In Hawaiian mythology, who is the god of the ocean?

In Hawaiian mythology, Kanaloa is the god of the ocean.

Kanaloa is a Hawaiian deity associated with the ocean, healing, long-distance travel, and seamanship. He is symbolized by the squid or octopus, and his maritime role made him especially important to people who sailed between islands or depended on the sea. Hawaiian traditions often present him alongside Kāne as a complementary power.

One traditional contrast describes Kāne as being invoked during canoe construction, while Kanaloa was invoked when the canoe was sailing. Other accounts place Kāne on the northern edge of the ecliptic and Kanaloa on the southern edge. These pairings show that the two deities were not simply interchangeable versions of one another.

Kanaloa is sometimes associated with the underworld or with magical knowledge, but those descriptions are not universal. In pre-contact Hawaiian traditions, Milu is also identified as a god of the underworld. Another common mistake is treating Kanaloa as merely the Hawaiian name for Tangaroa: the names are related across Polynesian languages, but the traditions are culturally distinct.