Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [29]
Today, while most locals do not claim adherence to a particular faith, religion remains quite significant as a social force. Undoubtedly the largest group in Hawaii is Roman Catholic, with roughly 240,000 adherents, a large percentage of whom are Filipino immigrants. The next-largest group is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with around 43,000 adherents, including many converts from the South Pacific.
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SOUVENIRS & OFFERINGS: PROTOCOL FOR SACRED PLACES
Aloha ’aina and malama ’aina, or love and stewardship of the land, are two intertwined principles that permeate Native Hawaiian culture. When entering sacred places, starting new projects, or simply picking flowers for leis, Hawaiians often observe traditional protocols. These blessings or rituals are reminders that all nature is a living manifestation of the divine (kino lau) and commands respect.
Protocols don’t have to be complicated. As the famed Hawaiian spiritual teacher Nana Veary said, ‘Ask permission and give thanks – that was the Hawaiian protocol that extended to every aspect of life in nature.’
By following this protocol themselves, travelers to Hawaii can avoid inadvertently disturbing or desecrating sacred Hawaiian places. For instance, if you want to pick flowers, first ask permission of the flower or the forest; if you receive a sign or internal sense of welcome, give thanks. If, for some reason, you don’t, then don’t pick the flower.
Travelers often like to place ‘rock laulau’ (rocks wrapped in ti leaves) as offerings at heiau or altars. This can disturb places by both moving rocks you shouldn’t and putting them where they shouldn’t be. Instead, offer words, since the intention, not the object, is what’s important.
Of course, the most famous legend is that if you take lava rocks, Pele will visit you with misfortune. Hawaiians themselves are baffled by this folktale and dismiss it. If you want a lava rock, they say, ask Tutu Pele’s permission; if she says yes, then take it and don’t worry.
The only caveat: don’t do this in a national park. Pele may not get you, but – since it’s illegal to disturb or remove anything on federal lands – park rangers might.
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As for Protestant Christianity, the mainstream, less conservative groups – including the United Church of Christ, which arrived with the early missionaries – are struggling with declining membership. Conversely, nondenominational and evangelical churches are burgeoning.
Buddhists number an estimated 100,000 in Hawaii, the highest statewide percentage of Buddhists in the USA, but they struggle to attract young adherents.
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ARTS
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MUSIC
The most direct experience of the gentle, sweet soul of Hawaii is through her music, which resonates with the oli (chants) and mele (songs) of ancient Hawaii and hula and with the longing, troubles and rowdy humor of the rural countryside. The traditional Hawaiian sound incorporates falsetto singing and often features three instruments: steel guitar, slack key guitar and ukulele.
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To learn more about slack key guitar, start at George Winston’s Dancing Cat label, www.dancingcat.com. An online community for guitar and ukulele players is available at www.taropatch.net.
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Mexican cowboys first introduced the guitar to Hawaiians in the 1830s. Fifty years later, young Joseph Kekuku (born 1874) began playing a guitar flat on his lap, sliding a knife or comb across the strings. At Kamehameha School for Boys, a shop teacher helped him create a steel bar and a converter nut to lift the strings off the fretboard. Thus, the Hawaiian steel guitar (kika kila) was born; among Hawaii’s greatest musical contributions, it inspired the creation of resonator guitars such as the Dobro, now integral to bluegrass, blues and other genres, and country music’s lap and pedal steel guitar.
Kekuku and