~~~HAWAIIAN CHANT~~~~~
Historical Perspectives by
Kahu Wendell Kalani Silva
Marriage - Ancient Hawaiian Style
MARRIAGE TYPES
Marriage, as it is celebrated
in the Hawaiian islands
today did not exist in the days
of old Hawai`i.
The uniting of two people in a
relationship in traditional
Hawai`i was not conducted with elaborate
wedding rituals,
or governed by strict licensing applications,
legal registration requirements, technical
pre-nuptial agreements,
or life-long civil and religious contracts.
For the early Hawaiian couple,
there were primarily three types
of marriage unions:
Noho Pu, Ho`ao, and Male.
NOHO PU
In the ancient times, for the
maka`ainana or commoners,
there were little or no formalities for marriage.
Hawaiian couples
simply chose each other and (hiamoe)
slept together or commenced
(noho pu) living together as common
law spouses.
HO`AO
The Ho`ao wedding ritual normally reserved
for the Hawaiian chiefly class,
is usually considered today as the
traditional formal
Hawaiian marriage ceremony.
Ho`ao which literally translates as
to stay until daylight.
This also refers to the Night of the day
called Huna, the eleventh night
of the month when the ho`ao nuptial
ceremonies usually took place.
It is believed that the Ho`ao marriage
custom originated as a decree by
a supreme commandment of ke Akua,
(God) in order to create a lasting bond
(ua pa`a loa ka noho ana) between
a single man and a woman.
The principal purpose for the Ho`ao marriage
ceremonies was to formalize
a royal couple's union in order to procreate
noble offspring whose chiefly
lineage and rank was clearly legitimate,
whose inherited mana (spiritual power)
was assured, and in whom certain ancestral
genetic physical and mental
attributes could be anticipated.
MARE OR MALE
Mare or Male is a contemporary "westernized"
Hawaiian term for marriage,
matrimony, wedding ; to marry and
generally which refers to post western
contact marriages performed in Hawai`i
after the coming of the Missionaries
in the 1800's and is associated primarily
with the introduction of the
religious Christian marriage.
IN THE NAME OF PELE
Nou paha e ka inoa
E ka`ika`iküana
A kau i ka nuku
E hapahapai a`e
E hapahapai a`e
A pä i ke kihi o Kïlauea
Ilaila ku`u kama o Kunuiäkea
E Pele e Pele e
He inoa no Pele
(Yours perhaps this name
Which people are raising
With loud acclaim
Now raise it
Raise it on high
Till it reaches the innermost recesses of Kïlauea
Enshrined there is my beloved Kunuiäkea
O Pele O Pele)
AIA KUMUKAHINA
Aia i Kumukahi ka lä e puka maila
Ke ne'e a'ela nä helu i luna o ka 'äina
Ke ho'opumehana nei
Ke ho'omälamalama nei
Ke ho'öla nei i nä kini nei ë
Ua ao ka pö
Ua eo ka pö i ke ao
Ua ao wale maila ka hale kula nei lä
E ola käkou a pau loa i ke ao ë
(A Chant for Enlightenment
It is there at Kumukahi that the sun bursts forth
The rays of the sun move over the land
It makes all warm
It enlightens all
It gives life to the multitudes
The darkness is now enlightened
The light has conquered the darkness
School is filled with only the light
Let all of us live in enlightenment)
E HO MAI (come forth)
E ho mai ka `ike mai luna mai e
O na mea huna no`eau, o na mele e
E ho mai, e ho mai, e ho mai....
(give us knowledge from above
concerning the wisdom of songs
grant us, these things.)
NA AUMAKUA (Traditional)
The Family Gardians
Na aumakua, mai ka la hiki a ka la kau
Mai ka ho`oku`i a ka halawai
Na Amakua ia ka hina kua, ia ka hina alo
Ia ka`a akau i ka lani
`O kiha i ka lani
`Owe i ka lani
Nunulu i ka lani
Kaholo i ka lani
Eia ka pulapula a `oukou `o ka po`e Hawai`I
E malama `oukou ia makou
E ulu i ka lani
E ulu i ka honua
E ulu i ka pae `aina o Hawai`I
E ho mai ka `ike
E ho mai ka ikaika
E ho mai ka akamai
E ho mai ka maopopo pono
E ho mai ka `ike papalua
E ho mai ka mana
(Ye ancestral dieties from the rising to
From the zenith to the horizon
Ye ancestral dieties who stand at our back
Ye gods who stand at our right hand
a breathing in the heavens
an utterance in the heavens
a clear, ringing voice in the heavens
a voice reverberating in the heavens
Here we are, your descendants the people of hawaii
Safeguard us
Growth to the heavens
Growth to the earth
Growth to Hawai`i, chain of islands
Grant knowledge
Grant strength
Grant intelligence
Grant divine understanding
Grant intuitive insight
Grant mana
E KOMO MAI!!HAWAIIAN LINKS
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