Spiritual Beliefs and Religious Practices of Ancient Hawai‘i

By Kathy L. Callahan Ph.D.

The focus of this book is the spiritual/religious life of the indigenous people of Hawai‘i—the Knaka Maoli. Their spiritual principles of mlama ‘ina (caring for the environment), kuleana (individual responsibility), kkua (helping one another), and ‘ohana (family beyond blood ties) enabled the Hawaiians to survive the decimation of their population and colonial attacks upon their government and cultural heritage. Moreover, these ideals passed on into the many immigrant groups that came to the Islands and helped them coalesce into one “multiracial” people. The future promise of Hawai‘i may lie in these ancient principles, for they represent a much-needed idea of working in harmony with the environment and are characterized by respect, tolerance, and understanding of differences. They may represent a new way of looking at sociocultural processes in the hope of solving complex problems of the modern world. This indeed may be the lasting legacy of the Knaka Maoli.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781698710631

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Copyright 2022 Kathy L. Callahan, Ph.d.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1062-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1064-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6987-1063-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021925456

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Use of The Hawaiian Language

Author’s Preface

Chapter 1 Remembering The Old Ways

Chapter 2 Origins of The Kᾱnaka Maoli: Echoes of A Distant Past

Chapter 3 The Kumulipo: A Song of Creation

Chapter 4 Akua, Kupua, A ‘Aumᾱkua: Gods, Shape-Shifters, And Ancestral Spirits

Chapter 5 Kᾱhuna: Priestly Mediators Between The Gods And Man

Chapter 6 Wahi Pana A Ho‘omana Heiau: Sacred Sites and Temple Worship

Chapter 7 Kino A ‘Uhane: Beliefs of Body and Soul

Chapter 8 Mauli Ola: The Healing Arts

Chapter 9 Demise of The Old Ways

Chapter 10 A Lasting Legacy

Final Thoughts

Postscript

Appendix A Hawaiian Source Information

Appendix B Kaneikokala, The Ki’i Who Refused To Move

Appendix C Select Pharmacopeia

Appendix D The Advent of Christianity

List of Illustrations

Endnotes

References

About The Author

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank a number of people who were instrumental in teaching me about the many, fascinating aspects of Hawai‘i, and in helping me understand the multilayered meanings of the material presented in this book. Many are or were associated with Windward Community College, University of Hawai‘i, located in Kāne‘ohe, Hawai‘i.

A most sincere thank you goes to Kumu Fred Kalani Meinecke, a recipient of the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching (University of Hawai‘i). I remember Kumu Kalani as a man who took the time to share many off the books stories in his classes. His knowledge of all things Hawaiian is truly remarkable. A sincere thank you also to Kumu Peter Kalawai‘a Moore. In the many classes I had with him, Kumu Kalawai‘a always encouraged me to research and write on topics that were of interest to me, even if they were a little off the beaten path. Sincerest thanks also to Kumu Brian Keoki Faria, who put up with me for two years in his ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i classes. Kumu Keoki’s patience helped me to stay the course and taught me an appreciation for the Hawaiian language (even if I don’t speak it as well as I’d like).

Thank you also to Kumu Donna (Donnie) Kameha‘ikū Camvel, whose class on Wahi Pana allowed me to visit sacred places not normally accessible to all. I especially value our talks under the shadow of the Ko‘olau and how she shared her thoughts on my being a wahine mo‘o, an idea that resonated with me for various reasons. Thank you to Kumu Liko Poe for his intricately detailed talks on the Makahiki and the building of luakini heiau. He also makes the best poi on the Island. Thank you to Donald Froning, whose class on the History of Hawai‘i opened my eyes to historical happenings of which I was previously unaware.

A hearty thank you to my professors in the Agripharmatech Program, specifically Dr. Ingelia White, Professor Emerita, Dr. Teena Michael, and Dr. Hongwei Li. Through their mentorship I learned about the history of the Hawaiian environment and its diverse plant species, plant medicine, and even microbiology! I’ll always have fond memories of working in the Bioprocessing Medicinal Garden, and making herbal, medicinal soap in the Bioprocessing Facility.

A thank you must also go to Carla Rogers, my Academic Advisor, who helped me navigate the requirements of both the Hawaiian Studies and Agripharmatech Programs. I also appreciate our talks that had nothing to do with academics.

A warm thank you also goes to Kumu Momi (Ku‘umomialoha) and Makana (Makanaalohapumehana) Kuahiwinui of the Nā Pua o Keko‘olani hula hālau. Kumu Momi graciously allowed me to join the hālau despite some of my mobility challenges. I particularly enjoy hearing her stories that tell the history and traditions behind the dance, and have come to appreciate the beauty of the sometimes intricate steps introduced by Kumu Makana.

Special thanks go to Tricia Allen, for providing her artwork for use in this book (see additional information on Tricia and her amazing tattoo work in the List of Illustrations section), and also to Vala Aragon, a young artist whose Interpretation of Kāne sketch is her first commissioned work.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you goes to all my fellow haumāna (students), who not only answered my many questions and shared so many stories with me, but more importantly, accepted me for who I am, and always made me feel welcome.

Use of The Hawaiian Language

In writing this book, I have used the Hawaiian word for key concepts and ideas, names, and places. The Hawaiian word is italicized when first used, and is given along with the English translation. Subsequent use of the word is presented as standard text to allow for a smoother reading of the book. Proper nous and place names are not italicized.

‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i contains two diacritical marks. The first is a glottal stop or ʻokina, which looks like a backwards and upside-down apostrophe (‘). The second is a macron or kahakō, which lengthens and adds stress to the marked vowel. It is represented by a dash (-) placed above a vowel. Although some writings choose not to use the diacritical marks for various reasons, I chose to include them. The primary reason is that without the marks, the word in considered misspelled. Further, you have words whose meaning will change depending upon the use of these marks. A common example is the word pau, which means finish. The meaning of the word changes with the correct use of the diacritical marks: paʻu means smudge, paʻū means moist, and pāʻū which is a woman’s skirt. Also, some words form a plural by adding a kahakō over one vowel in the word such as kahuna/kāhuna (priest/priests) or kupuna/kūpuna (grandparent or elder/grandparents/elders). I did not add diacritical marks to direct quotations, however, if they were not included in the original text, nor did I add them to book or article titles.

Also, older sources sometimes included dashes or hyphens (-), particularly in given names and place names. Although these are not part of the Hawaiian language, this was likely a means to help non-Hawaiian readers pronounce the lengthier names. Others sources, however, did not use diacritical marks or insert hyphens and simply spelled out even lengthy names. I opted to use the spelling as given in original text cited, so you will see different iterations in this book.

The bottom line is that I wanted to present the Hawaiian language in as accurate a way as possible by using these diacritical marks. It’s a small part in helping to perpetuate the language, and is quite simply, the right thing to do.

It takes one generation to lose a language and three generations to recover it.

(University of Hawai‘i Foundation)

Author’s Preface

I moved with my family (husband, daughter, and grandchildren) to Hawai‘i in July of 2013. I had visited here in 2007 and again in 2012, but never really experienced the wonders of Hawai‘i other than the tourist experience. Once here permanently, I sought to expand my limited knowledge of the native Hawaiian culture. An anthropologist by training and education, this was a natural choice for me. Six months after arriving, I enrolled in Windward Community College, University of Hawai‘i. During 2014-2017, I earned three certificates in Hawaiian Studies and two certificates in Ethnopharmacognosy (traditional plant medicine and production). Much of what I learned, from studies, from my kumu (teachers), and from my Native Hawaiian classmates, forms the heart of this book.

The genesis of any book begins with an idea, an idea that often shifts and morphs as the author begins the often-laborious process of putting pen to paper (so to speak). I have written other books on comparative religion and on spirituality, so I thought to write something along those lines. I began to write the first chapters in late 2015. By 2016, however, the idea for the book had changed somewhat, and I eliminated about half the material I had once thought to include. The following year, I put the writing aside as I focused on other endeavors, including my own schoolwork. However, the idea to write a book on the religious beliefs of the ancient Hawaiians never really left me. By 2020, as the Covid-19 epidemic was in full swing, I felt an inner urging that I needed to resurrect my old writings and complete the book.

As I wrote, I found myself going down the rabbit hole quite often, meaning that as I researched one topic, I found an interesting fact that I had to unravel. Frequently, a trip down an unanticipated rabbit hole led to one or more other rabbit holes. As usually happens when I write, the content of the book took on a life of its own, and I was obliged to follow the threads as they unraveled and spiraled in new directions. The edits have been numerous with material inserted, removed, rewritten, and reinserted yet again. The result is the book you have here—a study of the spiritual beliefs and the religious practices of the ancient Hawaiians (pre-western contact) as found in the oral tradition of the Hawaiian people.

While many people often equate spirituality with religion, they are really two different concepts. Religion is more often defined as an institutionalized system of religious beliefs and practices, and particularly rituals in the service and worship of a defined God or the Divine. It includes oral tradition and written sacred texts, places of worship, and specific ceremonies and observances. Spirituality, however, refers to the acceptance of core principles or values that help you live life in a reverent manner, hopefully in harmony with the Divine. Religion centers around belief in external tradition and man-made creed while spirituality involves direct experience with the Divine. The difference between these two concepts as it pertains to the ancient Hawaiian culture will become more apparent throughout this book.

I know there may be a few who may think that I shouldn’t write such a book, primarily because I am not of Hawaiian blood. To address that, I point to the Hopi, a tribe of Pueblo Native Americans, and the work of Frank Waters. Following persecution by the Spanish in the 1600s and 1700s, the Hopi kept the teachings of their native religion hidden from view. It was not something they wanted to share with the white man. Then in the late 1950s, they freely shared their ancient religious beliefs and ceremonies, and their now famous Hopi Prophecies, with author Frank Waters. Thirty elders related their most sacred myths and legends through a translator in the hope that they would not be forgotten, but would rather be passed on to future generations for the benefit of all humankind. Waters’ Book of the Hopi, published in 1963, is considered a seminal work that introduced the Native American perspective and ethos to mainstream society. It is studied to this day by people the world over.

Also, I don’t believe you must necessarily share a bloodline with a people to present their story in a credible and respectful manner. For example, I’m of Irish ancestry, an ancestry that shares many historic commonalities with the Hawaiian people. For over 800 years, the island nation of Ireland was subject to invasion and oppression by the British. Britain invaded our island in 1169 and 1671, occupying port cities. During Henry VIII’s invasion in 1534, our lands were taken, our churches destroyed, and Henry declared himself King of Ireland. The Plantations of Scotch Protestants to Ireland in the early 1600’s destroyed our social and political institutions. Oliver Cromwell’s invasion in 1641, marked the most punitive period of anti-Irish social legislation in our history. A cultural bomb that forbid the use of Irish in business interactions was codified in Cromwell’s Penal Laws. Further, the establishment of the National School system in 1831, mandated the use of English. Children were beaten with the tally stick if they were caught speaking Irish. By 1891, the percentage of Irish speakers aged ten and under had declined to 3.5%. Our language, and much of our culture, was at the edge of extinction.

We Irish are a stubborn people, however, and for 800 years we continually resisted British rule; rebellions populate our history and we never surrendered. In the late 19th century, a new awareness of the Irish language as a marker of national identity began to take hold, and a language revival movement became part of the general nationalist movement that culminated in the independence of the Free Irish State, or Éire, in 1919. Today, Irish is the official language of the nation and is taught at every level in the education system.

I heard these tales as a child, and was taught my ancestors’ active roles in the generations-old resistance movement. So, I can and do empathize with the disastrous effects that contact with Westerners had upon the Hawaiian people and their culture.

I hope I have presented the material in this book in an accurate and respectful manner. I have tried to stay true to the knowledge found in the Hawaiian Canon, the works of other respected Hawaiian cultural experts (See Appendix A, Hawaiian Source Information), and also the teachings of my kumu and the viewpoints of my Native Hawaiian classmates. Finally, although I consider this a scholarly book in that it involved much research, I have not written it in a strictly formal style as I think less formality will be more readily received by the reader.

Kathy L. Callahan, Ph.D.

‘Ewa Beach, Hawai‘i

November 2021

1

REMEMBERING THE OLD WAYS

Ua lehulehu a manomano

ka ʻikena a ka Hawaiʻi.

Great and numerous is the

knowledge of the Hawaiians.

(‘Ōlelo No‘eau, Mary Kawena Pukui)

Hawai‘i. White sands and crystal blue waters. Ocean surf and dazzling waterfalls. The red, gold, yellow, orange, and pink hues of a sunset over the ocean. Palm trees swaying on a trade wind breeze. Volcanoes, lava rock, and black sand landscapes. The lingering scent of plumeria flowers. Tourists and sun tans. Pineapples and coconuts. Land of aloha and leis. Summer eternal. Few other words by themselves conjure up such picturesque images as this one word, Hawai‘i. No wonder it’s called Paradise.

Yet, the Hawaiian Islands are more than an amazing vacation spot or an island paradise where you can escape the hustle and bustle of mainland life. Hawai‘i is home to an indigenous people whose culture reaches far back into history. Their myths and legends, called mo‘olelo, count time back to the beginning of creation. Their genealogies or moʻo kūʻauhau literally trace one’s ancestry back over hundreds or even thousands of years.

Along with their multifaceted histories and detailed records of their ancestry, the ancient Hawaiians also developed a stratified classification system from maka‘āinana (commoner) to the highest ali‘i (royalty) or chief and a complex hierarchical system of land divisions. Yet other than prehistoric petroglyphs which grace various sacred sites throughout the islands, the ancient Hawaiians did not possess a written language. To keep track of vital historic and cultural knowledge and to pass it on to future generations, the Hawaiians developed a robust oral tradition so that information could be memorized and passed on, thereby ensuring continuity across the generations.

The Oral Tradition

The Hawaiian oral tradition can be thought of as a calabash (bowl) containing Hawaiian cultural knowledge that stands upon a three-legged triad, where each leg contributes to maintaining the integrity of the bowl. The first leg is the oli or chant, in the strictest sense the lyrical utterance of the Hawaiians. The second leg is the mo‘olelo, a story or narrative that tells of mythological or historic times and people. The third leg is ‘ōlelo no‘eau or Hawaiian proverbs, a body of collected sayings reflecting the wisdom, poetic beauty, and earthy humor of the Hawaiian people of old.

The heart of Hawaiian oral tradition was the chant or oli. There were several types of oli including the inoa oli, or name chant which recorded the lineage of the royal blood lines, the kanikau oli written in praise of the life of a person, and the pule oli or prayer. Hula oli, chants performed with music, were an outlet for emotional and festive life activities and were most often performed by a group.

The oli possessed mana (sacred power or spiritual energy), and beneath its words were hidden meanings and metaphors called kaona. As such, an oli could be understood on different levels by different people. Only a kahuna (priest) could recite or compose an oli. It took a lifetime of training before a kahuna would be allowed to recite a chant publicly. Even one mistake, such as taking a breath at the wrong place or a hesitation in pronouncing a long list of complicated names, could mean punishment for that individual, as such an error weakened the power of the chant and might displease both gods and ancestors.

The most famous oli of which we have a record today is the Kumulipo, a name chant written around 1700 CE at the birth of Lono-i-ka-makahiki, son of chief Keawe, Ka-I-i-mamao of the Big Island—Hawai‘i. It is a cosmogonic myth, a creation story that traces the child’s ancestry back through human ancestors, recounts the numerous creations of plants and animals on earth, and goes back to the origins of life itself in the darkness or Pō of the Pleiades. Legendary and historic illusions are woven throughout the text while kaona lie beneath the surface of the words. (Beckwith 1972) The Kumulipo is considered by some to be one of the most thorough descriptions of the physical and metaphysical worlds.

The oli became the ancient Hawaiians’ primary art form and preserved information on much of Hawaiian culture. The oli is considered to be the the very life blood that preserved and perpetuated the Hawaiian culture and "the soul of the Kānaka Ōiwi¹ (aboriginal peoples of Hawai‘i) and is recognized as the highest form of the Hawaiian Language. (Kamehameha Festival, Oli Defined," np.)

If the oli was the life blood that preserved Hawaiian culture, the mo‘olelo is the breath that sustained it. These stories provide us with the Hawaiian people’s perspective of the world and their place within it. Stories recount interaction and conflict with the many akua or gods, describe the ancient land from which the ancestors came, tell of their history of sea voyaging across thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean, celebrate the exploits of cultural super heroes like Māui, and expound their beliefs in the afterlife. Today mo‘olelo includes haʻi moʻolelo or oral storytelling, literature written in both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) and English, mele, which is song and poetry, and kākāʻōlelo or oratory/speech making.

‘Ōlelo no‘eau, the Hawaiian proverbs, serve as the glue which holds everything together, for they reveal the everyday thoughts and beliefs of the people and thus give insight into cultural nuances of life in ancient Hawai‘i. Like the oli, these sayings make use of kaona and have multi levels of meaning. Mary Kawena Pukui, the noted Hawaiian scholar, collected, translated, and annotated a large number of proverbs, publishing them in book form as ʻŌlelo Noʻeau—Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings. Published in 1983, the book is the culmination of her life-long effort to preserve this wisdom, an effort that began around 1910, when Pukui was just fifteen years old. They offer the reader