‘Uā ‘elepai’o ‘ia ka wa‘a by Ken _Gilliland

DAZ|Studio • Historical • posted on Apr 25, 2012

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Description

Hawaiians consider a visit by an ‘elepai’o good luck. In fact, in order to select the proper Koa tree for a canoe it first has to be landed on by an ‘elepaio. They considered it their guardian spirit, an incarnation of their patron goddess Lea, because if the bird pecked at a fallen tree, it was a sign that the tree was riddled with burrowing insects and thus not good anymore, but when the bird showed no interest in a tree, it indicated that the wood was suitable. This is the origin of the ancient Hawaiian proverb, ‘Uā ‘elepai’o ‘ia ka wa‘a ("The canoe is marked out by the ‘elepai’o"). Being a flycatcher, farmers believed the ‘elepai’o to be the incarnation of Lea's sister goddess, Hina-puku-‘ai, who protected food plants and was a patron of agriculture. The ‘elepai’o is the first native bird to sing in the morning and the last to stop singing at night; apart from whistled and chattering contact and alarm calls, it is probably best known for its song, from which derives the common name: a pleasant and rather loud warble which sounds like e-le-PAI-o, hence the Hawaiian name. The Mauna Kea race of 'elepai'o is depicted. All species of 'elepai'o are threatened by habitat destruction, introduced pests and avian malaria. Rendered in DS4 with no postwork. Model Credits: 'Ohi'a Character (Morris), Jerome Character (Virtual_World), Tropical Cove(Nerd3d), Weapons of Lua (Ken Gilliland), Hawaiian Voyager Canoes (Ken Gilliland), Royal Hawaiian for Genesis (Ken Gilliland), 'Ohi'a Lehua trees (Ken Gilliland)and (whew) Songbird ReMix Hawai'i (Ken Gilliland).

Comments (11)

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aLDOS

2:19PM | Wed, 25 April 2012

bRAVO! GREAT WORK!

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Richardphotos

2:29PM | Wed, 25 April 2012

the men are so realistic, almost like photos.beautiful foliage

Ometeotl

2:32PM | Wed, 25 April 2012

Impressive image! I like the characters. And the information about the Hawaiian culture and birds are much appreciated. It's very sad to learn that even in a place that is (on this side of the pond) often regarded as a "Paradise on Earth" so many species are on the brink of extinction because of the destruction of their living-space.

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Ken _Gilliland

2:52PM | Wed, 25 April 2012

More so than you would think... of all the endemic birds species of Hawai'i living and dead, 1/3rd are extinct and of the remaining 2/3rds-- 65% are close or at the brink of extinction (thanks mostly to us)

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