Hawaiian religion

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The traditional Hawaiian religion did not survive the discovery of the Hawai'i archipelago by Europeans in 1778 for less than 50 years. She knew many similarities with the religions of other Polynesian peoples . Today elements of this ethnic religion can be found in the esoteric Huna doctrine and in the Ho'oponopono reconciliation ritual, which has been revitalized for some time .

history

The traditional Hawaiian religion agrees in so many areas with that of other Polynesian peoples that one can safely assume that its essential elements were already developed when Hawai'i was settled from central Polynesia . After that, no influence from outside Polynesia can be proven.

Since Hawai'i did not develop its own script, one has to rely on oral traditions when studying religion , some of which were recorded in the decades after the discovery by Europeans and Americans. Furthermore, one is dependent on the reports of Europeans who either visited Hawaii or became resident there. There was no systematic research into the Hawaiian religion at a time when it was still intact.

Just a few years after the first contacts, many taboos were shaken by contact with Europeans, although Europeans mostly had to bow to the taboos. After the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, the important taboo that women and men are not allowed to eat together was abolished. It is often claimed that all taboos were abolished back then, which has been proven not to be the case. Years later, new taboos were issued. With the abolition of this central taboo, the traditional Hawaiian religion was decisively weakened. Christian missionaries came to the country as early as 1820, supported by part of the aristocratic class. In the next few years, most Hawaiians converted to Christianity and the ancient religion was banned.

The Hawaiian heaven of gods

Stone figure from Hawaii
Kukaʻilimoku or Kū, feather sculpture of the Hawaiian god of war, 18th century

Gods

The four great gods ( ke kokoʻoha o ke akua = "union of the four gods") Lono, Kū, Kāne and Kanaloa were considered to be created before the world and eternal.

  • Lono ("common Polynesian" * Rongo ) was a fertility and rain god who was also responsible for music and proclaimed peace. He was connected to the east. He descended on a rainbow to earth to marry Laka there. The Makahiki Festival was celebrated in his honor every year .
  • Kū (* Tū ) was the man of the goddess Hina, with whom he forms a pair of gods, which unites a contrast in itself. Human sacrifices were made in his honor only.
  • Kāne (* Tāne ) was the creator of heaven and earth. He was considered a good god and was associated with the north. He owned a small clamshell that became a large ship when put on the water. In plant cultivation he was identified with the sun.
  • Kanaloa (* Tangaroa ) is the god of the sea and the south.
  • Wākea is the Heavenly Father and the husband of the earth mother Papa (cf. Rangi and Papa with the Māori ).

Goddesses

akua wahine :

  • Hina , also equated with Haumea and Papa , is the prototype of the goddess. She embodies all the qualities of woman.
  • Laka is associated with beauty and dance ( hula ).
  • Pele is the goddess of fire and volcanoes . She is the daughter of Haumea.
  • Kapo is a sister of Peles and a feared witch . Her murderous vagina catches men.
  • Poliʻahu is the snow goddess and opponent of Pele. She is the daughter of Kāne.

Mana

→ Main article: Mana

A central element of Hawaiian beliefs is " Mana ": In the Hawaiian worldview, this term is much wider than usual in our culture, since the Hawaiians did not know a separation between the beyond and this world in a form that is familiar to us. Mana therefore has a strong spiritual component in Hawaiian culture. It describes a force that pervades the otherworldly world of gods and ancestors as well as the thisworldly world of daily life.

Hood

→ Main article: Tapu

The term Kapu (* Tapu), which also penetrated German as a taboo, was used in traditional Hawaiian society to denote an unconditional prohibition, the violation of which resulted in severe punishments.

Kings had the power to issue and lift taboos. For example, a place where Captain Cook set up scientific equipment was made taboo. Likewise, Cook's ship “Iphigenia” was tabooed by King Kamehameha I at Cook's request.

Important taboos related to certain foods, places, objects, animals and people who were identified as the seat or carrier of a special type of mana. The pronouncement of certain words or concepts could also be subject to a prohibition in this way.

Men and women were not allowed to eat together, except on sea voyages in small canoes. The consumption of pigs, sea turtles and dogs, as well as bananas and coconuts was strictly forbidden to women due to taboo.

Sexual intercourse was forbidden during menstruation .

There were also taboos that forbade members of the community who were lower in the social hierarchy to step over the shadow of a superior or to meet him on an equal footing.

The execution of the death penalty for breaking taboos was not uncommon. In addition, breaking bones and tearing eyes out was common punishment.

Two places were considered asylum places (puʻuhonua), where taboo breakers were given protection. One was in the Waipiʻo Valley in the Kohala district, the other near Hōnaunau , south of Nāpoʻopoʻo.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The Hawaiian language is characterized by characteristic sound shifts compared to other Polynesian languages . The most important are * K to Hawaiian ʻOkina , * T to Hawaiian K, * R to Hawaiian L and * NG to Hawaiian N. The original, "common Polynesian" form is added in brackets for better understanding when comparing it with other Polynesian gods and religious institutions .

literature

  • Thomas Achelis: On Mythology and Cult of Hawaii. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1895.
  • Samuel H. Elbert (Ed.): Selections from Fornander's Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-Lore. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu HI 1959.
  • Martha Warren Beckwith : Hawaiian mythology. Yale University Press, New Haven CT 1940 (Reprinted. With a new introduction by Katharine Luomala . University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu HI 1970, ISBN 0-87022-062-4 ).
  • Valerio Valeri: Kingship and Sacrifice. Ritual and Society in ancient Hawaii. University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL et al. 1985, ISBN 0-226-84559-1 .
  • David Malo: Hawaiian Antiquities. = Moolelo Hawaii (= Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Special Publication. Vol. 2). 2nd edition, reprinted. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu HI 1987, ISBN 0-910240-15-9 .

Polynesian religion

  • Edward S. Craighill Handy : Polynesian Religion (= Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Bulletin. Vol. 34, ISSN  0005-9439 = Bayard Dominick Expedition. Publication. Vol. 12). Museum, Honolulu 1927.
  • F. Rudolf Lehmann : The Polynesian taboo customs. An ethno-sociological and religious studies study (= publications of the State-Saxon Research Institute for Ethnology in Leipzig. Series 1: Ethnography and Ethnology. Vol. 10). R. Voigtländer, Leipzig 1930 (at the same time: Leipzig, university, habilitation paper, 1930).
  • Hans Nevermann : Gods of the South Seas. The Polynesian religion. Spemann, Stuttgart 1947.
  • Patrick Vinton Kirch, Roger C. Green: Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia. An Essay in historical Anthropology Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2001, ISBN 0-521-78309-7 .

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