In Hawaiian religion, Kaulu is a trickster god who killed goddess Haumea at Niuhelewai, by catching her in a net obtained from Makaliʻi. He then killed Lonokaeho, also called Piokeanuenue, king of Koʻolau, by singing an incantation. Kaulu is known for being extremely powerful and strong, both physically and with magic, and he had many adventures in Hawaiian mythology. He is known for his control over the forces of nature and the weather patterns on the islands.
Family
His parents were Kukaohialaka and Hinauluohia, and he was born on the island of Oʻahu. Kaulu was the youngest of three siblings. His older brothers were named Kaeha and Kamano. When Kaulu was still a baby in his mother's womb, his older brother Kamano threatened to kill him, but then Kaulu's other brother, Kaeha, said he would protect Kaulu. Because of the danger of Kamano, Kaulu waited for five years in his mother's womb, and he shapeshifted into a piece of rope to be born.
Kaulu was then born as a piece of rope, and so, Kamano did not kill him, and Kaeha put the rope on a shelf and protected it until Kaulu turned back into humanoid form. Although it is unclear just what exactly Kaulu's parents were, as they might have been either humans or gods or perhaps a sort of humanoid race of earthly gods, Kaulu himself is definitely a deity and is often thought of as a trickster god. Kaulu grew up very strong and powerful, and he protected Kaeha, saving him from many attacks by other gods and monsters. Kaulu's wife was called Lanikai, and she never bore any children.
Abilities
Kaulu has many strange abilities and is an extremely powerful fighter. He is a trickster god, can be quite destructive and even violent, and is known as one of the most powerful beings in Hawaiian religion. Kaulu was powerful enough to kill several other Hawaiian deities. Kaulu is immortal and does not age. Kaulu also seems invulnerable to harm while fighting. In one of the legends of Kaulu, he fought other gods, killed them, and killed a huge shark monster. At birth, he was already able to shapeshift and speak.
Kaulu's brother, Kaeha, also displayed the shapeshifting ability when he shrank to a tiny size and hid in a leaf while speaking to people as a prank, making them sacrifice their alcoholic beverage to him. Kaulu also has the ability to communicate with spirits, and when he was a kid, he used them to find his brother, Kaeha. It would seem that Kaulu actually has some kind of reality-warping ability as well. When Kaulu was just a child, he challenged the ocean and its huge, many-story-high waves to a fight, and the waves crashed against him, but he didn't even budge.
Kaulu then struck the ocean, and ever since then, the waves around Hawaii have been much smaller. In another legend, Kaulu's brother, Kaeha, was tricked by some of the gods into going out on a surfboard and was then eaten by the chief of sharks. So Kaulu drained the entire ocean by drinking it, which is why the ocean is salty. Kaulu then tore the jaws of the shark apart with his bare hands and freed and saved his brother Kaeha. The story mentions Kaulu being attacked by another supernatural figure with a lightning bolt, and Kaulu blocked it with one finger.
In the legends of Kaulu, he could pull pranks on the spirits and gods and was so good at shapeshifting that even the spirits could not find him when he hid from them. The Hawaiian seer or sage Makaliʻi stated that Kaulu is "all-powerful". In another part of the legend, Kaulu flies or travels to the realm of the gods in heaven and asks them for food. The guards jokingly agree to let him have as much as he can carry, and Kaulu takes all of the food and storage of their entire farm in his arms.