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 may be versed in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

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canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

building, or any other skill or knowledge area. They may be called on by the community to bless new buildings and construction projects or to officiate weddings. Forty types of are listed in the book ''Tales from the Night Rainbow'', twenty in the healing professions alone, including , a medical priest or practitioner, and , "an expert who diagnoses, as sickness or pain, by feeling the body". There are several categories of . A ''craft kahuna'', such as the is an expert canoe maker, and a is an expert navigator. A is a "medical doctor, medical practitioner, rhealer. ". (Page 114 in print document, p. 144 in electronic)

''Kahuna nui''

According to Fornander, there are ten colleges or branches of the Hawaiian priesthood: * , , and were said to practice sorcery, to bring death or injury to others by means of prayer. * and were said to use spirits for

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

and spirit possession. * : one who practices medicinal healing. * (): one who locates the site for the construction of , or temples. * : one who divines and predicts future events, a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

. * : soothsayers, diviners, prophets. To master all ten branches made one a or high priest. usually lived in places such as Waimea Valley, 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 to Kamehameha I. A contemporary, Leimomi Mookini Lum is a . David Kaonohiokala Bray was a well-known . King Kamehameha IV, in his translation of the '' Book of Common Prayer'', used the term to refer to

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priests, and to refer to both lay and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Anglican ministers.

Legal status

Craft 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 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 reteach navigation to the Hawaiians. After American missionaries went to Hawaii in 1820, they reportedly prohibited practices. But, in the 100 years after the missionaries arrived, all practices were legal until 1831, some were illegal until 1863, all were legal until 1887, and some were illegal until 1919. Since 1919 all have been legal except sorcery, which was initially declared illegal but was decriminalized in 1972. The first Christian missionaries 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 Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...

, chant,

kava Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Ancient Greek, Greek 'intoxicating') is a plant in the Piperaceae, pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan language, Tongan and Marqu ...

, 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'', in which the ''Big Kahuna'' was the best surfer on the beach. Hawaiian surfing master Duke Kahanamoku 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 Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

spiritual system known as Huna, which uses some Hawaiian words and concepts appropriated from Hawaiian tradition, ''kahuna'' denotes someone of priestly or shamanic standing. The prevalence of these works in pop culture has influenced definitions in English dictionaries, such as Merriam-Webster, which not only defines ''kahuna'' as "a preeminent person or thing" but also offers "Hawaiian shaman" as a secondary definition. Wells College professor Lisa Kahaleole Hall, a

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, wrote in a peer-reviewed journal published by the University of Hawaiʻi that Huna "bears absolutely no resemblance to any Hawaiian worldview or spiritual practice" and calls it part of the "New Age spiritual industry."Hall, Lisa Kahaleole.
'Hawaiian at Heart' and Other Fictions
, ''The Contemporary Pacific'', Volume 17, Number 2, pp. 404–413, 2005, University of Hawai'i Press.

References

Bibliography

* Chai, Makana Risser. ''Na Mo'olelo Lomilomi: Traditions of Hawaiian Massage & Healing''. . * Hall, Sandra. ''Duke: A Great Hawaiian''. . * Gutmanis, Jane (1976). ''Kahuna La'au Lapa'au – Hawaiian Herbal Medicine'' edical Kahuna Island Heritage (www.islandheritage.com). English. . * Kahalewai, Nancy S. ''Hawaiian Lomilomi – Big Island Massage''. . * Kamakau, Samuel. ''Tales & Traditions of the People of Old''. . * Kupihea, Moke (2001). ''Kahuna of Light – The World of Hawaiian Spirituality''. Inner Traditions International. . * Lee, Pali Jae. ''Hoopono'' and
Tales from the Night Rainbow
'. * Malo, David. ''Hawaiian Antiquities (Moolelo Hawaii)''. Bishop Museum Press. 1951 (1903). * McBride, Likeke R. ''The Kahuna: Versatile Masters of Old Hawaii''. . * Pukui, Mary K.; Haertig, E. W.; Lee, Catharine A. (1980). ''Nana I Ke Kumu'' ook to the Source Hui Hanai. . * {{cite book , last1=Pukui , first1=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

Background

''Kahuna nui''

Legal status

Non-Hawaiian uses

See also

References

Bibliography