Hawaiian religion
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Hawaiian religion is the term used to describe the folk religious beliefs and practises of the Hawaiian people. It is separate to, though commonly confused with, the religion of Huna, which is a modern syncretic form of the traditional religion.
Hawaiian religion originated amongst the Tahitians and other Pacific islanders who landed in Hawaiʻi between 500 and 1300 AD.[1] After the United States' invasion and annexation of Hawaii in 1898, the religion suffered a decrease in adherents due to Christianisation. Today, Hawaiian religious practices are protected by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.[citation needed]
Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, believing in many deities, and is also animistic in that it is based on a belief that spirits are found in non-human beings and objects such as animals, the waves, and the sky.[citation needed]
Contents
[edit] Beliefs
[edit] Deities
- See also: Hawaiian mythology
Hawaiian religion is polytheistic, believing in many different deities[2]. Of these, four are most prominent; KÄne, KÅ«, Lono and Kanaloa. Other notable deities include Laka, Kihawahine, Haumea, Papahanaumoku, and, most famously, Pele. In addition, each family is considered to have one or more family guardians known as Ê»aumakua.
One breakdown of the Hawaiian pantheon[3] consists of the following groups:
Another breakdown[4] consists of three major groups:
[edit] Mythology
One Hawaiian creation myth is embodied in the Kumulipo, an epic chant linking the aliÊ»i, or Hawaiian royalty, to the gods. The Kumulipo is divided into two sections: night, or pÅ, and day, or ao, with the former corresponding to divinity and the latter corresponding to mankind. After the birth of KiÊ»i, the man, and LaÊ»ilaÊ»i, the woman, the man succeeds at seducing and reproducing with the woman before the god KÄne has a chance, thereby making the divine lineage of the gods younger than and thus subservient to the lineage of man. This, in turn, illustrates the transition of mankind from being symbols for the gods (the literal meaning of kiÊ»i) into the keeper of these symbols in the form of idols and the like.[5]
[edit] Kahuna and Kapu
The kahuna were the rough equivalent of shamans who served as mediums for the purpose of communicating with the gods. Kahuna often served as healers as well, discussing with the gods the best way to heal their patients.[citation needed]
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 possesses the patient, then he or she can be immediately saved by the conversation between the practitioner and that spirit."[6]
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 PÄÊ»ao, a priest or chief from Tahiti who arrived in HawaiÊ»i sometime around 1200 CE,[7] the kapu imposed a series of restrictions on daily life. Prohibitions included:
Punishments for breaking the kapu could include death, although if one could escape to a puÊ»uhonua, a city of refuge, they could be saved.[8] KÄhuna 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.[citation needed]
Human sacrifice was not uncommon.[citation needed]
The kapu system remained in place until 1819 (see below).
[edit] 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 KÅ« and Hina, male and female, right and left, upright and supine. The people worshiped Lono during Makahiki season and KÅ« 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.[9][10] 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 Ê»aumÄkua 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 PÄÊ»ao, but otherwise, the Hawaiian did not seem prostrate before his gods.[11]
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.[citation needed]
[edit] History
[edit] Origins
- See also: Ancient Hawaii
Although it is unclear when settlers first came to the Hawaiian Islands, there is significant evidence that the islands were settled no later than 800 CE and immigration continued to about 1300 CE.[12] Settlers came from the Marquesas, Samoa, Easter Island, and greater Polynesia. At some point a significant influx of Tahitian settlers landed in the Hawaiian islands, bringing with them their religious beliefs.[citation needed]
Early Hawaiian religion resembled other Polynesian religions in that it was largely focused on natural forces such as the tides, the sky, and volcanic activity as well as man's dependence on nature for subsistence.[citation needed] The major early gods reflected these characteristics, as the early Hawaiians worshiped KÄne (the god of the sky and creation), KÅ« (the god of war and male pursuits), Lono (the god of peace, rain, and fertility) and Kanaloa (the god of the ocean).
[edit] 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.[citation needed]
Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui, who was raised in Ka‘ū, Hawaii, maintained that the early Hawaiian gods were benign.[13] One MolokaÊ»i 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 ‘Äina, and each other. They respected all things and took care of all things. All was pono."[14]
The Hawaiians saw and talked with spirits as a normal part of life.[citation needed]
"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." [15]
"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 ‘aumÄkua can possess living persons. Nothing is impossible to god-spirits, akua."[16]
[edit] Contemporary
In 1819, Kamehameha the Great died. In the aftermath, two of his wives, KaÊ»ahumanu and KeÅpÅ«olani, 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 tear down the rock temples.
The state system of religion was dead, but people were free to worship in their own ways. Some abandoned the old gods. Others continued worshiping them, especially their family ‘aumÄkua.[citation needed]
Missionaries arrived in 1820, and most of the aliÊ»i converted to Christianity, including KaÊ»ahumanu and KeÅpÅ«olani, but it took 11 years for KaÊ»ahumanu 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 ‘awa is prohibited. Neither chiefs nor commoners are to drink ‘awa.†(Kamakau, 1992, p. 298-301)
Although traditional Hawaiian religion was outlawed, a number of traditions typically associated with it survived. They include the worship of family ancestral gods or Ê»aumÄkua, veneration of iwi or bones, and preservation of sacred places or wahi pana. Hula was outlawed at one time as a religious practice but today is performed in both spiritual and secular contexts.[citation needed]
Traditional beliefs have also played a role in the politics of post-Contact Hawaiʻi. In 1976, the members of a group "Protect Kahoʻolawe ʻOhana" filed suit in federal court over the use of Kahoʻolawe by the United States Navy for target practice. Charging that the practice disturbed important cultural and religious sites Aluli et al. V. Brown forced the Navy to survey and protect important sites, perform conservation activities, and allow limited access to the island for religious purposes.[17] Similarly, outrage over the unearthing of 1,000 graves dating back to 850 CE during the construction of a Ritz-Carlton hotel on Mauʻi 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.[18]
Along with the surviving traditions, some Hawaiians practice Christianized versions of old traditions.[citation needed]
New Thought author Max Freedom Long claimed his philosophy of Huna was Hawaiian religion, and although some aspects of his books report on authentic Hawaiian practices, he did not describe traditional Hawaiian religion.[citation needed]
