In Hawaiian tradition, Laka is the goddess of hula — the akua who watches over the dance, the chants that carry it, and the forest plants that adorn the dancer. To understand hula is to understand Laka, because the two cannot be separated. Every gesture, every step, every leaf woven into a lei carries her presence. For Native Hawaiians, hula was never only entertainment; it was, and remains, a sacred act of remembering. And Laka is the one who makes that remembering possible.
Who Is Laka?
Laka is honored throughout the islands as the patron goddess of hula and of the wild, growing things of the uplands. In many traditions she is closely tied to the forest — to the ferns, vines, and blossoms that dancers gather to dress themselves and their altars. She is a goddess of growth and fertility, of beauty that springs from the land itself. Some traditions describe her as a sister or wife of Lono, the god of agriculture and peace, which fits her nature: where Lono brings the rains that make things grow, Laka embodies the lush, living result.
It is worth noting that Hawaiian moʻolelo (stories) are not fixed like a single printed book. Different ʻohana, different islands, and different hula lineages carry their own accounts of Laka. This is not confusion — it is the richness of an oral tradition kept alive across generations. What remains constant is her role as the heart of hula.
Laka and the Birth of Hula
Hula tells stories that words alone cannot hold — the deeds of chiefs, the moods of the ocean, the love between people and place. As the goddess who presides over this art, Laka is invoked at the very beginning of a dancer’s training. In a traditional hālau hula (hula school), students do not simply learn choreography. They enter a relationship with Laka, asking her blessing before they may dance, and giving thanks when they have finished.
This is why hula has always carried a spiritual weight. The kumu hula (master teacher) guides students not only in movement but in protocol, chant, and respect. To dance hula well is to honor Laka, the ancestors, and the land in a single breath.
The Kuahu: Laka’s Altar
At the center of a traditional hālau stands the kuahu — an altar dedicated to Laka. Here dancers place offerings and freshly gathered greenery, and here they chant to invite the goddess in. The kuahu is treated with deep reverence; it is the place where the human and the divine meet inside the practice of the dance.
Before gathering the plants for the kuahu or for their adornments, dancers traditionally ask permission of the forest, taking only what is needed and leaving the rest to grow. This relationship of respect — never taking more than the land can give — is itself part of honoring Laka.
The Sacred Plants of Laka
Laka lives in the plants of the Hawaiian uplands, and certain greenery is especially associated with her. Dancers weave these into lei for the head, wrists, and ankles, carrying a piece of the forest — and the goddess — with them as they dance:
- Maile — a fragrant, glossy-leafed vine long used in sacred lei and ceremonies.
- ʻōhiʻa lehua — the red-blossomed tree of the volcanic slopes, tied to many akua and beloved in chant.
- Palapalai — a lacy native fern, one of the most recognizable plants of the hula altar.
- ʻieʻie — a climbing forest vine used in adornment and ritual.
- Lama — a native hardwood whose name also means “light,” often placed on the kuahu.
These plants are not decoration alone. Each one connects the dancer to a specific part of the Hawaiian landscape and to the goddess who dwells within it. If you have read our guide to native Hawaiian plants, you’ll recognize how deeply the islands’ flora is woven into their spiritual life.
Laka Today
The story of Laka is not a relic. Across Hawaiʻi and wherever Hawaiians gather, hālau hula still open with chants to Laka, still dress their altars with maile and palapalai, still teach young dancers that hula is a kuleana — a responsibility — and a gift. The great hula festivals, most famously the Merrie Monarch in Hilo, are living proof that Laka’s dance thrives.
When you watch a hula performed with true intention, you are watching a prayer in motion, and Laka is present in it. That is the enduring beauty of this tradition: it carries the goddess forward, generation after generation, in the movement of hands and the sound of the chant.
Bring the islands home: Explore our Hawaiian Mythology & Akua Collection — original designs from our Native Hawaiian–owned studio in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi. Here are a few of the newest additions:
Hula Instruments Tee — the ipu, pahu, and ʻulīʻulī that give hula its heartbeat, gathered in one design.
Pele Fire Goddess Tee — a tribute to the volcano goddess who creates the land one lava flow at a time.
Hawaii Legend Status Tee — for those who don’t just visit the islands, but belong to them.
Slack Key Guitar Tee — kī hōʻalu, the loosened strings that sing the sound of Hawaiʻi.
ʻUkulele Tee — the “jumping flea” whose bright voice has become unmistakably Hawaiian.
Keep reading from the Kahana Designs journal
- The history of hula: sacred rite to performance art
- Hawaiian Mythology: Gods, Guardians & the Stories of the Islands
- The legend of Pele: Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes
- Hina: Hawaiian Goddess of the Moon
- Kanaloa: Hawaiian God of the Ocean
Header photo: Thomas Tunsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.