Moke Kupihea

'Kupihea writes eloquently about the destruction of Hawaiian spiritual values by the invasion of a new culture...and the key to returning to a spiritual balance with humankind and nature.'-Library Journal

'A unique insight into Hawaiian philosophy. Kupihea has provided us a distinctive voice that spreaks not only to Hawaiians but to all peoples whose traditional beliefs are threatened.'-Andrew Bushnell, professor of history, Kauai Community College

In Hawaiian spiritual tradition, the sacred bond formed between the land and its people is perpetuated in every new generation by the voices of the ancestors who pass on this inheritance. Just as elders are the intermediaries between these voices and the younger generations, the na aumakua, or ancestral spirits, are the intermediaries between the living and he sacred land they inhabit.

In The Seven Dawns of the Aumakua Moke Kupihea takes the reader on his journey from childhood to young manhood as he experiences what remains of the spirit of his ancestors and learns the importance of remembering. The descent of the aumakua and its spiritual link through the eyes, sound, voice, touch, people, and breath constitute its seven dawns-the means by which the author is reawakened to his native tradition. The author's desrie to recover this tradition moves him as a young boy to travel with his kupuna-his elders, the old men of the mountains-and learn from them the stories to be found in each feature of the landscape. These men and the people he meets as he grows older became his kahu-his ancestral guardians-who inspire him to realize that the world of ancestral voices still speaks, if only in a whisper. Learning how to hear these voices is the key to returning Hawaii to its proud spiritual path and understanding how to live mindfully and soulfully with the land and with all who have come before us.

Moke Kupihea is a direct descendant of Hiapo, kanohi ki nui, chiefly priest or high lord under Kalani opuu.

Contents

Introduction
Chapter One The aumakua
Chapter Two The aumakua descends
Chapter Three The eyes of the aumakua
Chapter Four The sound of the aumakua
Chapter Five The voice of the aumakua
Chapter Six The touch of the aumakua
Chapter Seven The people of the aumakua
Chapter Eight The breath of the aumakua
Glossary… (mehr)

'The Cry of the Huna is a journal of hidden things coming to light-an engaging collection of ancestral imagery, narratives, insights, and documented material that becomes Kupihea's own inner journey from violence to wholeness. In sharing his journey with the world. Kupihea adds new light to the universal search for meaning and hope that is based on the spiritual nature and foundation of life. In these days of global insecurity, the timely subject of his book is the search for true identity, ancestral reconnection, and spiritual harmony-a search important not only to native Hawaiians but all people of Earth.'-Kahu Kaleo Patterson, Ph.D. Div., United Church of Christ, and former member of thd American Board of Missions and The Church of Kaahumanu

Hawaiian spirituality teaches that individuals can be truly fulfilled only if they are conscious participants in the long ancestral chain of witnessing and transmission that connects the present to the time of origins. The Cry of the Huna invokes the author's personal history as he recounts the decline of his people's spiritual traiditon as a result of colonization. The breakdown of the Hawaiians' ties with their sacred land led them to forget not only the teachings of their ancestors, but also the chain of na aumakua they form, which connects this people to both the earth and the realm of the gods. While the na aumakua can be viewed with reverence, it is not seen or worshipped as a god. Rather it is seen as a part of the chain of life that arose from one god's vision of creation. Aumakua is a compound of makua (parents) and au, the endless ancestral chain that stretches through time. Each individual on Earth repersents a temporary end to that link. As we age and our vision of life slowly looks toward death, our descendents come forth to provide the next eyes in the chain of witnessing and transmission.

The Cry of the Huna shows how the rupture of this chain has led to widespread alienation. The loss of the Hawaiians' spiritual birthright fuels an endless cycle of resentment toward the invading culture and a preoccupation with thoughts of revenge. The connection to the aumakua, however, can be reforged, but only by untying the circular chords of revenge, allowing forgiveness to occur in the present so that healing can take place in the future.

Moke Kupihea is also author of The Seven dawns of the Aumakua. He has lived his entire life in Kauai's sacred Waimea Valley.

Contents

Prologue
Part One Haule No Akua: Fallen from gods
1 Na Kumulipo: Genesis
2 Puka Ana: Exodus
Part Two The Book of the Aumakua
3 Na Pohaku O Manuau: The stone of two Manu
4 Na Kaioloa: The Malo of light and darkness
5 Na Ke Ala Kekua O Ka Kalani: On the back of gods
Epilogue: Na Hoi O Holowai: Running water returns
Glossary… (mehr)