Hanau Ka Ua: Hawaiian Rain Names

Rain names are a precious legacy from our kupuna who were keen observers of the world around them and who had a nuanced understanding of the forces of nature. They knew that one place could have several types of rain, each distinct from the other. They knew when a particular rain would fall, its color, its duration, its intensity, its path, its sound, its scent, and its effect on the land and their lives. Hanau ka Ua is the fullest record of Hawaiian rain names and their lore to date, drawing from oral tradition and literature, including approximately three hundred olelo Hawaii primary sources from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries containing chants, songs, laments, and narratives.