Hawaiian religion
Hawaiian religion refers to the
Today, Hawaiian religious practices are protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.[3] Traditional Hawaiian religion is unrelated to the modern New Age practice known as "Huna".[4][5]
Beliefs
Deities
Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, with many deities, most prominently Kāne, Kū, Lono and Kanaloa.[6] Other notable deities include Laka, Kihawahine, Haumea, Papahānaumoku, and, most famously, Pele.[6] In addition, each family is considered to have one or more guardian spirits known as ʻaumakua that protected family.[6]
One breakdown of the Hawaiian pantheon[7] consists of the following groups:
- the four gods (ka hā) – Kū, Kāne, Lono, and Kanaloa
- the forty male gods or aspects of Kāne (ke kanahā)
- the four hundred gods and goddesses (ka lau)
- the great multitude of gods and goddesses (ke kini akua)
- the spirits (nā ʻunihipili)
- the guardians (nā ʻaumākua)
Another breakdown[8] 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 ʻaumakua, associated with particular families
Atheism
Not all ancient Hawaiian believed in deities. Some ancient Hawaiians were
Creation
One Hawaiian
Kahuna and Kapu
The kahuna were well respected, educated individuals that made up a social hierarchy class that served the King and the Courtiers and assisted the Maka'ainana (Common People). Selected to serve many practical and governmental purposes, Kahuna often were healers, navigators, builders, prophets/temple workers, and philosophers.
They also talked with the spirits. Kahuna Kūpaʻiulu of Maui in 1867 described a counter-sorcery ritual to heal someone ill due to hoʻopiʻopiʻo, another’s evil thoughts. He said a kapa (cloth) was shaken. Prayers were said. Then, "If the evil spirit suddenly appears (puoho) and
Pukui and others believed kahuna did not have mystical transcendent experiences as described in other religions. Although a person who was possessed (noho) would go into a trance-like state, it was not an ecstatic experience but simply a communion with the known spirits.[citation needed]
Kapu refers to a system of taboos designed to separate the spiritually pure from the potentially unclean. Thought to have arrived with Pāʻao, a priest or chief from Tahiti who arrived in Hawaiʻi sometime around 1200 AD,[13] the kapu imposed a series of restrictions on daily life. Prohibitions included:
- The separation of men and women during mealtimes (a restriction known as ʻaikapu)
- Restrictions on the gathering and preparation of food
- Women separated from the community during their menses
- Restrictions on looking at, touching, or being in close proximity with chiefs and individuals of known spiritual power
- Restrictions on overfishing
Hawaiian tradition shows that ʻAikapu was an idea led by the kahuna in order for Wākea, the sky father, to get alone with his daughter, Hoʻohokukalani without his wahine, or wife, Papa, the earth mother, noticing. The spiritually pure or laʻa, meaning "sacred" and unclean or haumia were to be separated. ʻAikapu included:
- The use of a different ovens to cook the food for men and women
- Different eating places
- Women were forbidden to eat pig, coconut, banana, and certain red foods because of their male symbolism.[14][15]
- During times of war, the first two men to be killed were offered to the gods as sacrifices.[16]
Other Kapus included Mālama ʻĀina, meaning "caring of the land" and Niʻaupiʻo. Tradition says that mālama ʻāina originated from the first child of Wākea and Hoʻohokukalani being deformed so they buried him in the ground and what sprouted became the first kalo, also known as taro. The Hawaiian islands are all children of Papa, Wākea and Hoʻohokukalani so basically meaning that they are older siblings of the Hawaiian chiefs.[17] Second child of Wākea and Hoʻohokukalani became the first Aliʻi Nui, or "Grand Chief". This came to be called Niʻaupiʻo, the chiefly incest to create the "godly child".[18]
Punishments for breaking the kapu could include death, although if one could escape to a puʻuhonua (for example
Human sacrifice was not unknown.[20] [clarification needed]
The kapu system remained in place until 1819 (see below).
Prayer and heiau
Prayer was an essential part of Hawaiian life, employed when building a house, making a canoe, and giving lomilomi massage. Hawaiians addressed prayers to various gods depending on the situation. When healers picked herbs for medicine, they usually prayed to Kū and Hina, male and female, right and left, upright and supine. The people worshiped Lono during Makahiki season and Kū during times of war.[citation needed]
Histories from the 19th century describe prayer throughout the day, with specific prayers associated with mundane activities such as sleeping, eating, drinking, and traveling.[21][22] However, it has been suggested that the activity of prayer differed from the subservient styles of prayer often seen in the Western world:
...the usual posture for prayer – sitting upright, head high and eyes open – suggests a relationship marked by respect and self-respect. The gods might be awesome, but the ʻaumākua bridged the gap between gods and man. The gods possessed great
mana; but man, too, has some mana. None of this may have been true in the time of Pāʻao, but otherwise, the Hawaiian did not seem prostrate before his gods.[23]
Heiau served as focal points for prayer in Hawaiʻi. Offerings, sacrifices, and prayers were offered at these temples, the thousands of koʻa (shrines), a multitude of wahi pana (sacred places), and at small kuahu (altars) in individual homes.
History
Origins
Although it is unclear when settlers first came to the
Early Hawaiian religion resembled other Polynesian religions in that it was largely focused on natural forces such as the
Early Hawaiian religion
As an Indigenous culture, spread among eight islands, with waves of immigration over hundreds of years from various parts of the South Pacific, religious practices evolved over time and from place to place in different ways.
Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui, who was raised in Kaʻū, Hawaii, maintained that the early Hawaiian gods were benign.[25] One Molokai tradition follows this line of thought. Author and researcher Pali Jae Lee writes: "During these ancient times, the only 'religion' was one of family and oneness with all things. The people were in tune with nature, plants, trees, animals, the ʻāina, and each other. They respected all things and took care of all things. All was pono."[26]
"In the dominant current of Western thought there is a fundamental separation between humanity and divinity. ... In many other cultures, however, such differences between human and divine do not exist. Some peoples have no concept of a ‘Supreme Being’ or ‘Creator God’ who is by nature ‘other than’ his creation. They do, however, claim to experience a spirit world in which beings more powerful than they are concerned for them and can be called upon for help."[27]
"Along with ancestors and gods, spirits are part of the family of Hawaiians.[clarification needed] "There are many kinds of spirits that help for good and many that aid in evil. Some lie and deceive, and some are truthful ... It is a wonderful thing how the spirits (ʻuhane of the dead and the ‘angels’ (anela) of the ʻaumākua can possess living persons. Nothing is impossible to god-spirits, akua."[28]
Post contact
King Kamehameha the Great died in 1819. Subsequently, two of his wives, Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, then the two most powerful people in the kingdom, conferred with the kahuna nui, Hewahewa. They convinced young Liholiho, Kamehameha II, to overthrow the kapu system. They ordered the people to burn the wooden statues and to tear down the rock temples.
Without the hierarchical system of religion in place, some abandoned the old gods, and others continued with cultural traditions of worshipping them, especially their family ʻaumākua.
Protestant Christian missionaries arrived from the United States from 1820 onwards, and eventually gained great political, moral and economic influence in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Most of the aliʻi converted to Christianity, including Kaʻahumanu and Keōpūolani, but it took 11 years for Kaʻahumanu to proclaim laws against ancient religious practices:
Worshipping of idols such as sticks, stones, sharks, dead bones, ancient gods and all untrue gods is prohibited. There is one God alone, Jehovah. He is the God to worship. The hula is forbidden, the chant (olioli), the song of pleasure (mele), foul speech, and bathing by women in public places. The planting of ʻawa is prohibited. Neither chiefs nor commoners are to drink ʻawa.[29]
Despite the outlawing of traditional Hawaiian religious practices, a number of traditions survived by integration, through practice in hiding, or through practice in rural communities in the islands. Surviving traditions include the worship of family ancestral gods or ʻaumākua, veneration of iwi or bones, and preservation of sacred places or wahi pana. Hula, at one time outlawed as a religious practice, today is performed in both spiritual and secular contexts.
Along with the surviving traditions, some Hawaiians practice Christianized versions of old traditions. Others practice the old faith as a co-religion.
In the 1930s, American author Max Freedom Long originated a philosophy and practice which he called "Huna".[30] While Long and his successors represent this invention as a type of ancient Hawaiian occultism,[30] scholars Rothstein and Chai consider it a New Age mix of cultural appropriation and fantasy,[4][5] and not representative of traditional Hawaiian religion.[4][5]
Contemporary practice
Traditional beliefs have also played a role in the
Outrage over the unearthing of 1,000 graves (dating back to 850 AD) during the construction of a Ritz-Carlton hotel on Maui in 1988 resulted in the redesign and relocation of the hotel inland, as well as the appointment of the site as a state historic place.[32]
Since 2014 an ongoing
References
- ISBN 0-415-92131-7.
- ^ "The Historical Context for Sacredness, Title, and Decision Making in Hawai'i: Implications for TMT on Maunakea" (PDF).
- ^ Cornell.edu. "AIRFA act 1978". Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-15355-4
- ^ a b c Chai, Makana Risser. "Huna, Max Freedom Long, and the Idealization of William Brigham," The Hawaiian Journal of History, Vol. 45 (2011) pp. 101-121
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74104-136-1.
- ISBN 0-9607938-6-0.
- ^ Kauka, Jay. Religious Beliefs and Practices.
- ^ Malo, D. (1903). Hawaiian Antiquities (Moolelo Hawaii) (Vol. 2). Hawaiian gazette Company, Limited.
- ISBN 0-226-84560-5.
- ^ Beckwith, Martha Warren. "Lono of the Makahiki." The Kumulipo, a Hawaiian Creation Chant (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1951), 18.
- ^ Chun, Malcolm Naea; ʻAhahui Lāʻau Lapaʻau (1994). Must We Wait in Despair. First People's Productions. p. 179.
- ^ Pukui, Nana i ke Kumu: Look to the Source, Vol. II, 1972, p. 296
- ^ Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea Lā E Pono Ai? (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1992.),23
- ISBN 978-1-58351-044-5. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ Malo, David, Hawaiian Antiquities. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 2, Second Edition. (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1951)
- ^ Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea Lā E Pono Ai? (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1992.),24
- ^ Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea Lā E Pono Ai? (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1992.),25
- ^ "Got Religion?". Hawaii-guide.info. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-4525-8753-0.
- ISBN 0-930897-71-4.
- ISBN 978-1-58178-060-4.
- ISBN 978-0-9616738-2-6.
- ISBN 0-521-78879-X.
- ISBN 978-0-9616738-2-6.
- ISBN 978-0-9677253-7-6.
- ISBN 1-878751-01-8.
- ISBN 0-910240-32-9.
- ^ Kamakau, 1992, p. 298-301
- ^ ISBN 1-4344-0499-4.
- ^ "Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana >> History". Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana. Archived from the original on July 22, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
- ^ Song, Jaymes (May 27, 2007). "Booming development in Hawaii disturbs the dead". Oakland, CA, USA: Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2012.(subscription required)
- ^ "Online petition demanding halt to Thirty Meter Telescope project collects 100K signatures". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 18, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-8248-0771-5.
- ISBN 0-910240-15-9.
- "Figure Marae 12, Mokumanamana (Necker Island), Hawai'i (1976.194)". In Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. April 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- "Stick God (Akua Ka'ai) Hawai'i (1979.206.1625)". In Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art. April 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- Beckwith, Martha. 1970. Hawaiian mythology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press
- Abraham Fornander (1916). Thomas George Thrum (ed.). Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-Lore. Vol. 4. Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
- Abraham Fornander (1918). Thomas George Thrum (ed.). Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-Lore. Vol. 5. Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
- Abraham Fornander (1919). Thomas George Thrum (ed.). Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-Lore. Vol. 6. Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
- Westervelt, W.D. 1915. Hawaiian legends of old Honolulu. Boston, G.H. Ellis Press