Posted by Nola on August 07, 1998 at 12:42:08:
In Reply to: Re: Wedding Ceremonies/Marraige Customs posted by Uncle Charlie on August 07, 1998 at 05:27:00:
: : Hi Uncle Charlie...
: : What were the wedding ceremonies of the kanaka maoli like prior to the missionaries
: : coming to Hawaii? Did we have legal "binding" ceremonies? Were the hawaiians a monogamous society?
: : Were the weddings performed by kahuna only for ali'i? Did Hawaiians divorce, separate?
: : In researching hawaiian weddings, I have found what I call 'Hawaiian flavored' weddings... you know, the same basic christian ceremony, but with leis and maybe
: : the Hawaiian Wedding song.. Any comments??
: Aloha, the Ali'i marriage was a "sacred" thing because of the perpetuation of the blood line. When they were conceiving, it was witnessed in a custom called "ho'i mai keiki". The Ali'i saw to it that his blood line was carried on and mated with royal blood lines even higher then his like did King Kamehameha and Keopualani. She was concidered a god because her father had relations with his own daughter. The child from this mating was considered "Niau Pio" The highest achivable blood line. It was also customery to have more then one wife and it was visa versa, the women could have more then one husband. All what you see now about a so called "Hawaiian Wedding" is just for the tourist, made up by non Kanaka Maoli for the tourist industry. Its in the same catogory as the "aloha spirit" and the "7 sacred pools of Hana".
: Mind you, from ancient chants, we learn that there was courting procedure and was done in the open. Sex to the Hawaiian was a normal function like eating and only when the missionaries came, did they caution the native people that their practices were indecent and not proper. They instilled their morals on our people that ruined them forever. Uncle Charlie
Uncle Charlie...
Thank you for your response...but I am a little confused.. Are you saying that the Hawaiians had sex in public view? Was there love and affection shown or a time of "choosing" someone special? In my family tree there is a story of a man who loved a woman and made her his wife. She had a sister that had a club-foot. Since the wife had a difficult time concieving, she let her husband take her sister to be his second wife (but I don't think they actually married).. This relationship produced many children for the family and provided a safe place for the injured sister to live out the rest of her life free of scorn. I'm so happy I have this web site. To me it's like have a "Tutu" on-line. If you have time, I'd like for you to address a delema I am having that I think is quite common to Hawaiians... Can a person be truly Hawaiian and support the Customs of the Hawaiian Culture and be a Blible-believing Spirit-Filled Christian? Is one automatically opposed to the other? I look forward to your response.. Thank you Nola