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Marie Alohalani Brown

Kaʻu Wahi Pūʻolo


"Kaʻu wahi pūʻolo"(my little bundle) derives from the use of pūʻolo (bundle, container) as metaphor for "message or topic." 

This is a blog about Hawaiian Religion. A frequent topic is its continuity despite the fact that it was officially abolished in 1819 and despite massive efforts to Christianize Hawaiians in the 19th and 20th centuries. A good portion of this blog is dedicated to sharing articles on Hawaiian religion from 19th- and 20th-century Hawaiian-language newspapers and other sources. I use the electronic archives Papakilo Database and Ulukau for much of my online research. My translations here are just very rough drafts to offer the gist of the articles for those who are unable to access the Hawaiian language. 
Photo: Dawn at Kahoʻolawe, a sacred island and kino lau of the ocean deity Kanaloa. Across the ocean stands Haleakalā, another sacred mountain, on the island of Maui. ​

A family in Kona is purported to have decided to offer itself as a sacrifice to Pele to save the population from a lava flow (1917).

7/28/2015

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Picture
Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, July 20, 1917.
​
End The Ignorant Superstitious Practices.
     Not long ago, this newspaper published news about a family in Kona, Hawaiʻi, who believed the false prophecy of a young girl about the lava flow that would destroy certain places, and so the family left their home to go to the Kīlauea crater to offer their lives to Pele for their lives so that the aliʻiwahine [queen] of the volcano would spare the population.
     This is one of the ignorant behaviors connected to the worship of god images, which are well known and common among many families in this time of enlightenment; the time of ignorance is long past, but here it is, reigning among a certain portion of the Hawaiian people. 
     Those peoples' ignorance  is clear; in their mistaken belief in the false prophecy of sordid spirits, they nearly ended their lives on that road if help had not arrived at the right time. When would the god who led those people have arrived to save their lives?
     Perhaps many people of this kind live among Hawaiians, who believe in hoʻomanamana  and hoʻomanakiʻi [worship of idols]; the Kuokoa will teach them, and they will leave behind their beliefs from the time of ignorance, and believe that there is only one God, and in believing in his Name, will have their sins forgiven, and obtain life in the body and the soul.

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  • Home
  • Publications
  • Speaking
  • Translation Services and Cultural Consultation
  • About & Contact Me
  • Prices for Services
  • Blog—Kaʻu Wahi Pūʻolo
  • Current Projects