Hawaiian Boat Blessing

QUESTION: How would one do a Hawaiian christening/blessing of a new boat?

ANSWER: No one knows exactly how the ancient Hawaiians blessed their boats, but a typical modern Hawaiian-style blessing could be as follows:

1. Fill a small bowl with fresh water (salt water is used for cleansing).
2. Obtain a long leaf (ti leaf if possible, fern leaf is next best, but any leaf will do).
3. Hang some kind of lei over the gangway or entrance to the boat (flowers or leaves, real or symbolic. In Hawaii maile vine would be used if possible).
4. Announce to all present the purpose of the blessing.
5. Cut or undo the lei (this is like cutting the navel cord).
6. Dip the leaf in the bowl and sprinkle all areas of the boat while giving some sort of blessing ("May this boat be blessed with love, power, and success" (in Hawaiian: E ho'omaika'i i keia wa'a me ke aloha, me ka mana, me ka pono).
7. Have everyone present hold hands on or near the boat and give a personal blessing for the boat and the owners/operators.
8. End the blessing with a song, a chant, or a simple "Thank you" and a hug.
9. Finish with a luau, a "pupu" (snack) party, or some kind of refreshments.

Hawaiian Creation Stories

QUESTION: Why are Hawaiians always referring to Papa and Wakea as their "ancestors and the "creators" - like the primary beings, the "first gods" - when there is a whole list of ancestors of THESE two out there? And sometimes Hawaiians name completely different beings as ancestors and/or creators. Which source is correct?

ANSWER: One of the most important things to remember about Hawaiians is that they are not now and never have been a homogenous people, in spite of being of Polynesian origin. Hawaii was populated by different family groups at different times from different places,

bringing with them different religions, and different creation stories.

There are creation stories associated with Kane, Ku, Lono, Kanaloa, Wakea and Papa, Haloa, Haumea (as mother of Pele), the Kumulipo, and others. It is in the nature of the Western mind to put creation into a sequential framework based on a linear model of time. It is in the nature of the Hawaiian mind to put creation into a contextual framework based on a non-linear model of time.

So, a Western mind tends to ask, "Which creation story is the right one?" and a Hawaiian mind tends to ask, "Which creation story is the most appropriate for my present purpose?" The Western mind seems to be very uncomfortable with paradox, while the Hawaiian mind

not only tolerates it, but seems to thrive on it.

Hawaiian shaman

QUESTION: My goal is to eventually grow into and become a Hawaiian Shaman. Are there certain criteria that have to be met and courses that need to be taken in order to become a Hawaiian Shaman?

ANSWER: You can become a shaman by learning to think and act like a shaman. You can also learn to be a Hawaiian-style shaman by studying and practicing the techniques used by Hawaiian shamans as well as the culture it is based on. The term "Hawaiian shaman," though, would properly be only used for people of Hawaiian ancestry who are shamans. If Huna is the basis for your shamanism, you could be a Huna shaman regardless of your background.

How and Why I Started This Blog

I've known about blogs for  a long time, and every once in a while I've considered doing one, but when it came time to take some action I couldn't think of anything I wanted to say that wasn't covered in my books and articles. And then one day, the day before yesterday, in fact, I was giving someone some advice by email, then saving a copy in case the same advice might be useful to someone else, when it suddenly came to me that this would be a perfect reason for me to do a useful kind of blog.

Over many years I have given advice in print and by email on health, personal development, success, prosperity, spirituality, Hawaiian culture and Huna, and I've kept copies of most of it "just in case." Well, "case" has arrived, and so begins my blog called "Advice From The Islands."