Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sharpnosed Mullet, Neomyxus leuciscus
M and I also netted three sharnosed mullets (Neomyxus leuciscus, uouoa in Hawaiian) out of a tide pool and put them in our tank. Unlike the blennies, these are sleek, fast moving fish, and it is harder to get a good picture of them. These are also very common near the shore. I could see large numbers of them where the sand drops off and the water quickly becomes deeper just beyond the washes from the waves.
In Hawaiian mythology Pahulu was a goddess, even older than Pele, whose descendants taught sorcery through dreams. According to Hoover's "Hawai'i's Fishes" there is a tradition that eating the head of of an uouoa causes either a lack of sleep or nightmares unless an offering is made to Pahulu. Perhaps eating uouoa, with appropriate offerings, was a way to learn sorcery in ancient Hawai'i?
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