Nā ʻOhana Hōkū ʻEhā

The Four Star Families

An Introduction to a Hawaiian Wayfinder’s Night Sky

Nā ʻOhana Hōkū ʻEhā, The Four Star Families, is a practical device for reading the tropical night sky developed by modern Hawaiian wayfinders. It divides ka lanipaʻa, the celestial sphere, into four divisions that run north to south, with each segment organized around a grouping of bright stars and identifiable constellations. An easy way to remember the four Star Families is this chant composed as a mnemonic device by Kaimana Barcarse:

Ka Ipu Hoʻokele, The Navigator’s Gourd

Kāhea: E ʻohiʻohiināpono!… Call: Gather up your tools!

Pane: He kā, he iwi, he makau, he lupe!… Reply: A bailer, a bone, a fishhook, a kite!

Kākou: Ualako ka ipu a ka hoʻokele!… All: The gourd of the navigator is provisioned!

Think of the visual horizon as a circle, the edges of which are outlined wherever the sky touches the land or the sea. As you look up, the celestial sphere circles overhead moving between the eastern and western horizons. The rising sun identifies Hikina (Arriving), East, and the setting sun Komohana (Entering), West. With the rising sun location (East) to your back, face the setting sun location (West) to your front. Extending your arms out from the side of your body, your left arm points towards Hema, South, and your right arm points towards ʻĀkau, North. The celestial bodies — sun, moon, planets, and stars — move overhead, east to west, on the celestial sphere, completing one full revolution approximately every 24 hours.

We teach The Four Star Families according to which is most prominent in the evening sky during each quarter of the year, winter-spring, spring-summer, summer-fall, and fall-winter. They are:

Kekāomakaliʻi — The Bailer of Makaliʻi
Kaiwikuamoʻo — The Backbone
Mānaiakalani — The Fish hook of Maui
Kalupeakawelo — The Kite of Kawelo

The easiest way to identify a Star Family is to start by locating a prominent constellation that resides within or close to that Star Family. We describe each Star Family as it appears in the East, or arriving, horizon.

Kekāomakaliʻi

The winter-spring Star Family is called Kekāomakaliʻi, The Bailer of Makaliʻi.

To find the Bailer, search for Kaheiheionākeiki, Orion the Hunter, and the three stars of his belt. These three stars rise a little South of due East. Kekāomakaliʻi resembles the shape of a Canoe Bailer, with the scoop of the bailer carrying Orion and other stars overhead and “pouring” them out towards the west.

To identify the scoop, look to the northeast and the constellation Auriga, The Charioteer, and locate the golden-yellow hued brightest star in the constellation, Hōkūlei, Capella. Continue to follow the semi-circular scoop shape southward to the next two stars in the Star Family, the twin stars of Gemini, Nānāmua and Nānāhope (Looking Forward and Looking Back), Castor and Pollux.

Continuing south the next star in the family is Puana, Procyon, in the constellation Canis Minor. The Bailer section of the scoop terminates with the brightest star in the night sky, ʻAʻā, Sirius in Canis Major.

To see the handle of the bailer, draw a mental line between ʻAʻā and Kealiʻiokonaikalewa (Chief of the Southern Skies), Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky. The scoop shape carries the constellations of Orion, Taurus, and the Pleiades (Makali‘i) up from the east and “pours” them into the western horizon once they cross the meridian, the imaginary line that runs overhead from north to south and marks the middle of the sky.

Kaiwikuamoʻo

The spring-summer Star Family is Kaiwikuamoʻo, the Backbone. Locate Nāhiku (The Seven), the Big Dipper in the northeast.

Draw a mental line between the two stars, Hikukahi and Hikulua, at the beginning of the “cup shape” of the Big Dipper northwards to a faint star, Hōkūpaʻa (Fixed Star), Polaris, our North Star. Return to the Big Dipper and follow a line south from the handle of the Big Dipper to the Red Giant and zenith star for Hawaiʻi, Hōkūleʻa, Arcturus, the fourth brightest star in the night sky.

Continue south and cross the celestial equator to Hikianalia, Spica, and to the trapezoidal constellation, Meʻe, Corvus. Extend a line through the center of Corvus due south and you come to a cross-shaped constellation, Hānaiakamālama (Cared for by the Moon), the Southern Cross.

To the left of the Southern Cross are its two pointer stars, Nā Kuhikuhi, Alpha and Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri is earthʻs closest neighboring star and planetary system, at only 4.37 light years away.

Mānaiakalani

The summer-fall Star Family is Mānaiakalani, The Fishhook of Māui.

A triangle of stars in the northeast represents a coil of fishing line that belongs to the demigod, Māui. It extends southward and is tied to the top of a fish hook-shaped constellation. It fishes along the bottom of the sea for a magical giant trevally, Pimoe, Sagittarius.

The three stars in the northeast form the Summer Triangle: Piraʻetea, Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan; Keoe, Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp; and Humu, Altair in the constellation Aquilae the Eagle. Join the Summer Triangle in the northeast to Kamakaunuiamāui (Māui’s Fish Hook), Scorpio, in the southeast.

The hook is baited and fishing for the Giant Trevally, Pimoe.

Kalupeakawelo

The last Star Family, Kalupeakawelo, fall-winter, completes the final section of stars on the celestial sphere and the Hawaiian wayfinder’s full picture of the entire night sky.

Kalupeakawelo, The Kite of Kawelo, is made up of the Great Square of Pegasus, a square- shaped kite that rises from the eastern horizon and flies overhead towards the western horizon. The four stars of the Great Square are named for Hawaiian chiefs; Keawe of Hawaiʻi Island, Piʻilani of Maui, Kākuhihewa of Oʻahu, and Manokalanipo of Kauaʻi.

Lines guide the kite overhead, anchored in the north to ʻIwakeliʻi, Cassiopeia, and Kamōʻī, Cephus the King. In the south they are held in place by Piʻikea, Diphda; Kaikilani, Ankaʻa; Kalanikauleleaiwi, Achernar; Kūkaniloko, Fomalhaut; and Nālani, Alnair in Grus the Crane.

Nā ʻOhana Hōkū ʻEhā, The Four Star Families, offers a way for you to get a complete picture of the night sky by being able to identify stars and constellations within a family and between families. We invite you to try out this tool by stepping out into your yard tonight to explore and become familiar with our tropical night sky. Enjoy!