Ho`omana

Book excerpt: Ho'omana examines what happened to Native Hawaiian beliefs from the time the priests ended traditional temple worship in 1819 to the present day controversies over sacred sites and objects. As a former Cultural Affairs Officer for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Malcolm Naea Chun was actively involved in the early initiatives of cultural and historic preservation and knows well of the conflicts and struggles that involve and invoke Hawaiian beliefs. He has written and published several articles on the historical dialogue between traditional religion and Christianity. In Ho'omana, Chun uses primary Native Hawaiian sources to compare pre-contact practices with contemporary beliefs and practices, looking for what has been retained, what has changed, and which current practices should be considered questionable as Native Hawaiian. This book is one of eleven short volumes of the Ka Wana series, which is part of the Pihana Na Mamo Native Hawaiian Education Program.