky Way, “fish”). Hikianalia (Spica, from Hawaiian hiki, “star") and Me’e (Corvus [from Latin corvus, “crow, raven"]; Marquesan me’e, “voice of joy”; Hawaiian me’e, “admired/hero/heroic/heroine/prominent”) illuminate the komohana horizon.

Akau, hoolua, komohana, kona, hema and akau, koolau, hikina, malanai, hema horizons respectively jubilate Backbone and Chief’s Fishline star lines during ‘Imiloa August 2024 Sky Watch.

The hema horizon knows the I’a galaxy as the southernmost kindling that August evening and night skies keepsake even as the akau horizon keeps one constellation.

I’a galaxy launches banded, faint, pale, white light even as the constellation Iwakelii (Cassiopeia, from Hawaiian ‘iwa ali’i, “frigatebird [Fregata minor] chief”), letters M- or W-like. The malanai horizon musters, as southern manifestation of Chief’s Fishline Manaiakalani Kamakaunuiamaui (Scorpius, from Hawaiian ka makau nui a māui, “the fishhook big of [demi-god] Māui”). Pimoe (Sagittarius, from Hawaiian pī moe, “sparse sleep”) nestles into niches northerly to Maui’s (from Hawaiian māui, “bruise, sprain”) big fishhook, southerly to the Navigator’s Triangle.

‘Imiloa August 2024 Sky Watch offers night-sky observers the Backbone Kaiwikuamoo and the Chief’s Fishline Manaiakalani star lines obtaining ordinary occupancies organized over north-south, south-north orientations.

Humu, Keoe and Piraetea (Altair, Vega, Deneb, from Hawaiian humu, “fishhook-hole”; keoe, “sweet potato”; pira'etea, “white sea-swallow”) perch within the asterism presented as The Navigator’s Triangle.

Aquila bright-star Humu, Lyra bright-star Keoe, Cygnus bright-star Piraetea respectively queue ka huinakolu a ka ho’okele (“the triangle of the navigator”) along hikina, hikina-koolau, koolau horizons. The constellations recognized as Aquila, Lyra and Cygnus (from Latin aquila, “eagle”; Greek λῠ́ρᾱ, “lyre”; Greek κύκνος, “swan”) respectively regale hikina, hikina and koolau, koolau horizons. Hazy, milk-white, streaming I’a, perhaps 30 degrees in its strongest width, stretches from between north-northeast horizons; through east, southeast, south horizons; to between south-southwesterly leeward horizons.

‘Imiloa August 2024 Sky Watch nightly teams the Backbone Kaiwikuamoo and the Chief’s Fishline Manaiakalani navigational star families with the constellation Iwakelii and the galaxy I’a.

Manaiakalani (from Hawaiian māna ia ka lani, “hook fish the chief[‘s]”) star line, as navigational star family, allowed ancient Hawaiians, as it allows modern Hawaiians, to ally northwest to southwest, Hoolua, Komohana and Kona (from Hawaiian ho’olua, “northwest, “[rain-bearing strong] wind”]”; komo, “west, “[where sun] enters [sea]”; kona, “leeward”) horizons. That magic fish hook of Chief Maui (Māui, from Hawaiian māui, “bruise, sprain”) sometimes anchored a baited wing of the alae (gallinule, moorhen, mudhen, red coot, from Hawaiian ‘alae [Gallinula galeata sandvicensis]”) bird so appreciated by moon goddess Hina (from Hawaiian hina, “prostrate”); Gallinula sandvicensis, illustrated and lithographed by English zoological artist and lepidopterist Frederick William Frohawk (July 16, 1861-Dec. 10, 1946) in Scott B. Wilson and A.H. Evans, Aves Hawaiiensis: The Birds of the Sandwich Islands (1890-1899), Plate 57: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Star maps abound with such ancient Hawaiian cultural aspects as the Kaiwikuamoo (from Hawaiian ka iwi kua mo’o, “the bone[y] back [of the] lizard”) star line. The afore-mentioned star line, as navigational star family, accommodates akau (‘ākau, north, “right [of west-ensconced sun]”) to koolau (north, from Hawaiian ko’olau, “windward”) horizons by the mythological backbone of the lizard. It accounts for Kaiwi-kuamo’o Kekua-o-kalani as the alternate appellation of Keaoua Kekua-o-kalani (died Dec. 1819), nephew of King Kamehameha I (1736?-May 8?/14?, 1819) and rebel against the afore-mentioned uncle’s son, Kamehameha II (Nov. 1797-Jul 14, 1824). Perhaps he added that alternate appellation that addresses Mo’o, who, as mythological Hawaiian archipelago (group of islands, from Greek ἀρχι- πέλαγος, "main sea") protectors and water spirits, adore mischievous actions that not always agree with moon goddess Hina (from Hawaiian hina, “prostrate”). Hina aligns with the other evening- and night-sky navigational star family, Manaiakalani (Mānaiakalani, from Hawaiian māna ia ka lani, “hook fish the chief[Māui‘s]”); Sunday, May 3, 2009, 17:27, image of Keaoua Kekua-o-kalani's gravesite, listed on National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America as reference number 74000714: W Nowicki, CC BY 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kuamo'o_Burial_Memorial.jpg

Manaiakalani (from Hawaiian māna ia ka lani, “hook fish the chief[‘s]”) star line, as navigational star family, allowed ancient Hawaiians, as it allows modern Hawaiians, to ally northwest to southwest, Hoolua, Komohana and Kona (from Hawaiian ho’olua, “northwest, “[rain-bearing strong] wind”]”; komo, “west, “[where sun] enters [sea]”; kona, “leeward”) horizons. That magic fish hook of Chief Maui (Māui, from Hawaiian māui, “bruise, sprain”) sometimes anchored a baited wing of the alae (gallinule, moorhen, mudhen, red coot, from Hawaiian ‘alae [Gallinula galeata sandvicensis]”) bird so appreciated by moon goddess Hina (from Hawaiian hina, “prostrate”); Gallinula sandvicensis, illustrated and lithographed by English zoological artist and lepidopterist Frederick William Frohawk (July 16, 1861-Dec. 10, 1946) in Scott B. Wilson and A.H. Evans, Aves Hawaiiensis: The Birds of the Sandwich Islands (1890-1899), Plate 57: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/8465185544/; Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41338772; Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ ; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gallinula_sandvicensis_AvesHawaiienses00Wils_0314.jpg

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