In Hawaiian mythology

Hawaiian mythology

Hawaiian mythology refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the Hawaiian religion...

, Paka'a is the god of the wind

Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

 and the inventor of the sail

Sail

A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...

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In the legend, Paka'a was the child of a traveling royal named Kuanu'uanu and a beautiful common woman named La'amaomao. Kuanu'uanu was summoned back to his leige Keavenuia'umi before Paka'a's birth. Paka'a was then raised by La'amaomao and her elder brother Ma'ilou, who Paka'a was told was his father. Paka'a however questioned this, because despite his young age, he was much taller than Ma'ilou. He then went traveling with the king of Kaua'i, Pai'ea, to the other Hawaiian islands, taking the Gord of La'amaomao, which gave him control over the many winds of Hawai'i.

He later served under Keavenuia'umi and taught his son, Kuapaka'a(or Ku-A-Paka'a) to follow in his footsteps.