KAHUNAS MYSTICS OF ANCIENT HAWAII
One
of the gifts of Mystical study is the appreciation and respect for ancient
wisdom. Another is learning to make the wisdom and truths our own through study,
experiment and analysis not by merely being "told so." This
prepares us For the reading that we do For pleasure, and, makes it all the
richer. Universal wisdom almost jumps out of the pages as we discover
correspondences with what we have studied and made our own.
So
it was when I first heard of the Kahunas and their practice of the ancient
secret knowledge of HUNA. A reference was made to them in a surprising
place a workshop For "Women in Management" where their skill as
psychologists was discussed. When the opportunity to visit Hawaii presented
itself it seemed only logical to learn something of the Kahunas. What was most
interesting was their reported skill in metaphysical healing.
KAHUNA
literally translated means keeper of that which is concealed. The Kahunas were
the priestly cast educated to be the guardians of lore and wisdom of their
culture. That wisdom was considerable and strangely modern. They were not merely
priests. They were the professionals of their society. Among them were lawyers,
architects, scientists, educators, agriculturists, meteorologists,
astronomers, geologists, botanists, psychologists and healers who had a number
of specialities.
They
were selected for their training as children usually From the ruling class
the Ah-lee-ee
(Ali i). Sometimes a girl was selected. Woman Kahunas were rare but not
unheard of. They studied For 20 years before they were considered adept. Only a
Kahuna who became proficient in all Fields could be called a high priest
a Poo-hee-oka-aka
(Puhiokaaka). I<Iihuna students were encouraged to think, to perceive and to
ponder. It is believed that instruction began at dawn and continued as long as
the sun.was ascending. Kahunas were responsible For conserving resources,
preserving knowledge and meeting new situations within t'he framework of
Natural Laws.
Kahunas
could predict eclipses. Their most skilled astronomers were navigators who could
travel across 2000 miles of ocean and return home without the aid of compass,
sextant or chronometer. Long before Linnaeus in the 18th century they had
classified Island plants into groups and sub‑groups. By the time Captain
Cook discovered the Islands several kinds of yams had been developed, 24 kinds
of sweet potatoes and 70 types of bananas. Taro, the staple Food, had been
adapted into 350 varieties to grow in all island terrains and climates.
Perhaps,
their greatest skill was in medicine and the healing arts. Medical men today,
recognize that in prehistoric Hawaii medica. Kahunas were able to arrest cancer,
heart trouble and other illnesses. Many MIRACLES of healing have been
attributed to them and carefully documented. They understood about the seriously
ill and did not expose others to them. Small isolation buildings were built to
house persons while they were being treated. When the patients were well the
buildings were destroyed.
The
Kahuna child
bearing specialist had been a part of
Island life long before Europe had accepted male mid
wives or obstreticians. He could
offer painless childbirth sometimes taking the pain unto himself while
the woman completed her task painlessly. It is reported that on occasion he gave
the pain to the Father.
Although
the pharmacopoeia of the Kahunas was extensive these ancient healers recognized
that fears, Frustrations and mental uncertainties affect the physical system.
They had developed the skills to treat a person effectively with physiotherapy
and psychology. In modern times Freud, the First to explore the concept of the
unconscious, had nothing on the Kahunals wisdom. Their effectiveness as
psychologists can be traced to the belief and understanding of the three
selves or spirits of man which were the low self called the Oo-nee-hee-pee-lee
(Unihipili) which we can equate with the unconscous mind; the Oo-hah-ney
(Uhane) the middle self known as the spirit who talks, and the Aum-ah-koo-ah
(Aumakua) the high self which, simply put, has the attributes of the soul, the
super conscious or supernatural self. Translated the Aum-ah-koo-ah
means the "utterly trustworthy parental pair. Aum-ah-koo-ahs
were a part of the Great Family of High Selves and were able to communicate with
each other.
The
middle and low selves are attached to the physical body. Each. self or spirit
has a shadowy body called the AKA. All three selvds are connected by an AKA
cord. Although the Kahunals mundane knowledge of medicine and psychology was
considerable their healing miracles fall into the metaphysical category.
The ancient prayer of the Kahunas
was "Let that which is unknown Become known."
The Hawaiians believed deeply in prayer and had numerous Gods. The Kahunas
recognized the ULTIMATE GOD
as the Source of their power, thus,
they had to have faith in their ability to communicate.
In
the 1S92 Summer edition of the Forum in an article on "Attitudes in
Metaphysical Healing" it is stated, "The very first thought should
always be of ones attunement with God, or the Cosmic Mind or whatever name for
the Supreme Being best suits the individual student's temperment.11 This kind of
focus was carefully carried out in the Kahunals petitions to their ULTIMATE
GOD the Source of the miraculous power to heal.
Prayer
was formal, purposeful, planned with thought and executed with reverence and
ritual. All prayers were telepathic. Developing skill in visualizing thought
Forms became an essential part of Kahuna training. An individual's direct link
to the Ultimate God was the Aum‑ah‑koo‑ah. Though a prayer was
intended for God it must be sent along the AKA cord through the three selves.
This was achieved through an accumulation of MANA. Breath was absolutely
essential For building up MANA to direct the prayer to the Ultimate God. MANA
was the Food or energy used to direct the prayer. MANA was the LIFE FORCE. To
quote from the "Mystical Art of Healing" in the September 1976
Rosicrucian Digest "The vital Life Force is a sacred presence that is
omnipresent, a subtle life giving essence essential to our very existence.
During his course of study a Mystic
learns to concentrate this vital essence by means of breath control."
Breathing
techniques are centuries old but in many countries much of the real meaning has
been lost. The Mystics have sought to preserve the original technique. It is
obvious From what has been learned of them that the ancient Kahunas placed much
emphasis an proper breathing.
When
the missionaries came to Hawaii the wisdom of the Kahunas was already about 3000
years old. It had been brought to the Islands with the people about I AD. OF
course, the missionary plan was to convert the natives whose beliefs they made
no attempt to understand and which they dismissed as pagan practices. They did
enlist the aid of the Kahunas in the translation of the New Testament
into Hawaiian.
The
Kahunas, in light of their long training, were puzzled and appalled to find that
these newcomers to their homeland offered up their prayers without proper
breathing. The name that today, is applied to newcomers, especially, white
newcomers to the Islands is Ha‑a‑ley (Haole). However,
Ha‑o‑ley was the name given to the missionaries by the Kahunas.
Literally translated it means "without breath."
Kahunas were bound by a cult of secrecy ages old. Because of that and the
early lack of understanding and sympathy For their culture by the missionaries
and new settlers much of the wisdom was lost. Yet stories of their miraculous
healings were legend. Or. William Tufts Brigham, curator of the Bishop Museum in
Hono, lulu made the first effort to document the Kahuna miracles. He worked for
years, proving to his satisfaction that they had achieved metaphysical
healings. How they did it escaped him. The remaining Kahunas trusted and
befriended him. They allowed him to observe but never shared the secret of how
things worked. He noted their work always involved prayers, chants and ritua.1s.
Their miracles were not once‑in‑a‑liFetime but occured often
and consistently.
In
Max Freedom Long Dr. Brigham Found an eager and apt young pupil. Before he died
he gave his Findings and his method of research to Max Long. Long spent IS years
after Brigham's death checking out the stories of "miracles." The
native Hawaiians seemed to consider the whole subject taboo. The art of being a
Kahuna was dying out. After trying unsuccessfully to break the code of secrecy
Long left Hawaii convinced the miracles were truly possible if only one
knew how to perform the act that made the prayer effective.
How
many times have we heard about the creative breakthrough after the researcher
set aside his Findings. Subsequently, seemingly out of the blue the answer
comes. Such was the experience Long had almost three years after he had left
the Islands. He awoke in the middle of a night with the thoulght that proved to
be the foundation for a Fruitful search. One that drew many others to him as
researchers. It has been through their work that the Huna knowledge ceased to
be secret.
The
idea? The Kahunas must have had words in the Hawaiian language with which to
teach the students how to perform miracles. He turned to the Hawaiian dictionary
‑‑ a modern development __ and began the search For words that might
have something to do with the spiritual life of the Hawaiians. What a Fruitful
idea it was. The structure of the language is simple. Long words were made up of
several short ones. Hawaiian was originally a spoken language that went For
centuries without being written. Words, however, were of great importance to the
people. An important rule is that no two consonants are heard without a vowel
between. Native speakers have a sharp ear For the slightest nuances in vowel
sounds. Hawaiian sounds have a unique vibratory pattern. One writer reccomends
chanting them to gain insight into the deeper meanings of each word. In the Fine
shadings of meaning in the root words and their combinations Long Found a code.
His first discoveries were the names that we have shared with you For the parts
of the mind the Oo-nee-hee-pee-lee
the unconscious, the Oo-hah-ney
the conscious mind, and, the Aum-ah-koo-ah
the Soul. (unihipili, uhane, and aumakua)
Out
of the search into the language came Further research. From whence did the
polynesians come? Attempting to prove this through tracing language has not
revealed a definite route. But words have been Found in Africa that are
duplicated with the Maori the Polynesians of New Zealand. A dialect of
Polynesian is spoken on about half the Island of Madagascar. A Long time
resident of Hawaii and student of native culture, Judge Fornander, decided the
Hawaiian language was most like the ancient Coptic of Egypt.
An
Englishman, W. Reginald Stewart, as a young Foriegn correspondent heard of a
tribe of Berber; living in the Atlas mountains in North Africa across from Spain
who possessed a great knowledge of Magic. He sought them out. Their leader was a
woman whose title was Quahini. This was not a Berber word. It was later learned
that it was a version of Kahuna Wahini ‑‑ meaning woman Kahuna.
Stewart
became a blood son to the woman in a ceremony and with her daughter began the
study of her secrets. She did not teach in the Berber language but in what she
termed the Sacred Language. His studies were cut short by her accidental death.
Years later in reading some of Max Long's research he realized that the language
she used was, undoubtedly, a dialect of Polynesian. He sent the notes of his
work with the Quahini to Long.
The
ancient Hawaiians believed in reincarnation. Researchers expected to Find it
referred to in a hidden coded word but discovered it was a common belief
represented by the words "hou ola" meaning living again , and, "ola
honua" meaning preceding life. Reincarnation was a kind of graduation of
the selves.
Sin
in the Huna sense was only that which hurt others. The language had many words
to describe the fine shadings of sin. For example, ee-no
(ino) to hurt others willfully was bad wicked. Hala meant to miss the
path especially to the high selF. Hey-wah
(hewa) meant to make a mistake, to think or act wrongly, even..to be deranged.
Sin was any act committed that was bad For human beings and their Fellows.
In
his book THE HUNA CODE IN RELIGIONS, speaking of reincarnation, Long says
"The world is Filled with people of different degrees of progression in the
evolutionary school of life. We might say, figuratively, that there are 12
grades in school, and that, the inner teachings are not given until one has been
through about 10 grades and is well along in the work of learning to live the
kindly and hurtless life, which is the goal as one nears graduation and makes
ready to pass through the 12th grade."
In
Hawaiian understanding of reincarnation the selves move upward the middle
self becoming a high self and in turn becoming the guide and protector of the
graduating low self.
Like
so many cultures the Hawaians had rich and complex beliefs touched with
universal wisdom long before the white man arrived with his missionary zeal.
That is not to say, that with the lush tropical beauty of the Islands that the
people had a Garden of Eden. There were evil sorcerers
those Kahunas who misused the power they had learned, and, used it against other
human beings. They were the Ana Ana. There were wars between groups of the
people that were fought unto the death. Their elaborate laws of social
behavior the KAPU were often broken. When that happened it was
believed that the Gods would rain down punishment that would hurt innocent
people. Therefore, such offenders were killed immediately, if caught. The most
devastating anger of the Gods was the spewing forth of lava From the volcanos or
tidal waves. Perhaps it was only these less than perfect aspects of the society
that the missionaries saw when they dismissed what they considered to be Pagan
Rites and ignored the wisdom and learning of the Kahunas.
On
the coast of Kona on the island of Hawaii at Ko-now-now
(Konaunau) still stands a City of Refuge. 'It is a sacred place with an ancient
temple site. On the island side it is protected by a high, wide stone wall and
to the west and north by the sea. There the breakers of a Kapu, a vanquished
warrior, or, a non
combatant could Find refuge if they
could get inside the city before they were killed. Often they had to swim out to
sea and come in from the water to escape their pursuers. But, if they made it
they were purified in a special ritual by the Kahunas of the Temple and could
then return to their homes.
When
traveling and visiting cathedrals and churches on the tourist routes it has
always seemed meaningful to try to find time alone to sit in silent meditation
to sense the aura of such places. Occasionally, it is hard to get beyond the
sense of venality and the tourist traps they have become. Sadly, there, the
spiritual purpose of the place is muted. One can understand the demand by the
Master Jesus that the money changers leave the Temple. More often then not,
sitting quietly in such a place there is an infinite, all‑pervading sense
of peace, and, in meditation an upsurge of spirit.
When
I visited the City of Refuge at Konaunau I sought one of these answers. There
are no seats on the great stone Temple platform that is open to the elements. I
stood with my feet Firmly planted on the ancient stones and For a moment looked
out over the ocean. There was only a wondrous sense of communion and serenity.
As I closed my eyes in meditation there was the Familiar upsurge of spirit. It
left me with a lasting wonder and appreciation For the Kahunas and their ancient
wisdom that they possessed and practiced in those beautiful Islands.
It
is sad that their age
old wisdom was negated and out
lawed and lost to the Hawaiian
people. How Fortunate we are as Mystics
that the teachings
have
preserved the mystical art of breathing that we can study and make it our own.
(Please note, again, that For ease in pronouncing
the Hawaiian words when
they First appear are
spelled out in syllables following in parenthesis
is the correct Hawaiian spelling.)
