The role of a kahuna in the Hawaiian culture takes on the responsibility of keeping a balance between the people and the nation. In doing so, they apply their field of expertise towards assisting the aliʻi and the makaʻāinana. In ancient Hawai’i, there were many different types of kāhuna that had a skill set that contributed or benefited the community. In this paper I will discuss the different ways a kahuna achieves this type of balance within the lāhui. These kuleana include advising the aliʻi to make pono decisions, guiding the makaʻāinana in their daily lives and practices, and taking care of the spiritual side of the Hawaiian culture and traditional practices of the people. Kāhuna had a very important profession within the lāhui because …show more content…
With mana, you can call upon good or bad forces. For example, I was given the Hawaiian name “Makamae” as a child. The story that ties to my name is that my mom thought it meant “big eyes” because of the word “maka” within it, which means eyes. As a child I did have big eyes and I would be teased by other children for having eyes too big for my head. This brought a lot of negative energy towards myself. Later on in my life, my mother found out that Makamae actually means “precious” in Hawaiian and the energy that was drawn towards me became more positive. As an aliʻi, you want to call upon good forces to stand by your side in battles and other events. In my opinion, the use of language was a very important tool of communication that contained a great amount of power. For example, on a spiritual level of communication, the kahuna reached out to the akua to seek a solution to problems or concerns that was demanded of the aliʻi. The decisions and actions of an aliʻi relied on their kahuna, and these actions focused on benefiting the well-being of the lāhui. It is important for the aliʻi to listen to his kahuna to make pono …show more content…
During times of questioning and guidance, the makaʻāinana would see a kahuna for insight of direction within their daily practices or lives. In my opinion, they would see a kahuna when they needed help or wanted to create something for their family or community. Things of creation and need of assistance would include building a house, a canoe, or perhaps needing to be healed from an illness. For example, when a person wanted to build a canoe, they would see a kahuna kālai waʻa. This kahuna would instruct the person on how to carve the waʻa and things that would be offered to the tree for its sacrifice. The kāhuna were people with all the knowledge in their field of expertise. As these kāhuna would grow in age, they would take in a young child, around the age of 5, to study under them so that the knowledge could be passed down from generation to generation. Moʻolelo are a collection of events that reflect indigenous ways of knowing. They have the ability to cover all categories of life and are passed down from one generation to the next. Leslie Marmon Silko expresses moʻolelo to be “all we have to fight off illness and death. You don’t have anything if you don’t have the stories…” A kahuna will spend their entire lives memorizing and studying moʻolelo because they are a source of instructions to our lives. Without these moʻolelo, there would be a limited of, or even perhaps none, ways to
Often times, the history that is being told is one of Hawaiian weakness, and defeat. The Bayonet Constitution of 1887, the Overthrow of 1893, and the Annexation of 1898, are all often used as examples of moments of powerlessness in the Hawaiian Kingdom. What about all history prior to, in between, and after, these major dates? Surely, it did not just disappear. In the last few decades, Hawaiian history has changed dramatically due to the works of many Hawaiian historians. The history that was lost has been found, and new discoveries are still being made. Hawaiʻi’s history is a story of resistance, pride, and unity. Included within this history is a man named Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox. Wilcox was a revolutionist, and a leader, but he enjoyed being a politician the most. Wilcox was the beacon of hope that helped guide the people of Hawaiʻi through darkness. Wilcox was and still is today a symbolic figure in Hawaiʻi’s political history.
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
Queen Ka’ahumanu was also his most powerful wife. When the King died on May 5, 1819, he left Ka'ahumanu a share of the governance over the islands. On the morning of Kamehameha I’s death, a few chiefs advised Ka’ahumanu to do away with the kapu system, but she thought it was too soon to act. The kapu system was the ancient Hawaiian set of laws and regulations that forbid many acts. Kapus were strictly enforced, and breaking one often led to immediate death. One of the main causes of the Hawaiians beginning to question the kapu system was seeing the foreigners break the kapus with no consequences. Ka’ahumanu had also secretly broken the kapu multiple times with no consequences. Two weeks following Kameha...
The Hawaiian Islands are well known for their beauty, tranquility, and unique culture that have shaped this state into what we see today. The special bond that the natives have formed between themselves and nature is not exactly one of a kind, but it is something that can truly be admired. Around approximately 300 AD, Hawaii was discovered by Polynesians who arrived by canoe from Tahiti. These migrants brought their polytheistic spirituality and formed a large intricate society with hierarchies consisting of many chiefs. Alongside the ruling of the chiefs, the newborn Hawaiians followed a strict belief system known as Kapu akua otherwise known as the “law of the gods”. The Kapu was a strict set of rules and restraints that dictated all aspects of ancient Hawaiian life, including political. These rules were used as a means to control the lives of lower class and female population in order to honor their gods and maintain balance within their Mana.
By analyzing the Kawaiisu, a Great Basin Native tribe, I want to explore cultural wonders and observe their society as I compare an aspect of interest with that of another culture in the world, the Chuuk. Comparing different societies of the world will allow me to successfully learn about the Kawaiisu people in a more detailed and open minded manner. Populations all around the world throughout time have had different views and traditions of beliefs. Through this project, I hope to unravel and gain an understanding of different perspectives and ways of life.
Hawaiians constantly prayed and presented offerings to the gods to ensure prosperity. Hawaiian’s beliefs about these gods influenced their perspective of how the world was constructed and learned to respect the environment around them. Teaching implemented by the gods also sculpted their intelligence, this included navigation and agriculture. The four dietary influences heavily on the Hawaiian culture, if it was not present, Hawaiian culture would not exist as we know it.
Hawaiians should have rights to their own land and not let foreigners disrupt their daily habits and life. If a foreigner takes allegiance to Hawai’i they not only have the accessibility of a citizen but also the perks that go with citizenship. Foreigners would be able to marry the women of Hawai’i while they have wives back home in their previous motherland. Foreigners that are aiding to Hawai’i can stay as aliens and be just as effective. There is no need for them to gain citizenship and take an oath of allegiance for their help. If a foreigner wants a piece a land all he needs to do is take an oath of allegiance and he is able to have a piece of land. If too many foreigners enter Hawai’i, their culture will take over. The majority will consist of the foreigners and their government will take over. Too many foreigners will cause much more damage to the native Hawaiian population. The number of full Hawaiians will decrease if foreigners continue to enter the island of Hawai’i.
Jovik, Sonia P. and James O. Jovik. (1997). “History.” Atlas of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p.408.
The Makah lived in long houses. The houses were made out of cedar wood strips. The homes were usually permanent. The houses were group homes so more than one family lived in a home. The outside would normally have a totem pole outside the front of the house. These were poles with faces of animals on them and they told the history of the family. On the insi...
Hawai'i is a land full of diverse people and ideas, starting from the Polynesians who decided to cross the ocean to settle and form the traditions practiced today by the Hawaiians. Unlike many other states, the beliefs of Hawai'i have managed to stay alive. Its unique culture is what attracts tourists most. Many people see it as a vacation spot, full of fun attractions and say, “When I go to Hawai'i I'm going to get some Hawaiian tattoos, they look so cool!” or “I'm going to buy a hula skirt, they're really pretty!” But all those hula dances and tattoos are not just for show. People do not know that there is more to it than ink or hip swaying; behind every hula skirt and every tattoo there is a story. Hawai’i’s culture consists of the significance of its dances, tattoos, and traditions that give Hawaiians their unique lifestyle.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
...Hawai`i’s economy is very dependent on tourism, however many locals are possessive of their land, and as they stereotype tourists, many do not accept others as they have a unity for their own. Numerous individuals feel the desideratum to fit the local stereotype because they prefer not to be labeled as a “haole”. It becomes tough and rather intense for an individual, because becoming haole betokens that you forgot and disregarded the local or Hawaiian quality values and ways of routes, as well as the flowing stream of life in the islands. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of where we emanate from, our skin tone, race, physical characteristics, and so forth, everybody ought to acknowledge just for who we/they are and treat one another like 'ohana and show "aloha", and subsequently, we can determinately verbally express "This is it. This is Paradise" (33).
According to Maori legends and myths Te reo Maori is one of the treasures give to them by Tane, (God of the forest) when he climbed to the twelfth heavens to collect the three kete of knowledge that man-kind needed for survival (Pohatu, 2000). Te reo Maori is a unique identity of all Maori people, it is sacred and indigenous language because it was handed to them by their ancestors to be treasured, nurtured and encourage to positive influence the future generations (Barlow, 1991). In the Maori tradition they used Te reo to pass down their history, tell myths and legends, to korero through karakia, waiata and education from ear to ear (Pohatu, 2000). For instance the significance of Te reo Maori still can be seen when they have gathering at the Marae to welcome, waiata and do karakia before kai.