Ohana is not like the Western concept of family, which is becoming more fractured as time passes. The ohana refers to an extended family ideal, which includes not only the immediate family of mother, father, children and grandparents but also all things of the land, the sea and the sky as well as the ‘aumakua.

‘Aumakua is the source. “In the beginning was the spirit. We came from that spirit. It is our source… In ancient times, the ‘aumakua was prayed to, for health, forgiveness, and assistance. There was no ‘aumakua without a family, and no family without an ‘aumakua… The ‘aumakua was seen as a source, the spirit that was a part of each of them: was with them in birth and death, and everything in between.” (Ho’opono, Lee and Willis)

In the spirit of aloha, all things of the ohana are respected and cared for in a loving and meaningful way. An integral member of the ohana is the kupuna (elder) who is regarded as the keeper of knowledge and wisdom. After having studied and worked with Auntie Pua, Auntie Margaret, Eddie Pu and other kupuna, the love and power that these and the other kupuna spread is a rarity in today’s materialistic world.

Kahuna was a term used to indicate a person, usually a kupuna that was a master of their craft; a caretaker of knowledge from religion and healing to canoe making that included over 40 different craft kahuna as well as 14 kahuna of the healing arts. And then there were the holy ones (priests), the kaula, the prophets and seers of the gods (Na Akua).

I’AO, Infinite Light, also sometimes referred to as I’O, is the Eternal Creator from whom all other gods issue forth. The Four Lords—Ku, Kane, Kanaloa and Lono—are the primary akua with Ku and the goddess Hina being the first parents. The sister of Kane and Kanaloa, Haumea, goddess of fertility, is also the mother of Madam Pele, the volcano goddess. And then there is Maui—half man, half god—the divine human who “fished up the islands and slowed the sun.” Think for a moment, would not these myths be based on true fact if Maui had been a spiritual leader/prophet that had guided his people from a northern clime to a more southern one where the days are longer. And in the process, discovered islands that had been long unknown or as a myth to his people.

To the Hawaiians a guiding spiritual principle is pono, balance and harmony. Proper actions, thoughts and words maintain pono. “Out of the mating of Wakea (Sky Father) and Papa Honua (Earth Mother), came and continues to come everything in our cosmos, and that’s why we’re all related and why everything is conscious and communicating. That’s the basis for wellness—this constant interaction between all life forces. When there’s proper interaction, things are pono (balanced): there’s appropriate mana, special kind of power or energy maintaining this balance. These spiritual inter-relationships are primary.” (Voices of Wisdom, Harden)

Kala: Forgive and Release

“Forgive and release… Where harm has been done, both parties must work to untie the cord of hatred that binds them together… It must go beyond forgiving… Each must work to let go of grudges, guilt and humiliation… so faults on both sides may be dissolved… And when memories of the incident rise to the conscious mind… they will be stripped of their power in the future… They are given no importance anymore… they are defused…”
(Secret Blossoms, Zambucka)