Talk:Hawaiian religion/Temp

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[edit] Kapu system

Main article: Kapu

Many scholars believe,[who?] and Hawaiian legend agrees, that from about 1200 AD to 1819, the kapu reached into the daily lives of every Hawaiian. Many scholars believe[who?] the kapu arrived with Pā‘ao, a priest or chief from Tahiti who came to Hawai‘i sometime around 1200 A.D.[1]

Just as men and women are separated in the mosque or synagogue, women could not eat with men, because eating was a sacred ritual. Kapu restricted who could gather what type of food, who prepared it, and what they ate.

Kāhuna nui mandated long periods when the entire village must have absolute silence. No baby could cry, dog howl, or rooster crow, on pain of death.

Human sacrifice was not uncommon.

The kapu co-existed with an older system described by June Gutmanis, in her book Nā Pule Kahiko: Ancient Hawaiian Prayers:

For lack of a better term, this word [akua] is generally translated as god. However, the Polynesian concept of god does not parallel that of the traditional, all-powerful, all-present divinity of Western man. The Polynesian ‘gods’ are the personal ancestors of man and share many of his characteristics. They are called upon as family members.[2]

Many are the gods of Hawaii. So numerous are they that in ancient times they were called na pu‘a ali‘i ‘uhane or ‘the chiefly flock of spirits.’ These gods are to be found not only in the heavens but also in the plants, birds, fish, rocks, and everything of nature, a god for every need of man. And like their descendants, man, this host of gods has a hierarchy of importance, some gods outranking others.

For some who worship the gods of Hawaii there is the one, the one above all others, the one from whom all others issue forth. For these, as with their Polynesian cousins, that one is ‘Io – ‘Io, whose name is too sacred to speak in the open and is used only in silent prayer. For some this great name may be invoked only by certain chiefly and kahuna families. Some say ‘Io and Uli are synonymous. Others do not believe in the importance of ‘Io."[3]

Others say Uli is the goddess of sorcery. Whether or not Hawaiians recognized ‘Io, many also recognized:[4]

  • the Four gods (ka hā) – Kū, Kāne, Lono, 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 (na ‘unihipili)
  • the Guardians (na ‘aumākua)

[edit] Hawaiian spirituality before kapu

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. The legends speak of battles between new and old gods and goddesses, such as Pele overcoming the old mo‘o or lizard-dragon goddesses.

"Hawaiian religion should not, therefore, be described as a static, integrated system with a set hierarchy of gods. Hawaiian religion can be compared as a category to Hinduism and Buddhism, rubrics that cover a host of irreconcilable differences. Hawaiian religious history is in as continual movement as the sea. One can study the currents – the dynamism and processes of change, but one cannot reconcile the directions of the individual waves."[5]

Pukui, who was from Ka‘ū on the big island, said the early gods were benign.[6] A tradition from Molokai, recounted in the book, Ho‘opono, agrees. "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 ‘āina, and each other. They respected all things and took care of all things. All was pono."[7]

The Hawaiians saw and talked with spirits as a normal part of life.

"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." [8]

Along with ancestors and gods, spirits are part of the family of Hawaiians. "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 (‘uhane) of the dead and the ‘angels’ (anela) of the ‘aumākua can possess living persons. Nothing is impossible to god-spirits, akua."[9]

Perhaps hundreds of Hawaiian words relate to spirits, ghosts and lesser gods. Kamakau speaks of the spirits seen upon just dozing off and the spirits in a real dream, and of the five different reasons spirits possess people. The dictionary lists five words for spirits of the living, and more than 15 for spirits of death. Many have to do with sorcery.

[edit] Importance of Prayer – Pule

At all times, before, during and after kapu, everything is done with prayer.

Prayer is an essential part of daily life. Hawaiians pray when building a house, making a canoe, and giving lomilomi massage.

"Hawaiians of old ‘cleared the way’ with prayers before they began an undertaking."[10]

Native historian Samuel Kamakau wrote in 1865, "The land was full of religious people. They prayed in the morning, at noon, in the evening, at night, when they ate, when they drank, when they went to sleep, when they woke up, when they went anywhere, and when they stayed in one place."[11]

Kepelino wrote in 1858, "Prayers for work, travelling, sleeping, waking, eating, all these prayers belonged to the people, as also the lealea or prayers of inspiration."[12]

They worshipped at hundreds of heiau (temples), thousands of ko‘a (shrines), and perhaps hundreds of thousands of wahi pana (sacred places). Every time they ate they made offerings at the altars (kuahu) in their homes.

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. During Makahiki season the people worshipped Lono, and Kū during times of war.

"For the worshippers of the gods of old Hawaii who see manifestations of the gods wherever they look, prayer may be as frequent as conversations between two close friends. Overwhelming in number, the gods are not kept at a distance by their perfection, but are direct ancestors of the chiefs who in turn are the progenitors of the maka‘āinana, or common people. The power of the gods comes from generations of accumulated mana. ...

"the gods of Hawaii are approached with just requests for help as members of the family. They may be ordered, bargained with, or threatened. If a particular god does not produce the desired results, the dissatisfied supplicant can denounce the failure, scold the unresponsive god, and seek help elsewhere."[13]

The people had both formal and "conversational" prayers.

"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 ‘aumākua 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 Pā‘ao, but otherwise, the Hawaiian did not seem prostrate before his gods." (Pukui, Vol. II, 1972, p. 135)

Hawaiians of old always made decisions with guidance from the spirits and gods. Kamakau wrote, "The foundation of the knowledge and skill of the kahuna lapa‘au [medical priest] was the god. It was he who knew without error the treatment; it was he who pointed out the nature of the ailment and the things pertaining to this or that disease of man."[14]

John Papa ‘I‘i noted, "The medical kahunas whom we described did thus: The matter was presented to the gods in the evening, and the next day the method of treatment was studied. If the case was a good one, the god was consulted to find out whether the treatment would be successful."[15]

[edit] Spirits

They also talked with the spirits. Kahuna Kūpa‘iulu of Maui in 1867 described a counter-sorcery ritual to heal someone ill due to ho‘opi‘opi‘o, another’s evil thoughts. He said a kapa (cloth) was shaken. Prayers were said. Then, "If the evil spirit suddenly appears (puoho) and possesses the patient, then he or she can be immediately saved by the conversation between the practitioner and that spirit."[16]

Not all kāhuna were mediums, and not all mediums were kāhuna:

"The haka [medium] was chosen by the spirit, or spirits, to serve as "speaking mouth." The spirit, be it ‘uhane, ‘aumakua, or akua, was, in family seances, always one to whose lineage the haka belonged: that is to say, the spirit was a relative. It is said that in the old days there was no lineage, or ‘ohana, which did not have someone who served as a channel of communication."[17]

Pukui and others believed kāhuna did not have mystical transcendent experiences as described in other religions. Although a person who was possessed or noho would go into a trance-like state, it was not an ecstatic experience but simply a communion with the known spirits.

"Hawaiians, rather than feeling a kind of fusion with a deity, were more apt to receive messages. Veiled in mysticism, transported via dream or sign or vision, conveyed in allegory though they might be, the message was very often practical advice from those approachable, interested gods, the ‘aumākua."[18]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Pukui, 1972, Vol. II, 296
  2. ^ Gutmanis, 1983, p. 115
  3. ^ Gutmanis, 1983, p. 3
  4. ^ Gutmanis, 1983, p. 4-14
  5. ^ Jean Charlot, Chanting the Universe, p. 35
  6. ^ Pukui, 1972, Vol. II, p. 122
  7. ^ Lee, 2006, p. 28
  8. ^ Dudley, p. 32
  9. ^ Kamakau, 1964, p. 53-4
  10. ^ Pukui, 1972, Vol. II, p. 140, 147
  11. ^ Kamakau, 1991, p. 64
  12. ^ Beckwith, 2007, p. 56
  13. ^ Gutmanis, 1983, p. 1
  14. ^ Kamakau, 1991a, p. 107
  15. ^ ‘I‘i, p. 48
  16. ^ Chun, 1994, p. 179
  17. ^ Handy, 1998, p. 132
  18. ^ Pukui, Vol II, 1972, p. 129