Ho'oponopono : traditional ways of healing to make things right again

Pono is about the importance of living a life of goodness. But what happens when that struggle is knocked out of balance? The cultural practice of restoring this goodness to what it once was is called ho‘oponopono, now a widely known and respected part of Native Hawaiian culture. But without the advocacy of Mary Kewena Pukui and the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center, ho‘oponopono might well have been forgotten. Malcolm Nāea Chun traces the practice of ho‘oponopono back to the earliest traditional accounts, taking the reader on a journey through the practice’s acceptance in academic circles and its institutionalization into health and social practices in modern Hawai‘i. This book is one of twelve short volumes of the Ka Wana series, which is part of the Pihana Nā Mamo Native Hawaiian Education Program. From the Foreword: For more than fifteen years, Pihana Na Mamo, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education through the Native Hawaiian Education Act, has been actively involved with Hawai'i Department of Education schools in improving educational results for Hawaiian children and youth. We have witnessed the powerful role that our rich Hawaiian culture and heritage, and in particular the revival of interest in Native Hawaiian culture and the desire to practice Hawaiian customs appropriately, play in motivating our students to learn and excel. The first step to ensure such an outcome is to gain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural basis for the many Hawaiian customs and traditions. To this end, Malcolm Naea Chun, a cultural specialist with the Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG) of the University of Hawai'i, has researched and compiled valuable information on several Hawaiian cultural traditions and practices. In Alaka'i, Chun addresses the topic of leadership, asking what traditional leadership styles and practices looked like in old Hawai'i, and how those might serve us today. In an earlier publication entitled 'Ano Lani, he wrote about the role of Hawai'i's monarchy and asked the rhetorical question about Hawaiian leadership, "Who is the next Kamehameha?" In Alaka'i, he deepens that inquiry by exploring the roots of Hawaiian leadership through traditional sources and the eye-witness accounts of foreigners as they observed Hawaiian leaders in action. His years of service at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have given Chun a unique vantage point to see how traditional means of Hawaiian leadership have evolved and how they operated in the modern era. This book is part of the Ka Wana Series, a set of publications developed through Pihana Na Mamo and designed to assist parents, teachers, students, and staff in their study and modern-day application of Hawaiian customs and traditions "Education is a high priority for Native Hawaiian families today, even while many Native Hawaiian children are identified for remedial or special education. But there was a period in Hawaiian history when the literacy rates for Native Hawaiians, both children and adults, was higher than that of the United States. What happened and what can we learn from that situation in addressing the education needs of Native Hawaiians today? In A‘o Malcolm Näea Chun takes the reader through the fascinating story of how Native Hawaiians learned, why learning and knowledge were prized in traditional society, and how two systems—native and foreign—combined to achieve one of the highest literacy rates in the world. A‘o offers traditional and historical examples that provide insights into the practices of learning and teaching in a native society, bringing together cultural and educational perspectives to help parents, teachers, and administrators develop new ways of learning that are relevant to a culturally based native community"--Publisher's description "Pono is about the importance of living a life of goodness. But what happens when that struggle is knocked out of balance? The cultural practice of restoring this goodness to what it once was is called ho'oponopono, now a widely known and respected part of Native Hawaiian culture. But without the advocacy of Mary Kawena Pukui and the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, ho'oponopono might well have been forgotten. Malcolm Näea Chun traces the practice of ho'oponopono back to the earliest traditional accounts, taking the reader on a journey through the practice's acceptance in academic circles, and its institutionalization into health and social practices in modern Hawai'i"--Publisher's description