Nāmaka in the context of Haumea (mythology)

⭐ Core Definition: Nāmaka

In Hawaiian mythology, Nāmaka (or Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi, the eyes of Kahaʻi) appears as a sea goddess in the Pele family. She is an older sister of Pele-honua-mea.

She is the daughter of Ku-waha-ilo and Haumea, whose other children are Pele, the Hiʻiaka sisters, the Kama brothers, and the bird Halulu. Nāmaka takes as her husband ʻAukelenuiaʻīkū, who had arrived in Lalakeenuiakane or in Kahiki (Tahiti), but he later becomes the husband of her sister Pele, and because of this Pele, the Hiʻiaka sisters, Malulani, and Kaʻōhelo migrate to Hawaii. When Pele quarrels with her powerful sister Nāmaka, Nāmaka sends tidal waves to destroy Pele's lands and homes. Helped by her family, Pele fights Nāmaka, but Nāmaka defeats her.

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👉 Nāmaka in the context of Haumea (mythology)

Haumea (Hawaiian: [həuˈmɛjə]) is the goddess of fertility and childbirth in Hawaiian mythology. She is the mother of many important deities, such as Pele, Kāne Milohai, Kāmohoaliʻi, Nāmaka, Kapo, and Hiʻiaka. She was killed by Kaulu. Haumea is one of the most important Hawaiian gods, and her worship is among the oldest on the Hawaiian islands.

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⭐ Core Definition: Nāmaka
👉 Nāmaka in the context of Haumea (mythology)
Nāmaka in the context of Namaka (moon)

Nāmaka in the context of Namaka (moon)

Namaka (full designation (136108) Haumea II) is the smaller, inner moon of the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Haumea. Discovered by Michael E. Brown and the Keck Observatory adaptive optics team in the fall of 2005, it is named after Nāmaka, a water spirit and one of the daughters of Haumea in Hawaiian mythology. Namaka follows a highly elliptical orbit that is highly tilted by roughly 13 degrees with respect to Haumea's equator. Namaka is heavily perturbed by both the gravitational influence of Haumea's larger, outer moon Hiʻiaka and the variable gravitational field of Haumea's elongated shape.

With a diameter of around 150 km (93 mi), Namaka is predicted to have an irregular shape and a chaotic rotation. It has a reflective surface made of fresh water ice, similar to that of Haumea and Hiʻiaka. Like Hiʻiaka, Namaka is believed to be a fragment of Haumea that was ejected in the aftermath of a giant impact 4.4 billion years ago.

View the full Wikipedia page for Namaka (moon)

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