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Tonya
Lokahi
USA
177 Posts |
 Posted - 05/02/2005 : 12:33:19 PM
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I'm hoping this is an okay place to ask this...I've always heard, in the Hawaiian culture, that you can be "adopted" by another family when you're older, even a "grown up" (do any of us really do that?). I seem to recall hearing a special name for what you're then called (in addition to very much loved!). Can someone explain this for me, please?
And, how does that differ from the in-family adoptions that are sometimes mentioned? For example, In the liner notes for "Hawaiian Love Songs," (George Kahumoku, Jr.), the song, "Ke Welina A Kealoha" is listed with the explanation that, "At birth, George was going to adopt his niece; however, her birth mother, Leona, changed her mind and let George name her instead." Is this kind of an infant adoption more of a "godparent" type of thing or would the baby really have been handed over to George for him to raise full time? It sounds like a lot of extended family and love for a little one--and that would be a real blessing--but I'm curious as to how it actually works.
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http://www.uketreasures.com
http://www.ukuleletonya.com |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 12:37:14 PM
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| See if these will get you started on an answer: |
Andy |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 12:39:52 PM
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A google search yeilded hanai.
Oops... Andy beat me to the Submit button. |
Dusty |
Edited by - wdf on 05/02/2005 12:41:46 PM |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 2:02:05 PM
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There have been a lot of hanai (macron over the first "a") relationships in my family, so maybe I can add something.
The term "hanai" is often translated as adoption, but has a wider meaning. The word can refer to the child, the relationship (adjective) or to the adoptive parent. In the traditional setting, hanai adoption is permanent.
I think that in George K's case, the mother of his neice was a teen, and giving a child away for someone else to raise didn't have a stigma attached to it.
In old Hawaiian families, the firstborn belonged to the grandparents. Often the first born son, "ka hiapo", was given permanently to the paternal grandparents. Of course, Hawaiians, at one time, lived in large extended families so the child's birth parents were always around. Some of the traditional hanai relationships were for some kind of apprenticeship in a traditional art or craft, like fishing, medicine, chanting or religious instruction. This was called "kahu hanai", translated as "guardian adoption."
The traditional hanai adoption ceremony included the birth parent pronouncing, out loud, "Nau ke keiki kukae a na'au", which means "the child is yours, guts and all" and symbolized permanence. From thereafter, the child belonged to the hanai parents. (according to "Nana I Ke Kumu" by Pukui/Haertig/Lee)
In the modern era, hanai has come to mean any kind of informal adoption within or between families. A child with parents who couldn't or wouldn't provide care would sometimes join a neighbor family, sometimes taking that family's name, sometimes not. With the prevalence of alcoholism and drug use, children are often cared for by whoever would take them in.
It make for very messy geneology.
I hope this helps.
Jesse Tinsley |
Edited by - hapakid on 05/02/2005 2:05:09 PM |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2005 : 02:06:35 AM
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Kawena Pukui, herself, was hanai, and her daughter, Patience, was hanai. A person who was hanai as an adult most of us know: Kaliko Simon Beamer-Trapp.
...Reid
PS. A word about guts = na`au. Na`au are/were considered the seat of the emotions, in much the same way that Europeans use "heart". As far as I am concerned, the Hawaiians were lots closer; when i am emotional, I feel it in my guts. |
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