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werewolf

Vegetarian Rewrites of History

Posted on 2008.11.29 at 02:15
Current Mood: cranky
My spidey-sense told me that something I wanted was waiting for me at Half Price Books today. It was correct. I found a copy of The Hawaiian Oracle: Animal Spirit Guides from the Land of Light by Rima A. Morrell, Phd which has been on my wish list for years.

Gods, I wanted this deck to blow me away. I'm a nut for Animal Oracles that break the Wolf-Eagle-Buffalo mold (not that those are always bad). This deck includes critters like Sea Slug, Mullet, and Mud Hen which made me go squee.

Then I noticed that the companion book is nearly as bad as The Medicine Cards in mixing New Age beliefs with traditional tribal ones and claiming that they are one and the same. Which sucks because Morrell *does* seem very well versed in Huna and basic Hawaiian culture, but now I have to take everything said about the myths and belief systems with a grain of salt.

What *really* tanked it for me was her total rewrite of Huna culture based on her vegetarian beliefs/practice. I've seen this a few handfuls of times in books on animal based spirituality and it pisses me off.
To be clear, I have no problem with vegetarians or vegans. And if one wants to write about their *modern* animistic or pagan beliefs and explain why vegetarianism or veganism is a vital part of their beliefs and actions, then cool. Part of the privilege of writing your own book is voicing your opinions and philosophy.
But do not, I repeat, DO NOT rewrite the history and beliefs of past cultures to match your beliefs. It is dishonest, unscholarly, and unethical. Accept that the cultures you revere had aspects to them that you disagreed with and either move on or provide an honest counterpoint as to why you believe those aspects shouldn't apply to us today.

Here was the part that made me doubt the author's authority on Huna and their relation to animals.

"The Hawaiian Islands today, although bright and beautiful, have forgotten some of the original lore: the lesson of respect, where we all deserve to be honoured for who we are; the lesson of 'no harm', where we cause no harm to any living being. If one creature happens to have taken the body of a pig, a fish or a chicken, it doesn't give another with the body of a human the right to kill the first and eat it. Most Hawaiians today have forgotten this, killing a pig, for instance, in the belief that they're being true to 'old ways'. They are not. They're being true to ideas of sacrifice that were imposed upon the island, but aren't true to the old ways of light and love. The Hawaiian Oracle talks of the original knowledge where sacrifice of any kind--whether human or animal--would have been a grave dishonour."

I'm sorry, but there has never been any evidence for the existance of a preindustrial, tribal vegetarian society. Vegetarianism first started in ancient India, China, and Greece. The Polynesian peoples did not bring pigs and chickens with them on their migrations to be pets. And I don't believe for one moment that an island-bound people with limited agricultural practices abstained from eating fish.
I also don't get the reference to ideas of sacrifice being "imposed" upon the island. Missionaries were appalled by any sort of "heathen" practices and moved quickly to stamp them out.
The importance of pig sacrifices in Hawaiian culture is well documented and far from being seen as a "grave dishonour" was seen as a way to honor specific gods, commemorate the building of sea crafts, and settle economic disputes.
Also, if there is any sort of "old ways of light and love" in Huna culture I guarun-damn-tee it that those ways were NOT identitical to New Age or neopagan ideas of "light and love". Here's a hint: if you believe that another culture believed everything that you do, you're probably wrong.
Tribal cultures have tons of great teachings and beliefs that are inspiring and (in my opinion) important to relearn. However, there are also many examples of tribal belief systems that are in no way compatable with the various modern philosophies of animal rights and welfare. That needs to be understood and faced honestly. The legitimacy of animal sacrifice and meat eating is rightfully up for debate. Anthropological and historical facts are NOT.
Rewriting the traditional beliefs of tribal people to turn them into the people you want them to be is the height of ethnocentrism.
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Comments:

firehauke
[info]firehauke at 2008-11-29 09:30 (UTC) (Link)
bleh - and here I thought I'd be able to add this deck to my own wish list.

But not if she's rewriting history! Will have to look her up and see what her PhD is in...damn stupid woman.
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firehauke
[info]firehauke at 2008-11-29 09:32 (UTC) (Link)
zomg, she's got a doctorate in Hawaiian traditions, and a masters in social anthropology! what the hell?

dug up a website: http://www.hunalight.com/

I'll let you read it and critique.
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paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-11-29 09:57 (UTC) (Link)
Wowie. Her advice on determining if Huna is "right" for someone basically boils down to the meaning of their birth name and how they react to Polynesian music. And all the talk of Lemuria, Higher Self, and soul mates is straight from New Age and other modern spiritual belief systems. No, I do not trust her authority on Hawaiian shamanism.
My advice is to get the cards if you can find them at a low price like I did and chunk the book. The cards are beautiful and could be very inspiring for those who are drawn to Hawaiian animals or sea creatures in general. But the book can't be trusted.
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firehauke
[info]firehauke at 2008-11-29 12:15 (UTC) (Link)
Nod. LOL on her though, yikes.

Put a review up on Paganbooks!
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(Anonymous) at 2008-12-17 04:36 (UTC) (Link)

Misunderstanding of hunalight.com

You are using anecdotal accounts from the website to make a point out of context which does not fit. People usually intuitively know whether Huna is right for them and the meaning of names is an integral part of Huna (the subject of my Ph.D. on it in fact), and provides a clue. The Higher Self, 'Aumakua is entirely true to Huna, and the fact that it has been appropriated by the New Age does not change that. Lemuria has been referred to again and again by people on remote islands all over the Pacific where I did my fieldwork who live traditional lives in remote valleys without modern communications and have never heard of the New Age - it is part of the ancient mythology. Again this has been appropriated, and does not change the original validity. Likewise Hawaii has developed the most complex society of love in History, a (Professor Sahlins 1985) and ways to 'meet' and 'recognize' your mate were highly, highly developed - again understood through the meanings of the ancient language. I translate these ideas into English to make them understandable by people who do not know the meanings of these ancient words. Perhaps though I will also put some Hawaiian on the website to give greater authenticity. Thank you.
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paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-12-17 07:28 (UTC) (Link)

Re: Misunderstanding of hunalight.com

I'll break my usual rule about not responding to anonymous posts because I see no reason to doubt you are who you say you are and because your counterpoints have been generally polite. But if you wish to continue debate/explainations, I do suggest you get a free account so that you can be alerted to replies.
The Higher Self, 'Aumakua is entirely true to Huna, and the fact that it has been appropriated by the New Age does not change that.
It is because of such appropriation that I am leary of replacing phrase for a traditional belief with a phrase that is common jargon in modern spiritual movements without a deeper explaination. 'Aumakua may very well be best understood by non-Huna as "Higher Self" but I sincerely doubt that the way Huna approaches 'Aumakua is identical to the way New Agers approach Higher Self. And that's the problem. Someone with a New Age or neopagan background is likely to infer that Higher Self in Huna holds the same implications as what they have learned about Higher Self in their more modern traditions without bothering to learn the specific nuances and particulars of 'Aumakua. Without this education there will sadly be many who will simply believe that Huna is is a Hawaiian flavored version of the New Ageism they already practice and go no further, thus starting the process of watering down and mutating the true tradition.

Lemuria has been referred to again and again by people on remote islands all over the Pacific where I did my fieldwork who live traditional lives in remote valleys without modern communications and have never heard of the New Age - it is part of the ancient mythology. Again this has been appropriated, and does not change the original validity.

I know more about the Atlantian mythos (and its misuse) than Lemurian mythos. I'd be interested in knowing if the islanders you met specifically used the name Lemuria. If so, it would be educational to know when and how this idea was tacked on to New Age beliefs and how the two differ. If they used another term for Lemuria, I would consider it important to learn the original lore sans New Age interpretations of it.

I translate these ideas into English to make them understandable by people who do not know the meanings of these ancient words.
I can understand your motives for this and the fact that a fuller education might not be within the scope of the companion book to the The Hawaiian Oracle. However, there are many fast-food spiritualists out there who read one book and believe they know a subject. Being alerted to the fact that you did translate ideas into more modern terms for easier understanding and then directed to more advanced reading on Huna (your books and others) would have been nice.
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Gemma
[info]teacupdiaries at 2008-11-29 18:26 (UTC) (Link)
If ANYONE ever says that a culture had beliefs of "light and love", I immediately consider their opinion to be utter bullshit. That is entirely a modern phrase from a particular movement, and I weep that this woman has the background she does!
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paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-11-30 00:41 (UTC) (Link)
*nods* I was being overly diplomatic, I think. Hawaiian culture does have elements of sun worship and their oral traditions include what we might call love stories. But no, it would be totally untruthful to look at that and say they saw these things in the same way Western spirituality does. You just can't rip off the tiny similarities and claim knowledge of all the nuances of a culture's beliefs.
Maybe you'll have some insight into this, but I've noticed that percentage-wise British and other European authors of books inspired by North American shamanisms tend to suck hard when it comes to the interpretation of it. Like they have a tendancy to go over-romantic much more than North Americans. Which I find odd because we're the ones with all the guilt over the genocides and feelings of being rootless invaders.
To be fair, I suspect there is an opposite trend when it comes to Celtic and Norse inspired stuff. I'll bet American books tend to cause much eye-rolling in Europe.
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Gemma
[info]teacupdiaries at 2008-11-30 02:35 (UTC) (Link)
It's hard to say, actually. I've noticed most of the books in the 'new age' section of British stores are from American authors or publishing houses. A lot of the books on Shamanism I have read have been VERY 'airy fairy' with little to no actual historical reference or research, and the same seems to be true of Celtic/Norse stuff. The advantage with the latter is that, in Europe, you can find very good historical books on those subjects, which can help combat the fluffybunny new age books. It's difficult to find any well researched books on Native American culture and beliefs in most UK book stores.
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Lupa
[info]lupabitch at 2008-11-29 20:26 (UTC) (Link)
hey--if you still have the thing, can I buy it off you? I'd love to have a crack at it.
(Reply) (Thread)
paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-11-30 00:45 (UTC) (Link)
I went to HBP and picked up a complete set for ya. It cost seven dollars. I know you have a beading set and book waiting for me, so it can go to paying for that if you like.
I have about six books I need to send to you and will try to do so soon.

Oh, I'm sure you'll love the part about fish eating being a perversion of a harmless capture-and-release netting ritual. *snorts*
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(Anonymous) at 2008-12-17 04:41 (UTC) (Link)

Misquote of the Hawaiian Oracle

There is NOTHING in my book about fish-eating being part of 'harmless capture-and-release' netting ritual. Perhaps you could give the page number and the reference where you found this supposed example which, to my knowledge, does not exist and which I did not write. Why exactly are you inventing quotes about my book? Are you prepared to look at your own belief system?
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paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-12-17 07:44 (UTC) (Link)

Re: Misquote of the Hawaiian Oracle

The above was based on a quite un-invented quote found in the section devoted to 'Anae/Mullet, p. 14.

"Also, eating fish is a modern corruption. The ideal is to bless them and let them go their own way, knowing that by so doing you are increasing your own abundance."

This was directly after a tale of a fisherman named Kamakana being blessed with a full net of mullet by the goddess Hina.
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Uncle Hyena
[info]unclehyena at 2008-12-05 16:14 (UTC) (Link)
Just... Amazing. Of course, SHE would be horrified at the idea that her behavior was blindly bigotted...
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paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-12-05 22:58 (UTC) (Link)
Yep. Of course she would say that I'm the unenlightened bigot for not believing that her pet tribe is anything less than perfect fluffy indigenous kittens.
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(Anonymous) at 2008-12-17 04:27 (UTC) (Link)

Misunderstandings of the Hawaiian Oracle from author

As the author of the Hawaiian Oracle there are some significant misunderstandings in your review. First my authority. I have a Ph.D. in Hawaiian culture from University College, London, have studied and taught at the Universities of London and Hawaii and Cambridge, lived in the islands for years learning from the kupuna (the people with the ancient knowledge) studied the Hawaiian language for nineteen years so far and everything I say is backed up academically.

Second. Your misunderstanding appears to hinge around what Hawaiian culture is. The Hawaiian culture now, and even that represented in the Bishop Museum, is not the Hawaiian culture of the past. The subtitle of the book: Gateway to the Land of Light refers to the ancient continent of Lemuria. This book refers to the principle (first) culture, not the present culture usually understood as Polynesian imposed by Paao of samoa in the 13th century, who arrived with the aforesaid pigs and chickens that were indeed used for sacrifice which people now understand as Hawaiian. He also brought in human sacrifice. These practices started on the Big Island and took place on most of the islands (Molokai and parts of Kauai are the exception) Many of the original Lemurian ideas (i.e. pre-sacrifice) have been passed down in certain Hawaiian historical accounts and myths and books, which I quote from. Other accounts refer to the 'imposed' culture, usually today understood as the Hawaiian, which I do not quote from here, although I have done extensively elsewhere (and used to teach history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa), so am well versed with these accounts, and the arising disputes in terms of interpretation and the effects.

The word count id limited, and a fuller description of the differences between Lemuria and present-day Hawaii lies in my first book The Sacred Power of Huna. I certainly admit my vegetarian beliefs are not true to present-day island culture (it was often awkward for me doing fieldwork and being vegetarian there) - but then those Polynesian invaders, who were successful over most of the islands have rewritten history in their image. History is usually written by the winners, although there are always many contested histories going on. However the beliefs are true to the culture before that, which is what the cards refer to. With respect, I would suggest reading the book much more carefully before writing the review, as it is based on some fundamental misunderstandings. Maybe you are not keen on vegetarianism, but nonetheless sources suggest that fundamental respect for every living creature was part of ancient culture of the islands, which has been changed in some ways (but certainly not every way), and the present-day attitudes of the Hawaiians, who even though they might now eat meat, still greatly respect the environment and the creatures in it who in turn also respect them. For instance, there has never been a report of a shark attack on a native Hawaiian in the islands and the brother of a Hawaiian friend for instance, would swim down to a sea-cave below the end of the family garden, which I visited with her, every day, to feed a local shark breadfruit, who would be waiting for it). I have also hung out with Hawaiian families who like to swim with their special sharks, and even pick barnacles off them when they are in the water with them to make them more comfortable.

Yes, the website www.hunalight.com has a New Agey feel. I could just have easily done an academic website. However the ideas of Huna do not exist in a vacuum, and my intent is to help others. Although it would put some more mentally-oriented people off, it provides a more accessible format for most people and I have had some good feedback from those it has helped with stuff going on in their life which suggest to me it is the best approach for an enormously complex and deep subject, if not for everyone, than for some. And my studies show me prioritizing helping others is true to the ancient meanings of Huna. If you would like a more academic approach I would suggest looking at a couple of my academic articles and conference speaking history on the website or the Ph.D.itself.

Thank you anyway for interest, and glad you like the art work.

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paleo
[info]paleo at 2008-12-17 08:59 (UTC) (Link)

Re: Misunderstandings of the Hawaiian Oracle from author

This book refers to the principle (first) culture, not the present culture usually understood as Polynesian imposed by Paao of samoa in the 13th century, who arrived with the aforesaid pigs and chickens that were indeed used for sacrifice which people now understand as Hawaiian.
Before reading the Oracle book, I had only glancing knowledge of this issue. And most people would have none. Again, being directed to further books to gather more knowledge would have been most helpful. It would also have added much greater veracity to your arguments for vegetarianism as a benificial practice for those interested in Huna.

Maybe you are not keen on vegetarianism
It is not the vegetarianism that concerns me. The need to address issues and provide debate about how we coexist with animals, plants, water, and land is vital in this day and age. While not a vegetarian, I welcome discourse about why many shamanist/animists/totemists choose vegetatianism or veganism as a vital pillar of their practice.
My issue is that, after studying shamanism and general animal-centered spirituality for over a decade, it becomes apparent that there is a HUGE unbalance towards misrepresentation and outright fabrication of traditional shamanic/animistic spirituality. I do believe that modern shamans/shamanists need to become more demanding about the honesty of sources and depth of knowledge found in books.

Although it would put some more mentally-oriented people off, it provides a more accessible format for most people and I have had some good feedback from those it has helped with stuff going on in their life which suggest to me it is the best approach for an enormously complex and deep subject, if not for everyone, than for some.
It is my belief that accessibility and depth of knowledge aren't incompatible with each other. The information just needs to be well-tiered.
Someone coming to you for healing or someone who is interested in adding a few basic techniques of Huna to their spirituality perhaps doesn't need to know all the finer ins and outs of Huna. But someone who seeks to claim Huna as their main spirituality, yes, I absolutely believe that they should be open to and seek out a more academic understanding of the subject to pair with their intuitive, spirit-based learning.

I'll leave off here because my felid is complaining that I'm focusing too long on something that isn't her. Also, my friend Lupa is far more eloquent about addressing the increasing concerns many modern neopagan (and New Age) shamanists have with the need to reclaim shamanic wisdom while also fighting the more damaging trends found in our own camp. http://therioshamanism.com/2007/11/08/on-cultural-appropriation/
Thank you for the explainations and information about where your work comes from. I hope I have more sufficiently explained my own concerns.
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