Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 3, 1 March 1988 — He Mau Ninau Ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He Mau Ninau Ola

Some Health Questions \ by Kekuni Blaisdell, M.D.

Kahuna Ana'anā: Mokuna 'Elima

Nīhau: Now that you have explained why 'anā* anā is not "praying to death by a witchdoctor," please tell me how 'anā'anā eame to be in old Hawai'i? And why does it persist in modern Americanized Hawai'i? Pane: Illness associ-

ated with anāanā originated in ancient times with Kamakaokūkoa'e and followed wherever he travelled, according to the informant Kekaha in 1837. Kamakaokūkoa'e was the fifth child of Kamoa and Hina'aimālama. Their first-born was Kn, their second Lono, their third Kāne, their fourth Kanaloa; and their last issue was Kamakanui'aha'ilono who brought the art of healing. Thus, Kamakaokūkoa'e was, like his siblings, a prominent chief who, with time, became deified. In another version of the origin of 'anā'anā, published by Samuel Kamakau in 1870, these uniquely Hawaiian methods of influencing the course of events through psychospiritual means began with Uli'iuka, daughter of Huanuikala'ila, ali'i of O'ahu "about 39 generations after Wākea mā." Uli'iuka became an 'aumakua for the kāhuna 'anā'anā, kāhuna kuni (fire ceremony), and kāhuna kalahala (atonement). To kānaka māoli kahiko then, 'anā'anā clearly involved godly mana in the dualism of health and illness. In 1940, the haole writer and missionary friend Martha Beckwith termed 'anā'anā "one of the strongest forces in shaping the life and character of the Hawaiian people and in determining the careers of their leaders." She cited the example of Kamehameha I who carefully secured for himself all of the strong 'anā'anā gods of the warring ali'i whom he had subdued in his unification of the islands. Some 'anā'anā practices supporting this inferenee and not previously referred to in this eolumn may be listed: • A ki'i (image and fetcher) fashioned from lā'au (wood) or pōhaku (stone) would become noho'ia (possessed) by an 'aumakua (ancestral diety) whose mana was sought via pule (prayer) to eontrol events. Even māmala (chips) from a ki'i could be charged with godly mana and serve as fetchers

in influencing actions. • Nā iwi (bones) of a departed 'ohana, preserved and sanctified in the same manner as a ki'i described above, were called 'unihipili and carefully attended within the household with daily pule in guiding 'ohana affairs, such as health and sickness. • Ke kino (body) of a deceased 'ohana would be ho'ola'a 'ia (dedicated) to a powerful akua, like Kamohoali'i, the mo'o goddess; whereupon the 'uhane of the departed 'ohana would enter the mo'o (lizard) of the family hale (house), whieh then became the ever-present 'aumakua. The protective mana of the 'aumakua required continuous attention. If the 'aumakua were neglected, vengence could result in ma'i 'aumakua (illness due to 'aumakua) in the 'ohana. On the other hand, if the particular 'aumakua proved ineffective with time, it might be abandoned for a more effective one. • Akua noho (residing or possessing god) could also enter living members of the 'ohana. Such spirits could be ho'oOna (sent abroad) to harm another kanaka with illness. The foregoing practices, we!l-documented in Hawaiian literature, were not confined to ali'i and kāhuna, but spread among nā maka'āinana. Huna (secrecy) increased its terrorizing effect on fearful victims. Similar practices persist today, in spite of Ka 'Ainoa (free-eating abolition of Nā Kapu) of 1819, when the state supreme gods were officially abandoned; Christian missionizing beginning in 1820; U.S. armed invasion of 1893 and ho'ohui 'āina (annexation) in 1898, with progressive and intensive Americanization; and attempts to deny their existence with a shrug of "superstitious bunk!" No ke aha mai? Why does 'anā'anā continue in modern times? Probably for at least two reasons: (1) We ka po'e Hawai'i, like strong-feeling indigenous people elsewhere, continue to cling to remaining fragments of our culture as a matter of stubborn preference, perhaps because we face such massive and engulfing Westernization. Perhaps it is in our iwi (bones), inherited from our kūpuna kahiko (ancestors), meeting our need to have some semblance of distinctive cultural identity in our homeland now that we are dispossesed of our lands, our self-government, language and religion. (2) (Western) anthropologists and psychologists point out that what they term "magic and sorcery" are not confined to "primitive peoples,"

such as us Hawaiians, but "even in contemporary Western scientific societies, non-scientific beliefs and techniques to control the supernatural or natural for specific purposes exist, even though they may be denied." Since they are perceived as being effective and acquire at least some degree of group support, they are considered "culturally meaningful" in Western academic circles. How mueh of such non-Hawaiian views applies to us as Hawaiians depends on how we view ourselves, our beliefs and our behaviors, and whether we feel the need to explain ourselves to others. In so far as we remain true to the traditions of our kūpuna kahiko, we are kānaka māoli. In so far as we adopt the views and actions of non-Hawai-ians, we are non-Hawaiian. I kēia mahina a'e, kekahi mau nīnau ola mai 'oukou nā mea heluhelu mai.