The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 9, 1959 - Clarice B. Taylor's "Tales about Hawaii"
Daddy (David K.) Bray has found that haole "seekers of the truth" are very anxious to know about the offerings made to Hawaii's old gods and the meanings of the offerings.
The haole thinks there might be a clue to the secret which "unlocks" the powers of heaven in an offerings.
The human offering is the best known of all the mohai. Daddy Bray explains that the human being was offered to atone for sins just as it was in the Old Testament of the Bible.
The most common human offering was the enemy captured in battle. Enemy offerings were made the war god Ku-ka-ili-moku in the belief that the prowess and bravery of the enemy would become the property of the victor.
ABUSED POWERS
Daddy Bray says the priests of old Hawaii abused their powers just as some moderns abuse their authority. If a priest wanted to curry favor with his chief, he saw to it that the chief's enemy was sacrificed.
If the chief has a retainer who was a nuisance, the chief would get rid of the man by asking the priests to take him as a sacrifice. It was a splendid way of keeping down freedom of speech.
Awa, a narcotic drink, was the special offering to the gods. In modern times, brandy, and gin have been substituted because the Hawaiian word for brandy is palani and in Hawaiian, palani is the name of a certain kind of human sacrifice.
The Hawaiian for gin is gini, pronounced kini. The meaning of kini is "a multitude." so the Hawaiian offers gin and in doing so, asks for a multitude of blessings.
The list of food and plants used as offerings numbers about 20. Pig was the most important animal offering and taro the most important vegetable.
SPECIAL PIG
Just any pig would not do. The pig had to be a special breed and color fro the type of offering required and the god to whom it was to be offered.
Taro represented all life - the running water, the productive earth, fire and air.
Other offerings included fish from the sea, fish from the fresh water, eggs, chickens, bananas, seaweed, sugar cane, and certain material.
Each god had its particular list of offerings and the offerings varied according to sin to be forgiven or the purpose of the ceremony.
NEXT: The Gods
Showing posts with label offerings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label offerings. Show all posts
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
► Chinese Lore for Chinese-Hawaiians - 22 : Foong shui
Honolulu Star Bulletin, Thursday, February 28, 1957 - Clarice B. Taylor's "Tales about Hawaii"
A perfect Chinese cemetery must have foong-shui - it must be blocked from the wing (foong) and it must have water (shui) within view to block a runaway or lost spirit.
Manoa Chinese Cemetery fulfills these musts with the mountains which surround on three sides and the view of the ocean in front.
It has a tree growing at the top from which spirits may look at the peaceful landscape and be in peace.
It has an undulating slope on which the dragon may rest and so guard the happiness of the many spirits who live there.
It is surrounded with a wall with a gate on one side.
The wall traps wandering spirits and keeps them within the cemetery. The gate at the side offers no invitation to the spirits to walk out. If the gate were straight in front of the knoll, the spirits would walk out.
The mountains protect the peaceful knoll from strong winds so that the spirits are not swept away.
The water in front turns back any wandering spirit so that the spirit returns to the cemetery.
All those buried in this cemetery are assured of a peaceful rest for eternity.
As long as a Chinese caretaker association exists, the graves will be cared for and periodical offerings were made to the spirit for its happiness.
As long as the descendants of the dead visit the grave regularly and bring food, wine and offerings, the family will prosper and grow.
The most awful fate which can befall the dead is the have the family to become extinct so that there are no sons to carry on the care of the ancestors.
For that reason the Chinese Almanac specifies certain days on which the Chinese set up and altar to the "homeless souls" and pray for them.
For "homeless" include foreigners and strangers who die away from home and family.
Ming the final date for closing the cemetery is left open three days so that the charitable may place offerings upon the graves of those who have no family.
NEXT: Age. The next segment, unfortunately will not follow as this is the final segment of my Grandmother's collection. I will be in search of the remainder of this tract "Chinese Lore for Chinese-Hawaiians." I hope you enjoyed reading.
"foog shui" - is the original spelling to this text. It is my interpretation the author is making reference to "feng shui", the Chinese placement system to receive positiveness.
 |
| A Luopan, Feng shui compass |
Manoa Chinese Cemetery fulfills these musts with the mountains which surround on three sides and the view of the ocean in front.
It has a tree growing at the top from which spirits may look at the peaceful landscape and be in peace.
It has an undulating slope on which the dragon may rest and so guard the happiness of the many spirits who live there.
It is surrounded with a wall with a gate on one side.
The wall traps wandering spirits and keeps them within the cemetery. The gate at the side offers no invitation to the spirits to walk out. If the gate were straight in front of the knoll, the spirits would walk out.
The mountains protect the peaceful knoll from strong winds so that the spirits are not swept away.
The water in front turns back any wandering spirit so that the spirit returns to the cemetery.
All those buried in this cemetery are assured of a peaceful rest for eternity.
As long as a Chinese caretaker association exists, the graves will be cared for and periodical offerings were made to the spirit for its happiness.
As long as the descendants of the dead visit the grave regularly and bring food, wine and offerings, the family will prosper and grow.
The most awful fate which can befall the dead is the have the family to become extinct so that there are no sons to carry on the care of the ancestors.
For that reason the Chinese Almanac specifies certain days on which the Chinese set up and altar to the "homeless souls" and pray for them.
For "homeless" include foreigners and strangers who die away from home and family.
Ming the final date for closing the cemetery is left open three days so that the charitable may place offerings upon the graves of those who have no family.
NEXT: Age. The next segment, unfortunately will not follow as this is the final segment of my Grandmother's collection. I will be in search of the remainder of this tract "Chinese Lore for Chinese-Hawaiians." I hope you enjoyed reading.
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