Honu Geocoin

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Honu Geocoin ... Trade Only Version in Satin Silver Finish ...


There is a petroglyph or ki’ pohaku of a turtle or honu found in the Pu’u Loa lava fields on the Big Island Hawaii – although the meaning of most of the petroglyphs have been lost through time, the turtle has always had held special meaning to the Hawaiians.     The petroglyph shows a simple sketch of a turtle with its four flippers out as if swimming in the ocean, and a vertical line down its shell. The turtle also symbolizes the navigator that is able to find its way home time and time again, just as in real life, the green Hawaiian turtle will swim hundreds of miles to its own birthing place to lay eggs.

Honu as Aumakua
     The honu is also revered as an Aumakua or guardian spirits that can take the shape of any animal. It is in mythology a bearer of good luck, a frightening monster to be released among enemies, a living bridge that brings two lovers together and the foundation of some of the islands. There is even a hula honu which closely imitates the action of a turtle furiously digging through the sand for a place to lay its eggs
     Ancient Hawaiians were animists and believed that their Aumakua or guardian spirits could take the shape of any animal. These guardians were also viewed as the embodiment of their ancestors. The green Hawaiian turtle is the only indigenous reptile to the Hawaiian islands, is revered as a sacred symbol of the life force and could only be consumed by the royalty or ali’i for its attributes of longevity and endurance. Members of the honu clan in old Hawaiian however refrained from eating the turtle
     The ancient Hawaiians used every bit of the honu – its flesh and cartilage were made into soup or stew and even the internal organs were cooked and eaten Its shell was broken into pieces for tools, such as fish-hooks and as an instrument to scrape the bark off the paper mulberry tree or wauke. The bark was then used to make the tapas cloth. The skin of the honu was made into leather.
     The honu was also presented as an offering to Kanaloa, the God of the Ocean, who was also believed to assume the shape of the honu when he needed a physical form.
     Protection has seen their numbers increase again after exploitation for their shells.