[DISCUSSION] Which Pokémon is Your ʻAumākua?

[0kamii]

Hey, everybody...it's 0kamii. And this is the SECOND time I've had to write this stinkin' post...

Earlier today, at approximately 11:00am, I was nearing the completion of this post in its original stage. I was putting in a few final touches, including grammar editing and the classic 0kamii style bolding...when I stupidly hit the BACK button by mistake. The entire post was wiped out, rendering nearly three hours of typing nihil. Out of rage, I put off retyping this post until now, 8:00pm my time. So yeah, this post was supposed to go up WAY earlier today. But because of my foolish mistake and hesitation to face it, you're all only seeing it now. Nothing is as originally planned, and I'll be the first to admit that this is a fraction of what the post originally was. I had an in-depth explanation of ʻaumākua from relatives of Hawaiian descent, a long list of different ʻaumākua represented by pokémon in the Alola Dex, and even a detailed paragraph about why Decidueye is who I believe to be my pokémon ʻaumākua. However, because I'm still fuming over this morning, I'm just going to keep this one short...very short.
 

Which Pokémon is Your ʻAumākua?

 

An ʻaumākua (pn: ow-mah-koo-ah, pl: na ʻaumākua) is a guardian spirit in Hawaiian mythology said to watch over yourself and your family. They usually take the forms of animals, but there are some exceptions, as you'll see. The explanations of ʻaumākua I planned from family members, once half the page long, are going to be shortened to this:

My aunt's cousin, Leilani, knows that her ʻaumākua is a mo'o [lizard, dragon] because when her parents put her in her crib for the first time, a gecko was watching from the windowsill.

My other cousin, Kekai, believes that his ʻaumākua is a shark, a mano, because his mother took photos of him and herself at a beach shortly after he was born, and upon closer inspection saw a dorsal fin in the background of the picture.

Gees, I had entire teleplays written down for those this morning. Ugh. Oh, well. Don't cry over spilled milk, I suppose. Anyway, those are two accounts from two of my family members detailing their na ʻaumākua.

 

What is My ʻAumākua?

 

I very briefly touched on this earlier, but my ʻaumākua is undoubtedly a pu'eo, an owl. Owls in Hawaiian culture are associated with protection, and intelligence. Not to brag, but I think I'm one of the most studious, analytical people I know, which is reflected in the owl to a tee. Also, I like to pretend that, since I put so much effort into find a Shiny Rowlet at the start of Sun and Moon that, the Decidueye protecting me is Shiny. I found him, so that he could find me. Kona, you are definitely my ʻaumākua, without a doubt.

 

Finding Your ʻAumākua!

 

This is the place where I origianlly had a massive list of various animals, what their pokémon equivalents were, and what each one represented. However, because I'm not in the mood to retype three hours of content, I'll just do a column of different Hawaiian animals, their names, what pokémon serves as its counterpart, and what trait is predominantly associated with them. So here you go! Remember, you don't choose your ʻaumākua, it chooses you! You may want a mano, or a pohaku, but you secretly have an ao, or an 'iole li'ili'i. Every ʻaumākua chose you for a reason, so don't deny it once you realize which one is yours, because odds are someone else with feel the exact same about which one you have!

 

List of ʻaumākua:

Honu - Turtle

Trait: Sovereignty

Pu'eo - Owl

Trait: Protection

Mano - Shark

Trait: Strength

'Alala - Crow

Trait: Self-esteem

'Io - Hawk

Trait: Ascension

Kohola - Whale

Trait: Wisdom

Pe'ape'a - Bat

Trait: Respect

'Anae - Mullet fish

Trait: Safety

Kala - Surgeonfish

Trait: Forgiveness

'Iole Li'ili'i - Mouse

Trait: Graciousness

'Iole - Rat

Trait: Generosity

'Ilio - Dog

Trait: Truth

Mo'o - Lizard, Dragon

Trait: Independence

'Enuhe - Caterpillar

Trait: Kinship

Pohaku - Rock

Trait: Longevity

Leho - Cowry

Trait: Solidarity

Ao - Cloud

Trait: Kindness

Mea Kanu - Plant

Trait: Serenity

 

Well, there. A very short, less interesting version of everything I typed earlier today in a very condensed format. Sorry for all the negativity in this post, but I'm still so antsy about losing my post earlier today. Does PokémonForever have a 'save' function for longer posts in the even of that exact situation? They should if they don't. Anyway, that's all for this post. Thank you all so much for reading. Link to the primary site I used, minus family stories, is below:

Hawaiian Spirit Animals: ⇒ (http://www.spiritanimal.info/hawaiian-spirit-animals/).

I'll be back on Monday with a new post. I think you'll all like this one. Make sure to let me know which ʻaumākua is yours in the comments below. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to dance with the devil while I edit...again. If you're reading this, it means I succeeded. Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii