The History of Hawaii & Pride

With it being Pride month and me an ally, I want to talk about the history of māhū. Admittedly, I am a novice on this topic, but wanted to share what I've learned so far. 

The word māhū translates to "in the middle" and was used to describe those of dual male and female mind, spirit and heart. Māhū were an integral part of Hawaiian society, having tremendous cultural and spiritual value. Many were healers and teachers who passed on genealogies and knowledge from generation to generation through chants and hula.     

But before I go on, I want to back up to well before the 1500s, to the origin of māhū. I just learned the legend of Kapaemahu, which is a story about four Tahitian healers who traveled to Hawaii and settled in Waikiki. Their names were Kapaemahu, Kapuni, Kinohi and Kahaloa and they were māhū. They were welcomed and loved throughout the islands for their gentleness and healing the sick. When it came time for them to leave, they asked that two stones be placed in their bathing place in the sea and two placed at their residence. So four boulders were moved down to Waikiki where the healers placed māhū idols under each one and transferred their names and spiritual powers to the stones. It is said that the fasting, prayers and incantations lasted a full moon cycle and then the healers vanished and were never seen again. 

I thought this was a beautiful story and what I really love about it is that this telling comes from a manuscript where the story was conveyed to a confidant of Queen Lili’uokalani. And the four stones are still in Waikiki. So could it be true?

After contact with european missionaries so much of the Hawaiian culture was banned, and nearly lost, due to foreign religious beliefs. This included hula. It is also when the word māhū became derogatory and being māhū was forbidden. But in 1883 when hula was allowed to come to light, as it was still practiced but in secret, it was the women and māhū that brought it back. I wish I could say the same for being māhū, while no longer forbidden, still taboo in a lot of places. 

This last bit is what sat in my mind when I started designing the pride piece for this year, the Hoku Bracelet. The sterling silver charm on this bracelet features a north star stamped into it. I chose this as a way to honor being true to yourself along with hand-knotted cord to signify strength within.  

I hope you found this as interesting as I did, and I’m going to list the websites I used to gather information. There is also a beautifully animated short film, like 10 minutes, on queerhistoriesofhawaii.org that you should check out!

I also wanted to quickly acknowledge that so many indigenous groups have their own term for this third gender, which I find fascinating. Until next time. 

mahalo nui loa

Erica

outrightinternational.org

manoanow.org