''Kahuna'' is a
Hawaiian word that refers to an expert in any field. Historically, it has been used to refer to doctors, surgeons and dentists, as well as priests, ministers, and sorcerers.
Background
A ''kahuna'' may be versed in agriculture,
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canoe building, or any other skill or knowledge area. A ''kahuna'' may be called on by the community to bless new buildings and construction projects, as well as to officiate weddings.
Forty types of ''kahuna'' are listed in the book ''Tales from the Night Rainbow'', twenty in the healing professions alone, including "''Kahuna lapaau'', medical priest or practitioner", and "''Kahuna hāhā'', an expert who diagnoses, as sickness or pain, by feeling the body".
There are two main categories of ''kahuna''; craft kahuna, such as the ''kālai waa'' – an expert canoe maker, and ''hookele'' – an expert navigator; vs sorcery kahuna, such as ''kahuna anāanā'' and ''kahuna lapaau'' (healer).
''Kahuna nui''
There are ten colleges or branches of the Hawaiian priesthood.
* ''Anāanā'': one who "practices evil sorcery by means of prayer".
* ''Hoopiopio'': a "
levolent sorcerer, as one who inflicts illness by gesture, as rubbing his own head to give the victim a severe headache or head injury. Sometimes the victim might imitate the gesture and send the affliction back to the sorcerer."
* ''Hoounāunā'': one who can send spirits to cause an illness.
* ''Hookomokomo'':
* ''Poi Uhane'': one who can catch a spirit and force it to do its bidding.
* ''Lapaau'': one who practices procedures of medicinal healing.
* ''Kuhikuhi puuone'' (literally "to direct divination"): one who locates the site for the construction of
heiau, or temples.
* ''kilokilo'': one who divines and predicts future events, a prophet.
* ''Nānāuli'': one who studies natural signs, like clouds, rains, and winds.
To master all ten made one a ''kahuna nui'' or high priest.
''Kahuna nui'' usually lived in places such as
Waimea Valley
Waimea Valley is an area of historic cultural significance on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The valley, being an important place in Hawaiian religion, includes several historical structures including stone terraces and walls constructed duri ...
, which is known as the "Valley of the Priests". They were given slices of land that spanned from the mountain to the sea.
Hewahewa, a direct descendant of
Paao, was a ''kahuna nui'' to
Kamehameha I. A contemporary,
Leimomi Mo'okini Lum is a ''Kahuna Nui''.
David Kaonohiokala Bray was a well-known kahuna.
King
Kamehameha IV, in his translation of the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'', used the term ''Kahuna'' to refer to
Anglican priests, and ''Kahunapule'' to refer to both lay and ordained Anglican ministers.
Legal status
Craft kahuna were never prohibited; however, during the decline of native Hawaiian culture, many died and did not pass on their wisdom to new students. As an example, when the ''
Hōkūleʻa
''Hōkūlea'' is a performance-accurate ''waa kaulua'', a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe. Launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, it is best known for its 1976 Hawaii to Tahiti voyage completed with exclusiv ...
'' was built to be sailed to the South Pacific to prove the voyaging capabilities of the ancient Hawaiians, master navigator
Mau Piailug from
Satawal was brought to Hawaii to teach navigation to the Hawaiians.
After American missionaries went to Hawaii in 1820, they reportedly prohibited kahuna practices. But, in the 100 years after the missionaries arrived, all kahuna practices were legal until 1831, some were illegal until 1863, all were legal until 1887, then some were illegal until 1919. Since 1919, all have been legal, except sorcery. It was initially declared illegal, but it was decriminalized in 1972.
The first
Christian missionaries
A Christian mission is an organized effort for the propagation of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as ...
arrived in 1820.
Kaahumanu, one of the most powerful people in the Hawaiian nation, did not convert until 1825. Eleven years after missionaries arrived, she proclaimed laws against
hula,
chant
A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...
,
kava
Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi), ...
, and
Hawaiian religion.
Non-Hawaiian uses
The term was used in the 1959 film ''
Gidget'', in which "The Big Kahuna", played by
Cliff Robertson (
Martin Milner in the TV episode), was the leader of a group of surfers. The figure of the Big Kahuna became commonplace in
Beach Party films of the 1960s, such as ''
Beach Blanket Bingo
''Beach Blanket Bingo'' is a 1965 American beach party film directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the Beach Party film series. The film stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Linda Evans, Deborah Walley, Paul Lynde, and Don Rickl ...
'', in which the "Big Kahuna" was the best surfer on the beach. Hawaiian surfing master
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before th ...
may have been referred to as the "Big Kahuna", but he rejected the term as he knew the original meaning.
In the
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
spiritual system known as
Huna, which uses some Hawaiian words and concepts
appropriated from Hawaiian tradition, ''kahuna'' denotes someone of priestly or
shamanic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
standing.
The prevalence of these works in pop culture has influenced English dictionary definitions such as Merriam-Webster. It defines "kahuna" not only as "a preeminent person or thing", but gives a secondary definition of "Hawaiian
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
".
See also
*
Ancient Hawaii
*
Kohala Historical Sites State Monument
Kohala Historical Sites State Monument includes the National Historic Landmark Mookini Heiau and the birthplace of Kamehameha I.
It is located in remote North Kohala on the Island of Hawaii.
History
Mookini Heiau is one of the oldest historica ...
*
Ho'oponopono, Hawaiian forgiveness process
*
Morrnah Simeona, regarded as a kahuna la'au lapa'au
*
Tohunga
In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teache ...
, a cognate term and title in Māori tradition
*
Babaylan, shamans in Filipino animism
*
Bobohizan
A ''Bobohizan'' (Tangaa' Kadazan term) or ''Bobolian'' (Bundu Liwan Dusun term) is a high priestess, a ritual specialist and a spirit medium in Kadazan-Dusun pagan rites. The office of ''Bobohizan'' or ''Bobolian'', is also the chief preserver ...
, shamans among the Kadazan-Dusun
*
Big Kahuna Burger, a fictional chain of Hawaiian-themed fast food restaurants that appears in the movies of Quentin Tarantino
*
Guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...
References
Bibliography
* Chai, Makana Risser ''Na Mo'olelo Lomilomi: Traditions of Hawaiian Massage & Healing'';
* Hall, Sandra ''Duke: A Great Hawaiian'';
* Gutmanis, Jane: Kahuna La'au Lapa'au – Hawaiian Herbal Medicine
edical Kahuna Island Heritage (www.islandheritage.com), 1976, English,
* Kahalewai, Nancy S. Hawaiian Lomilomi – Big Island Massage,
* Kamakau, Samuel ''Tales & Traditions of the People of Old'';
* Kupihea, Moke: Kahuna of Light – The World of Hawaiian Spirituality, 2001, Inner Traditions International,
* Lee, Pali Jae ''Hoopono'' and
Tales from the Night Rainbow'
* Malo, David: Hawaiian Antiquities (Moolelo Hawaii), Bishop Museum Press, 1951 (1903)
* The Kahuna: Versatile Masters of Old Hawaii von Likeke R. McBride,
* Nana I Ke Kumu (Look to the source), by Mary K. Pukui, E. W. Haertig, Catharine A. Lee; # Publisher: Hui Hanai; (1980);
* {{citation
, last=Pukui
, first=Mary Kawena
, last2=Elbert
, first2=Samuel H.
, title=Hawaiian Dictionary
, location=Honolulu
, publisher=University of Hawaii Press
, year=1986
, isbn=0-8248-0703-0
Hawaiian words and phrases
Traditional healthcare occupations
Polynesian titles
Religious leadership roles
Austronesian spirituality