Hawaiian Moon Phases

Do you know the Hawaiian Moon Phase Song? In Hawaiʻi, we have names for each of the moon’s phases. And here is a song you can sing to learn the 30 Moon phase names in a Hawaiian. Use your Moon Phase Dial to stay on point!

Mele: Nā Pō Mahina Song: Hawaiian Moon Phases

Kamaliʻi ‘ike ‘ole i ka helu pō “Children who do not know how to count the nights”

Muku nei, Muku ka malama “Muku is here, Muku the dark moon”

Hilo nei, kau ka Hoaka “Hilo, followed by Hoaka”

‘Ehā kū, ‘Ehā ‘ole “Four kū, four ‘ole”

Huna, Mohalu, Hua, Akua “Huna, Mohalu, Hua, Akua”

Hoku, Mahealani “Hoku, Mahealani”

Kulu! “Kulu!”

ʻEkolu lāʻau, ʻekolu ‘ole, ʻekolu kāloa “Three Lāʻau, three ‘ole, three kāloa”

Kāne, Lono, Mauli, pau! “Kane, Lono, Mauli, finished!”

What is a moon phase? And why is the Moon going through different phases? Well, the moon does NOT give off any light. We see the moon because the Sun’s light is reflecting off of the Moon. The “phase” of the Moon is how much of the Moon appears to us. Take a look at this gif that shows each of the phases of the Moon in a month.

GIF of Moon going through itʻs Moon Phases https://www.ilibrarian.net/moon_phase_movie.gif

Why do we see the phases of the moon? Well, the moon isnʻt changing shape, it is how we see the moon while it is orbiting the Earth. Around once a month, the phases of the Moon make one complete cycle. Actually, it is every 29.53 days. Almost a month. So as the Moon goes around the Earth, we only can see the illuminated side.

Letʻs look at how the phase of the Moon changes as the Moon orbits the Earth:

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/oreo-moon/en/moon-phases-from-earth.en.jpg

When the Moon is dark or “new,” we cannot see any of the illuminated side. This is because the Moon is between us and the Sun, and we can only see the dark side of the Moon.

As the New Moon continues on its orbit, we see more and more of the moon. We had a word for when we see the lit area of the Moon increasing. It is called waxing. ​ ​

When the Moon is fully illuminated, it is Full Moon, as we see all of the illuminated side of the Moon. This is because the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.

As the Full Moon continues on its orbit, we see less and less of the Moon. The word for when we see less and less of the lit area of the Moon is called waning. ​ ​

Another word to describe how the Moon looks to us is crescent. When the shape of the Moon appears narrow, ​ ​ it is crescent. But when the shape of the Moon appears to be rounded, we call the Moon gibbous. ​ ​

In Hawaiian culture, there are words that also describe how the Moon look to us.

The Increasing Phases (“Ka Hoʻonui Aʻe”) - The Moon isnʻt actually GROWING in size. The Moon stays the same size, it is just that we see more and more of the Moon because this is when the New Moon continues on its orbit. This is when the Moon is low in the Western sky.

The Rounding Phases (“Ka Poepoe ʻAna”) - When the Moon looks rounded, it is in the “rounding” phases. During these Rounding Phases the Moon hangs high in the skies in the evenings.

The Reducing Phases (“Ka Hōʻuʻuku ʻAna”) - - The Moon isnʻt actually SHRINKING in size. The Moon stays the same size, it is just that we see less and less of the Moon. This is when the Moon rises in the eastern sky, and is darkened.

In Hawaiian culture, a period of 10 days is called an “anahulu” and each of these sets (the increasing phases, the rounding phases, and the reducing phases) are each ten days long. See the chart below:

The Three Anahulu of the Moon

Anahulu - Duration Pō Mahina - Moon Phase

The Increasing Phases (“Ka Hoʻonui Aʻe”) - This is Hilo, Hoaka, Kūkahi, Kūlua, Kūkolu, Kūpau, when the moon is low in the western sky. ʻOlekūkahi, ʻOlekūlua, ʻOlekūkolu, ʻOlepau

The Rounding Phases (“Ka Poepoe ʻAna”) - When Huna, Mohalu, Hua, Akua, Hoku, Māhealani, Kulu the moon hangs high in the skies in the evenings. Lāʻaukūkahi, Lāʻaukūlua, Lāʻaupau

The Reducing Phases (“Ka Hōʻuʻuku ʻAna”) - When ʻOlekūkahi, ʻOlekūlua, ʻOlepau, Kāloakūkahi, the moon rises in the eastern sky, and is darkened. Kāloakūlua, Kāloapau, Kāne, Lono, Mauli, Muku Based off of noted Hawaiian historian David Malo.

The Hawaiian word “malama” means light, moon and month. (Be sure to note the difference, the word is not “mālama” with a kahakō over the first letter A and means ʻto care for,’ but a “malama” without kahakō).

In Hawaiian traditions, we do certain activities during certain Moon phases. It is a way for us to coordinate our activities and to practice collective sustainability.

Check out these very helpful Hawaiian Moon phase online-resources and explore what to do during each phase of the Moon!

An Interactive Moon Chart http://kamehamehapublishing.org/_assets/publishing/multimedia/apps/mooncalendar/index.html A Spawning Guide https://kohalacenter.org/spawning-guide/culture-and-history/hawaiian-moon-phases

Extension Activity!

What moon phase will we see today? You can keep a journal with all your observations, of the Moon, and what you saw today. Keeping a moon phase journal helps us track the nature around us.

Check out these kinds of Hawaiian Moon phase journals!