Hawaiian sanctuaries, places of refuge and indigenous knowledge in Hawaii

Author:

Minerbi, Luciano

Title:

Hawaiian sanctuaries, places of refuge and indigenous knowledge in Hawaii

Year:

1992

Subject:

Hawaiians economic conditions Hawaiians social life and customs Sacred sites

Summary:

In their quest for cultural survival and well-being, Native Hawaiian strive to protect and support their lifestyles, lands, and special places. This study describes the conditions of the Native Hawaiian, the problems in their health and education, as well as their: cultural loss and stress, struggles for cultural survival, sense of place and ancestry, places of therapy, ceremonial and community meeting places, spiritual connection of the "Ohana to the Aina" (the symbolism of Taro), modified practice of hooponopono (meeting to make things right), the sacredness and spirituality of nature, aumakua (ancestral deities of the family, its spirits, and guardian angels), the three realms of the spirits of the dead, kapu (royal privileges), kanawai (sacred laws), religion and spirituality, their selected practices with regard to burials, wrapping bones in tapa cloth, and their practice of kuwo (wailing) and the hula. This study also describes sacred sites, localities and structures such as the heiau, koa shrines, family shrines, hula platforms, temple sites and locations, burial places, deep pits, and hiding caves, the functions in the dispersed settlement, the Puuhonua (safe haven for the fugitive, the lands of physical refuge, the sanctuary for healing and rebirth), the asylum in the South Pacific, the modern zones of peace, kuleana or ancestral lands as sanctuaries, the community based projects that are used as therapy, as well as the management issues of the Hawaiian sanctuaries.

Collection:

Monographs