Lorie Bock

Jon Conescue PhD

Religion 107

3/3/2010

Traditional Hawaiian Religion

Ancient darkness separates and the earth and sky are formed…the empty space between them is where all life forms emerged. This is the story behind Hawaiian chants, often intricate, telling of the earth’s creation. Wakea and his female companion Papa are believed to be the Gods of the earth and sky, according to primeval Polynesian culture, but they alone are not the only Gods (akua). The Hawaiian religion also speaks of thousands of other akua who were believed to be descendants of the earliest Gods, some may have come from the memories of great ancestors, and others from the features of the beautiful nature that surrounded the Polynesian people.

Gods from this religion are believed to be responsible for many facets of the Polynesian culture, including volcanoes, the oceans, movement of the stars, and fertility. A real joy to discover was the fact that there are Gods known for mischief, which are said to be the inspiration for chanters and storytellers. I can’t help but compare the Hawaiian beliefs to those of the Native American Indians; both cultures seem to embrace the living world around them. The art that both cultures create as a way to celebrate their beliefs has become a mainstay of their lives, and the thankfulness for the nature that surrounds them is a lesson in humility to all other cultures.

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The deities considered being of most importance number in the dozens, and it is to these akua that priesthoods were dedicated to. Temples, called heiau, were built to honor these important Gods and individual shrines in homes were also common. Dr. Molloy describes the heiau as “outdoor stone platforms, often enclosed by walls” (2008: 53). Likenesses of the akua were displayed in the heiau and food offerings were given to appease the akua. Priests were said to recite chants that were carefully memorized in the often elaborately decorated temples. In large heiau’s, houses for priests, kitchens, and storage facilities were also constructed. Just like our churches of today. I found it interesting that women were not allowed to be in the heiau; although, they in all probability were the ones who prepared the food offerings, this seems to mirror the cases of most other ancient religions. The upper-class women worshipped in their own hale-o-papa, I see a coalition between the name of the women’s place of worship and the female god, Papa, and it seems too much of a coincidence for it to be just random.

The priests were mostly made up of upper-class men, and the priesthood had their own hierarchy. Dr. Molloy explains that the priests were called kahuna (specialist), and that each specialty had its own name that followed the title of kahuna; such as kahuna pule, for prayer expert (2008: 53). The kahuna pule was at the top of the hierarchy scale, with architecture, canoe building, and agriculture falling lower on the scale. Specialties such as; herbal medicine, massage, and midwifery lead us to believe that women were also allowed to become kahuna’s if the circumstances warranted that.

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Starting in 1819 the taboos of the religion started to change, with the death of King Kamehama the Great. The king’s son publicly rejected many of the forbidden acts that had become a staple in his father’s reign, such as dining with women. Many of the heiau were abandoned or destroyed, and the priesthood hierarchy came to an end. The introduction of missionaries and Christianity made their way into the belief system of the Polynesian culture and religion, creating changes that some could say, dulled the jewel of the people.

Hawaiian religion seems to have had many different branches in the beginning that have melted and meshed together, to become what the Hawaiian people of today practice and believe. This seems to be the case in many of today’s religions also, where age old customs and new age ideas join together to become a common thread among followers. The worship of individual akua was determined by each individual island group, and only later when these groups joined, was any kind of organized worship practiced. Dr. Molloy refers to it as “growing in layers” and I cannot think of a more eloquent way to put it into words.

The dances, lifestyles, and customs that the Hawaiian people still practice, give us a hint of the long held beliefs that were a part of their beautiful beginnings. Their celebration of nature and all living things is what I find missing in the organized religions that I have experienced. It seems to me that western religion all too often puts an emphasis on the hierarchy of the individuals in our churches and the bowing of parishioners to follow mans written rules. We forget to celebrate the joy of nature that God has given us, and the palette of skin colors and ideas that we should embrace. As humans we are a garden made up of individuals who are allowing ourselves to be overrun by weeds of our own making.