Native Hawaiians share the beliefs and roles surrounding an ‘aumaka in Hawaiian culture
A spirit protector.
A family guardian.
Native Hawaiian students and an author said an ‘aumakua is believed in ancient Hawaiian culture to be an ancestor in the form of living creatures.
Tales of ‘aumakua
Kaysha Kahai-Enos, a senior graduating in business management from the island of Hawaii, said the main ‘aumakua for both her maternal and paternal family is the pueo, or owl.
Kahai-Enos said the pueo has always been her maternal family’s special ‘aumakua. She said when a pueo flies past, over or beside a person, its flying direction connects to certain signs. She said, “Sometimes it’s a warning that something bad will happen and is there to warn and protect us.” Her mother’s sister experienced a time when the pueo protected her. According to Kahai-Enos, her aunt’s experience goes as follows:
“One afternoon, [my aunt] decided she wanted to take a cruise around the island of Hawaii and began her drive from their home in Puna. A drive around the entire island took her six hours. By the time she drove through Kau, it was already dark and late at night. Out of nowhere, a pueo flew onto the road and just stayed right in front of her. She stopped on the side of the road right behind the pueo. She rested until the pueo flew away after a few hours and then continued her journey back home.”
Kahai-Enos said as her aunt recalled the event, she said she knew the pueo was warning her about driving for too long without rest. The aunt said the pueo was there to allow her to get the rest she needed and protect her from getting into a car accident.
Kahai-Enos said these stories of her family’s ‘aumakua have helped her find identity and take strength from her ancestors and family while being away from them here at BYU–Hawaii. “We must take care of the ‘aumakua and pass down stories through generations to live on and allow our culture to be preserved,” she said.
Herbert Kawainui Kāne, a renowned artist-historian in the 1980s who shared his interest in the cultures of Hawaii and the South Pacific, shared a folktale about a pueo ‘aumakua:
“A brother and a sister in their younger years were captured by the chief of their enemies. They were tied to a stake the night they were captured when a pueo, known to be their family ‘aumakua, came in the night and unfastened their bonds with its beak. It led them away cautiously, but they had to walk backward. The next day, their enemies could not find any footprints except those that seemed to lead toward where they were tied, and they gave up searching for them.”
Connecting to ancestors
According to Kāne, the ‘aumakua are ancestral spirits in certain animals and plants. Kāne said ‘aumakua reveal themselves to bring warnings of danger and comfort in times of stress or sorrow. He added the ‘aumakua take possession of living creatures like fish, birds, reptiles, insects or mammals, “leading some Hawaiians to regard certain animals as forms favored by their ‘aumakua,” especially when they have unusual experiences with a specific animal.
Kahai-Enos said common ‘aumakua are the manō (shark), mo’o (lizard), pueo, honu (turtle), he’e (octopus) and even rocks.
Kāne said he found in his research that these Hawaiian families would refrain from killing or eating those animals, which would be a “filial disrespect, for which the ‘aumakua might punish them by bringing sickness [to them].”
Kilihea Kanekoa, a junior majoring in Hawaiian Studies from Kauai, said she has always been fascinated with the ‘aumakua and stories of their protection. “I've always been taught and told about ‘aumakua and that they will protect us as long as we continue to respect them,” she said.
Kanekoa’s husband Kaehukai Burke, a Southern Virginia University alumnus in psychology from Kaneohe, said the veil feels thin and they feel closer to their ancestors because of the Hawaiian beliefs passed down throughout their families. “It allows our family to feel closer to those who have passed on and know we are being supported from the other side of the veil,” he said.