Kū

In Hawaiian mythology Kū or Kūkaʻilimoku is one of the four great gods. The other three are Kanaloa, Kāne, and Lono. Feathered god images or 'aumakua hulu manu are considered to represent Kū. Kū is worshipped under many names, including Kū-ka-ili-moku (also written Kūkaʻilimoku), the "Seizer of Land". Kūkaʻilimoku rituals included human sacrifice, which was not part of the worship of other gods.

Mythology

He is known as the god of war and the husband of the goddess Hina. Some have taken this to suggest a complementary dualism, as the word kū in the Hawaiian language means " to stand " while one meaning of hina is " to fall ". This analysis is not supported by evidence from other Polynesian languages which distinguish the original "ng" and "n". Hina's counterpart in New Zealand for example, is Hina, associated with the moon, rather than Hinga, "fallen down". Thus, the Hawaiian name Hina is probably rather connected to the other meaning of hina, denoting a silvery-grey color (like the full moon); indeed the moon is named Mahina in the Hawaiian language. Kū, Kāne, and Lono caused light to shine in upon the world. They are uncreated gods who have existed from eternity.

Voiceless velar stop

The voiceless velar stop or voiceless velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨k⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k.

The [k] sound is a very common sound cross-linguistically. Most languages have at least a plain [k], and some distinguish more than one variety. Most Indo-Aryan languages, such as Hindi and Bengali, have a two-way contrast between aspirated and plain [k]. Only a few languages lack a voiceless velar stop, e.g. Tahitian.

There is also a voiceless post-velar stop (also called pre-uvular) in some languages. For voiceless pre-velar stop (also called post-palatal), see voiceless palatal stop.

Features

Features of the voiceless velar stop:

Potassium in biology

Potassium is an essential mineral micronutrient and is the main intracellular ion for all types of cells. It is important in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in the bodies of humans and animals. Potassium is necessary for the function of all living cells, and is thus present in all plant and animal tissues. It is found in especially high concentrations within plant cells, and in a mixed diet, it is most highly concentrated in fruits. The high concentration of potassium in plants, associated with comparatively very low amounts of sodium there, historically resulted in potassium first being isolated from the ashes of plants (potash), which in turn gave the element its modern name. The high concentration of potassium in plants means that heavy crop production rapidly depletes soils of potassium, and agricultural fertilizers consume 93% of the potassium chemical production of the modern world economy.

The functions of potassium and sodium in living organisms are quite different. Animals, in particular, employ sodium and potassium differentially to generate electrical potentials in animal cells, especially in nervous tissue. Potassium depletion in animals, including humans, results in various neurological dysfunctions.