A Visit to an Ancient Hawaiian Village
Recently several of our monks visited the site of a rediscovered ancient Hawaiian village known as Kanei‘olouma. This 13 acre complex contains numerous habitation, cultivation, sporting, assembly, and religious structures dating to at least the mid-1400's. The name, Kanei‘olouma (Kane-i- ‘olo-uma), can be understood to be ‘Kane', the God of fresh water and ‘awa (kava) inside an ‘awa serving bowl. ‘Olo (or kanoa) is a serving bowl for ‘awa, a traditional ceremonial drink. Uma is concave like the floor of the arena of Kanei‘olouma heiau.
The four principle Gods in Hawaiian tradition are Kane (God of creation and freshwater), Kanaloa (God of the ocean and the underworld), Lono (God of agriculture and fertility), and Ka (God of the forests and war). These Gods can be represented as wooden or stone figures or in other ways. The Gods Kane, Kanaloa, and Lono all were honored at the Kanei‘olouma Heiau, while the nearest Heiau for the God Ka was located in Koloa town. At times we have compared these four to Siva, Shakti, Ganesha and Muruga.
The monks were given a short tour by Kaeo, one of the primary members of the restoration project. He was quite knowledgeable about the site and had many interesting details to share. We discussed some of the similarities of Hindu and Hawaiian beliefs. One interesting item he shared was that the Hawaiian's believed we have three ways the soul can leave the body at death. Either through the top of the head, through the center between the eyes, or through the feet which is not ideal. He said even today, if someone is having a heart attack for instance, you might see older Hawaiians rush and grab their toes so that their soul doesn't exit there.
This project will be an important cultural center and resource for years to come. If you want to learn more or donate to the cause, see their website:
http://www.kaneiolouma.org/
3 Responses to “A Visit to an Ancient Hawaiian Village”
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November 19th, 2016 at 7:17 am
Aum Namasivaya!
Thank you Swamis for sharing the information about the Hawaiian Gods and the village. The name of Kaneiolouma, in my imagination stands for:
Ka (Kantha)
Kane (Ganesha)
O (for Aum) and
Uma (for Uma the Shakthi).
Aum Sivaya Namaga!
November 19th, 2016 at 10:29 am
Wow! Thank you for the information on Hawaiian history and their gods.
December 2nd, 2016 at 9:25 am
Very good information about the similarities between Hawaian religion and Hinduism. Thank you.