Ho’omana Hawai’i: (re)Connection

The sheer number of Hawaiian gods in existence is fathomless. As anyone’s ancestors could become a god so long as they were deemed worthy by those before them, “there are countless akua, it is impossible to know all their names and functions. For that reason, there are formulaic prayers to acknowledge and honor these innumerable akua, or to put it another way, to acknowledge and honor the existence and vastness of the potentially significant unknown,” this further speaks to the tendency toward uncertainty and the acceptance of the unknown in ho’omana. This is stated succinctly in “Making ‘Aha” by Noelani Goodyear-Ka’ōpua and Bryan Kamaoli Kuwada: 

Pō is the fecund and primordial darkness from which Hawaiians trace the world’s descent. While American Protestant missionaries and their descendants hammered home the metaphorical connection between darkness and ignorance, evil, and sin, many Kānaka Maoli considered (and still consider) darkness to be generative, nurturing, and creative.

These uncertain relationships are treasured in Ho’omana Hawai’i and are believed to be a natural approach to life. It is both Pō that gives the breath of life to the living, and that which allows for the deceased to watch for the living after their passing. While their physical manifestations may have been offered to become an ancestor god for generations to come, aumākua are known to take human forms. Pukui recalls how, “aumākua could assume visible, tangible forms because of their ability to take kino lau ( many bodies ; many forms ). The akua also had this ability. Aumākua took the form of sharks, owls, mud hens, lizards, eels, and indigenous small field mice, caterpillars, even rocks and plants. They could change back and forth from animal to plant to mineral form,” these kino lau [ manifestations ] allow Hawaiian gods to interact with the living on an everyday basis. Further, these kino lau allow for Kanaka Maoli to witness and honor the power of the gods in their daily life too. This is because even the major gods of Hawai’i could be an individual’s ancestor god, as a, “Union of powerful gods with humans is said also to have created the chiefs who ruled by divine right,” today however, “the major gods are more often thought of as akua only; the aumakua role seems to have been lost, except by Pele, Hi’iaka and Laka,” many Kānaka Maoli scholars point towards cultural erasure and Christian assimilation as central causes to the simplification of these relationships. 

The four major gods of Hawai’i are Kāne, Lono, Kū, and Kanaloa. These gods are among the highest in the Hawaiian pantheon and are believed to have been worshipped well before the original migration from Kahiki to Hawai’i. These four major gods each rule over the different domains of existence: that of life, the sky, the ocean, and the land. Kāne rules the domain of life and is the creator of man, nature, fresh water, and sunlight among others. Lono rules the domain of the sky, controlling clouds, the weather, and agriculture. Kanaloa rules the ocean and is believed to have created all the salt water that fills their domain. Finally, Kū rules the domain of land, being the god of war, chiefs, and forests. These general classifications are limited to say the least, considering that gods in ho’omana, “took on dozens of separate names and personalities,” some were, “said to have as many as 40 different manifestations,” it is thusly impossible to create a comprehensive list of what each major god could be invoked for in Ho’omana Hawai’i. Considering that before the ban of ho’omana and ‘ōlelo [ language of Hawai’i ], “hundreds of Hawaiians akuas,” existed in this major pantheon, the reach of the gods and their genealogical connections to the living are limitless. Further, the individual physical forms of these different godly manifestations or kino lau are innumerable as well. 

In traditional Kanaka Maoli culture and spirituality, the gods were forever present due to their many physical manifestations in the material world. The direct translation of kino lau is “four hundred bodies” which refers to, “a god’s multiple forms,” including, “various species of both domestic and wild animals and plants.” These relationships to the land, one’s ancestors, and the gods all relate to the intense relationship between the many systems encapsulated: social, cultural, spiritual, political, etcetera. In precontact Kanaka Maoli society, there was a, “system that had been in place for centuries, permeating and regulating every aspect of the culture, and making religion and politics inseparable,” requiring commoners, chiefs, and royalty alike to learn their respective prayers to function in society. This reaffirms the central notion of ho’omana: that the gods — ancestral or otherwise — are always present in all aspects of Kanaka Maoli spiritual life. As such, it was believed that gods blessed all things and were present for all work, sometimes even possessing the individual who invoked their presence through prayer. An example of this in practice is noted by Richard Hommon in The Ancient Hawaiian State: Origins of a Political Society:

Prayers and offerings were almost always addressed to specific aspects of the great gods, signified by descriptive words or phrases. The war god of Kamehameha and other Hawai’i Island chiefs, for example, was Kūkā’ilimoku, literally ‘Kū island-snatcher,’ an appropriate name for a deity credited with ensuring victory in wars of conquest. Among the more than 20 gods invoked by a canoe-maker at various stages of crafting a canoe were Kānealuka (god of canoe-builders), Kū’ālana-wao (Kū of the upland offering), and Kū-mauna (Kū of the mountains),”

Here Hommon illustrates the importance of each name of the different major gods’ manifestations, this allows the artisan to create a deep spiritual connection to each and every step of the process required to finish the work at hand. For example, canoe builders invoked not only Kāne of canoe builders, but also Kū of the upland offering and Kū of the mountains. In this example the artisan not only invokes Kāne to assist in the overall process of building the canoe, but they thank Kū for the offering from the uplands — namely hardwood trees from higher elevations — and honor Kū for their safe passage and journey to the shoreline. While prayer in Kānaka Maoli Ho’omana required structures and offerings, simple, “shrines called pohaku o Kāne, typically consisting of an upright stone and a small altar ( kuahu ),” were common in ancient Hawai’i and today are common in cultural and activist circles that are dedicated to rekindling these sacred relationships to the land, genealogies, and the gods. These many manifestations of the gods and the responsibility to honor these connections are centered in the intimate relationship Kanaka Maoli have with their ‘āina [ land ].

Central to Kanaka Maoli activism and ho’omana, Aloha ‘Āina [ land stewardship ] is a spiritual responsibility or one’s kūleana. Central to this concept of holding compassion and love for the land asserts that, “our ability to sustain generation after generation requires healthier relationships with our lands and waters,” especially in recent years with heightened weather extremes caused due to climate change, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification which has already ravaged Hawai’i’s reefs and shorelines for decades. Kanaka Maoli cultural practitioners have been reporting the signs and omens that the natural elements — the gods — have been communicating for decades. Kanaka Maoli activism has always been steeped in a devotion to and love for the land, with the aim of stewarding it for future generations of Kānaka Maoli. Mauna a Wākea is just one example of a sacred site in Hawai’i that is under attack. Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua relates the spiritual importance of relationship between Mauna a Wākea and Kanaka Maoli while emphasizing Aloha ‘Āina in the following passage:

We are the Mauna, and our treatment of it reflects a deeply ingrained notion of the ways in which we now view and treat ourselves and each other. In neglecting our kuleana to mālama this ʻāina, we ultimately neglect our kuleana to the future generations of our lāhui. Our time of reconnection and renewal is upon us. Let us return to our place of origin, the piko, the womb, and allow the Mauna to transform and rebirth us, as we bud forth from the sturdy trunk established by the many generations that came long before us. As this new generation of Kanaka ʻŌiwi emerges, we must recognize that it is our kuleana to continue to mālama our ʻohana that surrounds us, from the depths of Kanaloa’s ocean, to the expanses of Wākea’s sky, and to the sacred Mauna that connects us all.

It is in honoring this connection to “our place of origin, the piko, the womb,” that Kanaka Maoli and their allies occupy Pu’uhonua o Pu’uhuluhulu. This communal space is a testament to the sacredness of Hawai’i and Mauna a Wākea, invoking practices of the past and present while honoring the gods and ancestor gods alike through invoking their names. Pu’uhonua were originally sanctuary temples where those who violated the strict kapu [ law, taboo ], “could flee and find sanctuary, even from penalties requiring death,” those who arrived at the Pu’uhonua were considered protected by the gods. This framing is at the heart of Kanaka Maoli activism and it is entirely intentional as words carry great weight in Kanaka Maoli ho’omana and culture. This critical focus on framing Kanaka Maoli issues as understood by Kanaka Maoli is in part due to, “the contemporary Hawaiian-sovereignty movement,” having, “typically operated on a logic of inclusive, nonviolent change through the power of education,” allowing Kanaka Maoli to describe, define, and deliver their futures as they see fit. Kānaka Maoli scholars and activists have written extensively about issues surrounding self determination for Kanaka Maoli. These methodologies for approaching nonviolent resistance have been rooted in ancestral knowledge and intentional action. While they are mostly only known within activist circles, a few methodologies will be discussed in the section, “Kānaka Self Determination.” All of these methodologies work to counteract harmful narratives surrounding Kanaka Maoli as, “vestiges of a quickly fading and irrelevant past,” The fact that this social movement is rooted in worship to the gods should prove that alone.