Hawaiian religion refers to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of native Hawaiians, also known as the kapu system. Hawaiian religion is based largely on the tapu religion common in Polynesia and likely originated among the Tahitians and other Pacific islanders who landed in Hawaii between 500 and 1300 AD. It is polytheistic and animistic, with a belief in many deities and spirits, including the belief that spirits are found in non-human beings and objects such as other animals, the waves, and the sky. It was only during the reign of Kamehameha I that a ruler from Hawaii island attempted to impose a singular "Hawaiian" religion on all the Hawaiian islands that was not Christianity. Today, Hawaiian religious practices are protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Traditional Hawaiian religion is unrelated to the modern New Age practice known as "Huna". Beliefs Deities Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, with many deities, most prominently Kāne, Kū, Lono and Kanaloa. Other notable deities include Laka, Kihawahine, Haumea, Papahānaumoku, and, most famously, Pele. In addition, each family is considered to have one or more guardian spirits known as ʻaumakua that protected family. One breakdown of the Hawaiian pantheon consists of the following groups: the four gods () – Kū, Kāne, Lono, and Kanaloa the forty male gods or aspects of Kāne () the four hundred gods and goddesses () the great multitude of gods and goddesses () the spirits () the guardians () Another breakdown consists of three major groups: the four gods, or akua: Kū, Kāne, Lono, Kanaloa many lesser gods, or kupua, each associated with certain professions guardian spirits, or aumakua, associated with particular families Atheism Not all ancient Hawaiian believed in deities. Some ancient Hawaiians were atheists, referred to as 'aia'. Creation One Hawaiian creation myth is embodied in the Kumulipo, an epic chant linking the alii, or Hawaiian royalty, to the gods. The Kumulipo is divided into two sections: night, or , and day, or , with the former corresponding to divinity and the latter corresponding to humankind. After the birth of , the woman, and , the man, the man succeeds at seducing and reproducing with the woman before the god Kāne has a chance, thereby making the divine lineage of the gods younger than and thus subservient to the lineage of man. This, in turn, illustrates the transition of mankind from being symbols for the gods (the