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Hawaiian Spirituality, Huna & Magic
Io, Kumulipo & Awaiku © Martyn Kahekili Carruthers
To Papa Henry Auwae, Mona Kahele,
John Kaimikaua, George Naope,
Miriam Baker and Lanakila Brandt;
beloved kupuna; inspiration to all who
bring down the sun - me ke aloha nui
Martyn Kahekili Carruthers
Online Huna & Ho'oponopono .
Hawaiian Shamanism
E Ku ... E Lono ... E Kane ... E Kanaloa
Polynesia ... a vast expanse of islands scattered across
the Pacific ocean ... home to the greatest voyagers and navigators
of the ancient world.
Long before Western ships dared to venture far from land, the old
Polynesians navigated between the distant islands of their ocean world.
The Polynesians also navigated the natural
forces of their cosmos. They believed that the gods (akua) and
the spirits of their ancestors (aumakua) and angels (awaiku) could control the
elements of nature - and they honored their most important ancestors
as gods.
Ho'opuka e ka la ma ka hikina
Ka ua kahe hele no kumu kahe ...
In ancient times, many stone temples were built
to honor the Polynesian gods. Called
marae in the South Pacific and heiau in Hawaii, these
temples were built to communicate with the gods - and to harness their
power. The first and mightiest god was often called I'o, a
primeval creator.
Names of the gods differed - Tangaroa
and Rongo of Maori New Zealand became Kanaloa and
Lono in Hawaii. The primeval natural and supernatural energies
were more important than their names.
Pa ka makani na ue ka lau oka niu
Ha'a ka pua kou wali i ke kua ...
Ancient Hawaiians called the trade wind
makani - the life-giving spirit of air. For millennia this
elemental wind helped shape the islands of Hawaii, and later the emotional
and spiritual lives of Hawaiian
people. This wind helped the early Polynesian voyagers cross the Pacific ocean
in their ocean-going canoes. The makani brought the god Lono, the god of
fertility and healing, and supported the aloha culture. The wind is also called
Ha. Aloha means with breath;
aloha is generally translated as "love".
The makani wind brought another Lono -
Captain Cook - and the haole hordes that followed him.
Western visitors to Hawaii are often called haole
(pronounced ha-owlee) by native Hawaiians. This word has been used for
pale-skinned foreigners since Captain Cook arrived at Kealakekua Bay over two
centuries ago. To be haole is to be part of the cultural arrogance,
prejudice and ethnocentric opportunism of those who brought disease, devastation
and death to the aloha culture.
It is not a compliment. Haole means without breath
and without life. To a native Hawaiian, haole have minimal
contact with their family, culture and soul. Haole rarely honor or can even
name their ancestors. Haole cannot appreciate the beauty and
dignity of Hawaiian people. Haole only appreciate opportunities.
The missionaries rejected the traditions that had sustained
Polynesians for millennia. Haole landowners - often the children of
missionaries - called the old gods demons and labeled their restorative
power as witchcraft. To live in balance with nature was now somehow
wrong ... somehow bad ... somehow evil.
Old ways became illegal
under haole law, but were too lively to die. They became huna,
hidden, for 200 years, in remote villages and upland farms. Distorted
stories about the old ways were marketed and sold by haole writers.
Many Hawaiians became embarrassed by their ancestors, and deny or
distort histories about the old days. Only recently have the keepers
of balance, the kahuna, risked sharing their knowledge again.
Only now is Hawaiian spirituality slowly recovering from the return
of Lono.
Hawaiian spirituality includes chants that blend with
the wind in the trees and the rhythm of the ocean
waves to offer experiences of the underlying spirit of
Polynesia. Hawaiian spirituality draws mana (power) from
Kane in the clouds, from Kanaloa in the ocean and from
Ku in the wild places. Pele, the impulsive goddess of
the volcano, can be gentle and loving, as serene as her hapu'u
fern forests and kukui tree groves.
Yet Pele's red lava and shaking earth demand respect. Listen for
Pele's chants rumbling and echoing in deep caverns below Hawaii
Volcano Park.
Hawaiian spirituality includes hakalau -
an expanded sense of time that reflects a "gentle flow of water
across a tranquil bay", as Kanahele wrote in Ku
Kanaka. Haole visitors may not appreciate that life in
Hawaii happens "when the time is
right", a sense of life that disrespects haole
schedules and clocks.
Aloha - E Kolo Mai
Can you appreciate the gifts of the gods? Can you
aloha ‘aina - can you love the land? Come talk with us
by the old Hikiau heiau on Kealakekua Bay,
come walk with us through an aromatic forest of kahili ginger in Waipio
valley, come meditate with us under hapu'u fern trees deep within
a Ka'u volcano crater.
Hawaii can still evoke aloha 'aina; even in haole
visitors who cannot recognize a sacred landscape. ‘Aina
refers to rhythms of life that can nourish your body, mind and spirit
- if you accept these gifts.
Mo'olelo refers to the old power
of the sacred stories. Hawaiian chants, perhaps in a grove of kukui
trees, or on a black sand beach, accompany the wind and waves. These chants can
connect your innermost being to your family - to your ancestors - to the
elements - to the cosmos. Compare these experiences of Hawaiian spirituality
with the abstractions of haole religious word-games. Are you
ready to share your aloha - are you ready to share your breath with us
as you learn the old chants?
Sacred chants release their mana in the breath that forms the
sounds. Hawaiians could apo,
they could catch the insights and experiences of connection. The
Hawaiians were careful witnesses to the flow of power and they avoided
insulting the ancestor-gods - the source of blessings.
Our ancestors did not die, their spirits walk amongst us and guide us,
if we but listen. Our ancestors communicate through dreams, or the beauty of
clouds. They can take form in the elements of wind or rain, or in rock or in fire.
Why not dance and sing and be grateful for their wisdom and beauty?
The old ways were interrupted by haole law
in 1827. They became illegal. Kahuna Daddy Bray was arrested in Honolulu
for chanting in a public place as recently as 1964. Only in 1979 did the
Native American Religious Freedoms Act require the state of Hawaii to remove all
laws prohibiting the practice of Huna, which took a further ten years. Yet, as the
rape of the planet continues and essential resources dwindle, those
who remember the past may yet survive the future.
Kumulipo
The Kumulipo, a sacred Hawaiian chant, tells
a story of creation from chaos. The Kumulipo teaches the evolution of light and
life - from darkness came a living earth in which our ancestors' spirits could
take form. The Kumulipo includes abundant descriptions of aumakua -
protective family spirits or guardian angels. Hawaiian spirituality honors and
protects the animals and plants described in the Kumulipo.
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O ka lipolipo, o ka lipolipo
O ka lipo o ka la, o ka lipo o ka po
Po wale ho 'i hanau ka po
Hanau Kumulipo i ka po ... |
Listen* |
From depths of darkness, deep darkness
Darkness of day, darkness of night
Of night alone did night give birth
Born Kumulipo in the night ...
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(* 20 second, 330 kB excerpt from Ho`oluana
(1991) by Makaha Sons
of Ni'iau)
'Ohana refers to both
family and community. According to the Kumulipo, the universe is one
family; created and related in 'ohana. Ohana describes family and
spiritual connectedness - more valued by native Hawaiians than by most
haole visitors. From 'oha, the roots of the taro plant,
and na, or balance; 'ohana describes a community where relationship
responsibilities balance personal goals.
Many native Hawaiian families preserve their old proverbs and chants,
their blessings and names; and their huna or secrets.
But these diamonds from the sacred past are distorted by two centuries of
haole exploitation. Hawaiian spirituality includes a cry for
pono - a desire for justice following two hundred years of suffering under
foreign
invaders. Yet ho'oponopono (creating justice) is a Hawaiian
blessing - a gift of harmony - a gift of Soul - for those willing to accept the
responsibilities of love.
Forgiveness is essential to haole religions - but do
haole know how to forgive? If you avoid forgiveness you carry a burden of
anger, sadness and guilt - and you invite disease and suffering into your
life. If you forgive by forgetting - you invite the same lesson again. If
you forgive with spiritual ego - you sabotage truth and intimacy. The
kala of Huna Kalani means to wash in sunlight - to clarify
with love - to speak your truth - to listen carefully - to strive
to understand - and to take appropriate action.
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"Ho'oponopono may well be one
of the soundest methods to restore and maintain good family relationships
that any society has ever devised"
Dr, Haertig (psychiatrist and co-worker of kupuna Mary Kawena Pukui),
in Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the Source) |
After ho'oponopono comes ho'omanamana
- creating power. In rituals for gathering mana or life force,
ho'omanamana evokes and controls the raw elements of nature. The essence
of rock and flame, of sea and wind, and a mysterious fifth element
can be accumulated. These magical elements can be used during moe uhane -
during dreams of the spirit - in lucid dreams that change reality. The
old Hawaiian magic of ho'omanamana is
sometimes revered as healing - and sometimes feared as sorcery.
Elementary Huna
The elements of Hawaiian spirituality are the elements of
nature. Ride the winds at Ka Lae that blow over a door to Milu
- the underworld - the place of shadows where the dead go to forget and to be
forgotten. Meditate deep within a lava cave and commune with the testy mo'o.
Brave the surf at Waipio after a jungle walk along the old
Ali'i' Trail. Witness red lava from the active crater of Pu'u O'o
and feel the heat of Pele. Bind the four to find the fifth - and connect
to the universe.
Integrate your mind and body, and commune with the
spirits of your ancestors - your aumakua.
Learn to live in hakalau (kahuna consciousness) and surf the waves
of dreamtime which change reality. Meet your ancestors in Milu and let your
awaiku guide you through non-ordinary realities, as you explore the
undying Hawaiian cosmology. Huna Kalani can help you heal your body, mind
and spirit. True to the old aloha culture - Hawaiian spirituality can help
you heal your relationships so that you can heal your life.
Hawaiian spirituality invites you to recognize yourself
as malihini, a beginner, for whom each revealed truth is a surprise.
This can be your first step towards becoming haumana iniki, an
accepted student of the old Hawaiian culture. Do you wish to progress
to alaka'i ... a pathfinder?
The makani is gently blowing, as you read
this, creating waves in Kealakekua Bay. Wild dolphins often jump as
the sun sets, and the scents of coconut and flowers mingle with ocean
salt. The sacred statues around the old temples at Honaunau are casting
long shadows. When will the time be right for you to share your
aloha and join us in 'ohana? We wait
for you. E komo mai. Welcome back.
Hawaiian spirituality can help you
connect with your body, with your emotions and with the world.
Mahalo for your interest.
Ho'oponopono
. Kumulipo
. Aumakua
. Ohana, Healing
and Huna
. Awaiku
Have you ever taken a holiday that
was so relaxing, so enjoyable that you forget where you were? Is it
your time? Will you sit with us under the trees by Kealakekua Bay?
Will you walk with us across the craters of Volcano Park, meditate
with us at Waipio and brave the ghosts of Mo'okini?
Consider joining us on Big Island,
Hawaii to learn about Hawaiian Spirituality. Our classrooms are beaches,
forests and volcano craters. Make Hawaii a journey of a lifetime. E komo
mai - welcome - come with us to the most beautiful, most sacred and
most haunted places on Big Island. Contact us.
Can you help us recover Hawaiian spirituality?
We bring this wisdom to the world as Huna Kalani. We seek people
who want better lives. We seek people who wish to bring back this
ancient magic.
Huna Kalani
. Coaching Adventures
. Kahuna Training .
Hawaiian Weddings
Huna Kalani provides an experiential introduction to old Hawaiian
healing. You can experience the beauty and power of Huna Kalani in a
series of workshops that can expand your perception of reality.
Hawaiian magic refers to mental models of consciousness that
few now understand. Within this old healing magic are some of the
roots of the systemic magic of
Soulwork systemic coaching.
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Huna Kalani Workshops: Ho'oponopono &
Ho'omanamana |
| Huna Introduction |
Huna Elements |
Huna Dreamtime |
Return to source |
Huna in Hawaii |
| Ohana, aloha and ho'omana
Ho'oponopono,
kala and Hawaiian healing
Hawaiian prosperity chant |
Honua, Ha, Ahi & Wai
Ele'ele eke and Hawaiian healing
Hawaiian chant for controlling water element
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Moe uhane
Ho'omoe - dreams that change reality
Hawaiian Moe Uhane Dreamtime chant
Moe heiau |
I'o and Creation Aumakua, akua and
la'au kahea
Advanced Huna of I'o, Kumulipo and
Awaiku
Hawaiian cleansing chant
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Visit special and sacred places in the
Kona, Kohala and Ka'u districts of Hawaii's Big Island.
Ho'omanamana
Kahuna symbols |
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Aumakua initiation |
Kumulipo initiation |
Hakalau initiation |
Awaiku initiation |
Milu initiation |
Online Huna & Ho'oponopono
Plagiarism is theft. Copyright © Martyn Carruthers
1998-2012 All rights reserved. |
