Hawaii Music Video of the Day

In Which I See a FOX

A  L  O  H  A !

No foxes in Hawaii, but is that. . . . ?

“ A fox 

passing through the wood

 on business of his own 

stopped several minutes 

and sniffed. ” 

                      J.R.R. Tolkien, 

                                      The Fellowship of the Ring

Bushy tail, pointy snout, ears pricked-
Ready to bolt at their approach

“ Hungry for beautiful words, 

the fox comes rooting 

around in the hedge. . .

 He reads my mind 

with one glance and is 

gone. ” 

                  Jay Woodman

Beguiled by a Kitsune!

“Nothing's perfect," 

sighed the fox. ” 

 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 

The Little Prince

" When a fox is fifty years old,

 it can transform itself 

into a woman. 

When it is one hundred, 

it becomes 

a beautiful woman 

or a shaman; 

Some become men

 and have sex 

with women. 

They can know events 

from more than a thousand li away 

and are good at witchcraft, 

beguiling people and

 making them 

lose their senses. "

                           Guo Pu, 

                                   Records from Within the Recondite

]\[

Thank You

for magically
appearing here!

               Warmly, cloudia

Books and Theses on Spirit Foxes:

Bathgate, Michael R. The Shapeshifter Fox: The Imagery of Transformation and the Transformation of Imagery in Japanese Religion and Folklore. Chicago: The University of Chicago, June 2001. Doctoral thesis.

Blacker, Carmen. The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Japanese Shamanistic Practices. Routledge Curzon, 1999.

A thorough description of Japanese shamanism that includes an entire chapter on magical animals, including kitsune.

Davis, Winston. Dojo: Magic and Exorcism in Modern Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1980. 

A study of the Sukyo Mahikari sect, a religion that believes in possession by spirit animals and the dead. The author describes several cases of fox possession and exorcism.   Link

The Whales Return

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."
- Cynthia Ozick















"The Dreamers are the saviors of the world."
- James Allen




"The Greeks invented logic but were not fooled by it."
- Eric Hoffer

A big "Mahalo" thank you to everyone who left a comment yesterday! Things have been so "jamming" here at Da Beach that I've fallen behind in my visits to YOUR sites. I look forward to catching up with you soon! YOU are the whole point of this blog.

A few days ago, a catamaran spotted the first whales of the season a couple of miles off Diamond Head. Winter really has arrived! Another sign of the season: A group of inmates at the minimum security Waiawa Correctional Center, here on Oahu, rose before dawn one morning last week. They took off their red prison shirts and tied Kihei over one shoulder in the old way. Conch shells (Pu) were blown, and Oli, chants, shared. The men were blessed with long Ti leaves that had been dipped in water salty with Hawaiian Alae, red salt. The Kahu, Priest, sprinkled the assembled men with the water he had blessed. And then they each had a few moments to speak. Most expressed thanks for their families and friends, their Ohana. Some did so with newly learned Hawaiian words. "This is about growth, forgiveness, and new beginnings," said Kahu Patterson. Each Oli of the morning seemed to be answered by Ka Makani, the wind, and after the group recited the Lord's Prayer one particularly strong gust blew over their altar to traditional god of the Makahiki season, Lono. Make of this what you will. Like many other indigenous people colonized by westerners, most Hawaiians are devout Christians who, nonetheless, bring their ancient spiritual culture into church with them. You should hear O Holy Night in Hawaiian! E lohe na Leo Anela: "You, Hear The Voices of Angels." Liturgical Hula is not uncommon here, even at Catholic Mass. Of course the original missionaries would be outraged by this, but our understanding and our compassion do seem to evolve over time. In 2003 the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation filed suit on behalf of Hawaii prisoners (a majority Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian) incarcerated on the "continent." To deny them their cultural observances was not re-rehabilitative, or Pono "righteous." After this year's hard won ceremony, each man turned to the brother next to them. They touched foreheads, and shared the sacred "Ha" the breath of life, the Makana "gift" that some prefer to call the Peace of Christ. May that peace, whatever YOU may call it, be yours today. Amene

A L O H A ! Cloudia

Makahiki Time

Ted Trimmer Photo; rights reserved
"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful."
- e. e. cummings

"I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone."


- Rainer Maria Rilke

In the old times, Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) studied nature and her changes closely, especially the movements of the heavens. The first sliver of November's new moon marks the beginning of Hawaii's winter months, the Makahiki Season that some call Hawaiian New Year.

It was by navigating across the vast Pacific, guided by the star Hokule`a (the star of gladness) that the first people had voyaged to Hawaii Nei. Their children trusted the wisdom embodied in the stars to indicate proper times to plant, harvest, observe festivals, or even when to make war. The stars have guided the Hawaiians from the kahiko (ancient) days.

Makahiki begins with the appearance in the eastern sky of a star constellation called in Hawaiian: Na Huihui o Makali`i, in which name my poor Hawaiian sees the (na) club (hui, saying it twice a sort of emphasis) eyes (maka) Ali`i (royal chiefs); perhaps "The League of Watching Chiefs" would not be an entirely incorrect translation. Yes, "The Pleaides," or Seven Sisters, as they are called in English, are very significant to foundational Hawaiian thought. In fact, according to the ancient tradition, the first Hawaiian people came to Earth from the Makali`i! The star-based Hawaiian calendar has always placed a special significance on these interstellar ties to the Makali`i.

For four months, the Ho`o-ilo (winter season) will be taken up by the Makahiki, the year's most important holiday and traditional celebration of the harvest. It is a time of personal rest, and spiritual & cultural renewal, a 'jubilee' so to speak. It was a time when all wars and battles were ceased, tributes and taxes were paid by each district to the ruling chief, sporting competitions and contests between villages were organized, and festive events were commenced. Even some of the rigid kapu (taboos) were suspended for this period of rest and renewal. As in the Bible, the land lay fallow in preparation of the next growing season. The Makahiki is considered a species of "first fruits" festivals common throughout the world's first nations. It is cousin of our own American and Canadian Thanksgiving, of Oktoberfest, and numerous other harvest celebrations of our present day as well.


Though a somewhat similar holiday period was observed throughout Polynesia it was here in pre-contact Hawaii that the festival reached its fullest flower. Lono, the god of peace, agriculture and fertility, was especially propitiated during this period. Lono was said to be embodied in a certain clustering of dark clouds, in thunder, in the partial rainbow, whirlwinds, and even waterspouts - all Hawaii winter phenomena.

The Hawaiian Makahiki festival proceeded in a clockwise circle around the island. The image of Lono (Akua Loa - a long pole with a strip of white tapa cloth) was carried thither by the kahuna. It is said that Captain Cook's sails resembled these lono standards. Arriving as he did during Makahiki assured a peaceful visit. It was not till he returned unexpectedly later that tension developed. You see, at the very end of the Makahiki festival, the chief would go off shore in a canoe. When he stepped back on the beach, a group of his warriors threw spears at him which he had to deflect or parry. Success proved his worthiness to continue his rule. Perhaps Cook merely failed to "duck," proving unworthy?

Today, late November is still the beginning of the Ho`o-ilo (winter or rainy season) in our modern Hawaii. The Makali`i cluster once again rises at sunset and sets at dawn, visible through the night. The Heavenly Chiefs are still watching. Lono, god of peace and harvest, will remain close until Kau (summer) begins with the Makali'i rising in the dawn's east, no longer visible in the dark, sacred night. Till then, Lono is said to be in the rain that falls from the Kona direction, just as I shelter from today. So you see, even now the ancient energies renew the vitality of our `aina (land), nourishing our gardens with liquid blessing.

Todays Makahiki events and activities are practiced in abbreviated form. Still, there are said to be Hawaiian souls who return from the past to embrace their descendants and Hawaii people of today. Island residents still hear ancient drums sounding on certain nights, especially near ancient Heiau (temples) and other sites of timeless significance. Some have even witnessed spectral apparitions, processions of chiefly spirits in ancient regalia, along the ancient, half forgotten ala (paths).


So brew another cup. Pull the covers tighter around you, and listen to the whisperings of your own local gods in the branches and among the buildings. It is a time of rest and renewal; a time of looking forward and back.
Happy MAKAHIKI season to you. Let the games & feasting begin!
A L O H A ! Cloudia

Ghosts of Honolulu

"Aumakua in the clouds"

ghost image

RIP

Moe (Sleep) Mahuhia (peaceful)

Breadfruit

"Family ties in the after-world remain unbroken, and all Hawaiians believe in the power of spirits to return to the scenes they knew on earth in the form in which they appeared while the were alive. Especially is this true of the procession of gods and spirits who come on certain sacred nights to visit the sacred places, or to welcome a dying relative and conduct him to the `Aumakua (ancestral spirit) world."

- Martha Beckworth, "Hawaiian Mythology"

". . . I was allowed a glimpse of a world where the spirits were so ever-present, their manifestations so powerful, that the living and the dead knew no separation...The first direct assault on this [Hawaiian] world of spirit came from the materialism of Westerners who did not recognize the sacredness of all life, animate and inanimate. . . When the Hawaiian spiritual world was altered with the coming of merchants and missionaries, (Samuel M.) Kamakau wrote that much of the Mana left the islands, as new religions, economic systems and attitudes prevailed. In the ancient days, the `Aumakua, family spirits, were healers and 'havens of forgiveness.' They guided the living and even restored life to the dead. 'In this new era,' Kamakau noted, 'the `aumakua have become bitter enemies who punish severely the faults of their descendants when they break a vow they have sworn in their names; . . who break laws, commit adultery, and disregard the laws of God, of the land, of parents, husbands, wives, children and relatives.' "

- Glen Grant, Obake Files: Ghostly Encounters of Supernatural Hawaii, Mutual Publishing

"We must be skeptical about everything, even skepticism" - Cornell West

Spiritual energy seems almost tangible here in the Islands of Hawaii. The seas, skies, and mountain forests are rich with presence; perhaps it is the Mana, the spiritual "force" that animates every pebble, every boulder, every plant on these islands. In this magic land, this `Aina, it is very easy to believe in spirits. The soil itself seems alive.

Watching the volcano fountaining one night years ago, my brother suddenly saw Madame Pele, the volcano goddess dancing hula and surfing on the molten lava. He immediately turned to his friend (who turned to him at the same second) and they both blurted out: "Do you see that?!!!!!" Stories of an old woman hitching rides at night, lighting proffered cigarettes with the tip of her finger, and then disappearing after lengthy conversations, are not uncommon, and the drivers SWEAR that it happened; in some cases thanking Pele for keeping them awake and away from the sea cliffs as they drove home drunk in the wee hours.

I myself have experienced the mischievous spirits of our wilder places. One night they awakened me in my Kona coffee shack, way up on the mountainside. I thought it was a large group of partiers approaching. As I awoke completely, I still heard the voices and I saw darting lights about the shack, but I knew that these were not living visitors. After a few moments they disappeared into the silence of a moonlit night. And no, it wasn't a dream . . .

. . . As Glen Grant wrote, the torches still burn right here in Waikiki too! One Christmas eve a few years ago my husband and I were walking along the bustling, crowded, festive sidewalk of Kalakaua Avenue when I looked beyond the beach and out to the dark ocean to see a procession of torches moving slowly along the shoreline. Never had I seen anything like this: not lights, but torches. No one else seemed to notice, and my husband gave only a perfunctory response when I pointed them out to him. He didn't seem to see what I was talking about. Only later did I learn that processions of Hawaiian spirits are thought to travel from Diamond Head to visit the downtown tombs of ancient of chiefs, kings and kahuna. . .

. . .Diamond Head itself once had a Heiau, (temple) called: Papa-ena-ena which was known as a place of processions and occasional human sacrifice. Mark Twain wrote of visiting it's crumbling walls and of the human bones still interred there. In 1874 Queen Emma (brave lady!) used rocks from the site on her Waikiki property, where they remain today at the International Market Place. Maybe that's why it's so easy to get lost in that warren of shops, carts, and bargains? By 1920 all traces of the temple were erased, and a noted girls' school now thrives on that particular slope of Diamond Head. . .

. . .Downtown Honolulu has always been rife with ghosts and their stories. The voices of crying children are heard in the night where the old orphanage was. A young wahine (woman) is seen at dusk on the grounds of Iolani Palace. Its grounds have long been considered a portal to the world of Po (darkness, night). Queen Liliuokalani herself is seen to patrol the precincts of her capitol (and ours!) keeping a watchful eye on the idiocy of our elected officials who bear her Kuleana (responsibilities) today. . .

. . . Honolulu's most famous ghost story was even reported in the newspapers! When King Lunalilo died in 1874 he was buried at midnight (the custom) at the Royal Mausoleum in Nu`uanu Valley above town. His father, however, asked King Kalakaua to remove his sons royal remains to Kawaiaha`o Church where the first elected Hawaiian king could lie with his people. The King acceded to the families wishes deciding, however, that no cannons would sound the 21 gun salute for the procession and re-burial; it seemed inappropriate under the circumstances. So the Punchbowl cannons were ordered to remain silent. As the procession of torches and high Kahili (feathered staff, emblems of High Chiefs and Royalty) approached the city a slight rain (a blessing) baptized the mourners and coffin. Then they heard the first "boom!" Had the King changed his mind about the artillery salute? No! It was thunder from on high! 21 loud, distinct claps of thunder were heard over the town. The clouds parted to reveal a brilliant star-filled tropic sky only as the coffin was re interred. "Thus did the gods overrule the will of a mortal." reported a local paper of the day. I have been to Lunalilo's tomb in the historic churchyard. Locals say that in the depths of night a voice is sometimes heard calling from the tomb, calling for "paka" (tobacco) of which the the King was very fond.

Photos above are from the Kawaiahao churchyard, and the old King Street Cemetery at Ward Avenue. If you are a serious ghost fan, your library MUST contain at least one book by Glen Grant (RIP)! oh, and . . . . . . . .

BOO!!!!!!!!!!

A L O H A, CLOUDIA