Student 2

Student

Mrs. Drew

Pre-AICE English Literature

10 February 2017

Traditional Polynesian Religion

Religion can be an extraordinary uniting force between communities bridging the gap

between different races and genders. The idea and beliefs encompassed by the term religion

vastly differ between different regions and cultures. In Polynesia, religion is the cornerstone of

their society. In fact, Polynesians do not have a separate word for religion because it is so

deeply ingrained in their culture (Chambers 31). Polynesian religion places an importance on

nature and even allocates deities to the various forces of nature (Luomala and Chun 1). Although

the Polynesian islands are separated by miles of ocean, their religions strong values of unity

draws the Polynesian people together.

The Polynesian people do not allocate their beliefs to the teaching of any particular

person, for their ideas are passed down through the generations. Polynesian religion has no

designated start date; however, there are many reasons attributed to its decline. The year 1819

marked the death of their beloved ruler Kamehameha I whose death left a state religion that

included the traditional thoughts and beliefs of the Polynesian people (Luomala and Chun 4).

Less than a year after his death, his son ascended to the throne and abolished the religion set

forth by his father (Luomala and Chun 4). The unexpected death of their beloved ruler lead

many Polynesians to question the power of their gods (Luomala and Chun 4). Other reasons to

the explain the downfall of the religion are the overwhelming pressures caused by gender

expectations for the religion such as the inability for women and men to worship or even eat
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together even if they are married. (Luomala and Chun 4). Also, the arrival of Europeans

changed the religion and culture of the Hawaiian people to a more Western culture (Pollock 249).

European influence and colonization not only affected Polynesian culture and religion by

introducing Christianity, but it also caused political fragmentation and division among the

Polynesian people (Pollock 248). This division caused a break in one of the most important

aspects of Polynesian religion and society, unity (Pollock 248). The arrival of Christianity also

changed the traditional religion. Originally, the term mana was used to mean the supernatural

power attributed to both animate and inanimate object; however, due to the arrival of

Christianity, the meaning of mana began to change and was reduced to only be associated with

people of high power or standing (Pollock 249). Not only did the Europeans bring new religions

such as Christianity, but they also brought the idea of the market economy which removed the

local religious officials from their role in the economy and political affairs (Luomala and Chun

4).

The traditional religion of Polynesia was a polytheistic religion in which people

worshiped universal gods, local gods, and individual gods who communicate with people

through various means (Luomala and Chun 1). Gods express their wishes through a myriad of

ways, and the Polynesian people often relied on dreams to gain information from their gods

(Hanson 3). The four major gods, Kane, Ku, Kanaloa, and Lono are all examples of universal

gods who are worshiped by Polynesians (Chambers 29). Since it is a polytheistic religion, the

Polynesians believe in many gods who are each in charge of different aspects of the earth and

daily life (Hanson 2). These gods are worshipped and praised through the high priest who has

both political and religious power (Luomala and Chun 1). The gods are worshipped through

songs, chants, dances, and incantations (Chambers 31). It is extremely important for the priests
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to correctly speak these incantations, for if they mess up, the gods will become angry with them

(Luomala and Chun 1). There are many types of ceremonies and rituals that occur to worship

universal gods and these ceremonies range from being extremely dangerous events such as

jumping off of a cliff to simple, short prayers spoken to gods to ensure a persons safety on their

travels (Hanson 5). Many of these rituals occur in temples called heiau which are some of the

largest buildings on the islands (Chambers 31).Along with the worship of the universal gods

comes the practice of worshiping the personal and family gods. These gods are specific to each

family and their ancestral background and are called aumakua which demonstrates the

importance of family to the Polynesians (Chambers 30).

Another important aspect of Polynesian religion was the paranoia associated with the

taboos or kapu (Luomala and Chun 1). In Polynesia, all people were allowed to worship their

gods; however, women were considered to be taboo and dirty due to menstruation and could not

worship with their male counterparts (Luomala and Chun 2). Women were not allowed to attend

mens heiau and shrines and could not even eat with the men (Luomala and Chun 2). Other

things associated with kapu were errors in worship and veneration (Luomala and Chun 1). A

person had to work hard to not anger the gods, for if they were bad, their soul would plummet

into milu (the underworld), but if they pleased their gods, they would spend eternity in the Po

(the good realm) (Luomala and Chun 4).

Polynesian religion is based on oral storytelling and the sharing of myths. One specific

Hawaiian Creation tale outlines the creation of the earth, sky, sea, and humans (Elliot 1). The

main god Kane created the world by cutting open a calabash and making the sky, earth, and stars.

He then placed various gods in charge of providing for and creating the animals or plants that

resided in their area of the world. Then, Papa (the god of earth) and Rangi (the god of the sky)
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created a man they called Red Earth Man out of red clay. From this one man and his wife

came all of the priests and chiefs. The writing style of this particular myth was very simplistic

and easy to understand due to the fact that it was an oral tale and needed to be easy to remember

and recite. Kane created the entire planet out of a calabash. The fact that the Polynesians

existence came from a plant demonstrates the importance of nature. Also, Polynesians use

hollowed calabashes as instruments in religious rituals to worship their gods. Since the myth

describes in detail the creation of nature, the reader can understand the great importance of

nature to Polynesians. After the Red Earth Man was created, he worshiped the gods. The

inclusion of this demonstrates how important worship was to the Polynesians as well as their

dependence on worship to please their gods. This myth also reveals the power their gods were

perceived to have. Kane created the earth simply by splitting a calabash in half and created men

by simply forming a general shape and then breathing life into it (Elliot 1).

Although the islands of Polynesia are separated geographically, their common culture and

religion ties the separate islands together. Religion can be a uniting force, but it can also be used

to divide populations and communities. In the case of Polynesia, their common religion brought

the population closer together and helped create a tighter knit community. The common belief in

gods and a higher power has allowed Polynesians to bridge the ocean between the islands.
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Works Cited

Chambers, John. Hawaii. North Hampton: Interlink Books, 2006. Print.

Elliot, Daphne. Hawaiian Creation Myths. Encyclopedia Mythica. Encyclopedia Mythica, n.d.

Web. 1 February 2017. <pantheon.org>

Hanson, F. Allen. Polynesian Religions: An Overview. Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by

Linday Jones, 2nd ed., vol. 11, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, pp. 7304-7312. Gale

Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 January 2017. <go.galegroup.com>

Luomala, Katharine, and Malcom Naea Chun. Hawaiian Religion. Encyclopedia of Religion,

edited by Linday Jones, 2nd ed., vol. 6, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, pp. 3796-3800.

Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 January 2017. <go.galegroup.com>

Pollock, Robert. The Everything Worlds Religion Book. Avon: Adams Media Corporation,

2002. Print