Traditional Hawaii Religion
For my opinion, Traditional Hawaiian Religion would be orthoprax. The definition of orthoprax religion is to emphasize practice, or adherence to the law that probably fits the description of Traditional Hawaiian Religion. Religion was the paramount aspect of Hawaiian life, permeating every daily activity, every aspect of secular affairs, and every significant event, such as birth, marriage, death, house construction, fishing, agriculture, and war. Also the most important things were the regular calendrical celebrations to ensure the people ‘s prosperity and wellbeing. All activities were accompanied by appropriate rites, religious ceremonies, and prayers to establish and maintain proper relations with the spirits. Going through the Traditional Hawaiian Religion, I come up with two evidences for its to be orthoprax that are the kapu system and the Makahiki season. The kapu system was forbidden and sacred law system that ruled over almost every act of Hawaiian life. It included thousands of rules which identified what people could and could not do. The kapu system was based on beliefs about mana. It doesn’t matter they believe in the kapu system or not, they just followed the rules. The people believed that breaking the kapu would bring the anger of the gods on themselves and their community.
Therefore, they made every effort to follow the kapu set down by the ali’i. It emphasizes about the practice more than faith for the kapu system. The second things I want to mention is the Makahiki season, a time of ancient ceremonies celebrating the arrival of Lono with four months vacation. During the Makahiki season, people didn’t have to do the kapu system, they practice sports, feasting, dancing and singing. It was not necessary to have faith or not, people just practiced what they had to do for each period of time of different gods and they also knew that any kapu breakers were put to death. Other things like ceremonies and pilgrimages are the
Therefore, they made every effort to follow the kapu set down by the ali’i. It emphasizes about the practice more than faith for the kapu system. The second things I want to mention is the Makahiki season, a time of ancient ceremonies celebrating the arrival of Lono with four months vacation. During the Makahiki season, people didn’t have to do the kapu system, they practice sports, feasting, dancing and singing. It was not necessary to have faith or not, people just practiced what they had to do for each period of time of different gods and they also knew that any kapu breakers were put to death. Other things like ceremonies and pilgrimages are the