Beliefs
Hawaiian religion is polytheistic and animistic they believe spirits are found in non-human beings and objects such as animals, the waves, and the sky. The concept of tapu , English "taboo," is important in all Polynesian societies. This refers to anything forbidden due to sacredness. There were rules that served to protect through forbidding certain actions. In the Marquesas Islands, a woman's menstrual cloth itself was not tapu; however, it was tapu to touch it. Polynesians believed that all things in nature, including humans, contained a sacred and supernatural power called mana because mana was sacred, Polynesians invented complicated rules to protect it. Ordinary people were not allowed, for example, to touch even the shadow of a great chief. Nor could they step inside sacred groves or temples. The punishment for breaking important rules, known as tapus (the source of the word taboo), was often death. Illness and misfortune were believed to come from breaking minor tapus.
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References
Non-Fiction:
Fiction:
- Handbook of Polynesian Mythology By Robert D. Craig- Gives an inside look of what Polynesian beliefs are and how they are relative to the natural world.
- The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead Volume II the Belief Among the Polynesians by James George Frazer- James writes about Polynesian beliefs, specifically about immortality and the dead.
Fiction:
- The Girl in the Moon Circle by Sia Figiel - A 10 year old girl Samoana tells her life experiences about Samoan culture and beliefs.