Winter-Long Celebration in Hawaii

November 19th, 2009

"Anywhere that has a celebration lasting FOUR MONTHS is my kinda place."  That was my first thought when I heard about the traditional Hawaiian observance of Makahiki last year.  I know a little more about it now and am even more convinced.  As with most celebrations, it can be as little or as much as one makes of it. 

Makahiki begins with the appearance of the Pleaides - a cluster of stars also known as the "Seven Sisters."  Beginning in late October or November, it rises at sunset and sets at dawn, visible all night. According to legend, it was revered as the place from which the first Hawaiian people came to Earth

In pre-contact Hawaii (before Captain Cook’s voyages put Hawaii on European maps), Makahiki held great religious and cultural significance.  It began with ritual cleansing by bathing in the sea and donning new clothes.  Offerings to the god Lono were gathered by each island neighborhood (ahupua‘a) and presented to his image as it was carried around the island in a clockwise circle.  Makahiki was a time of rest from work and war but games tested athletic skills.  Contests included sports such as:  boxing, wrestling, spear-tossing, canoe-racing, swimming, relays and, of course, surfing.  During the winter months of Makahiki, waves are especially high and, even today, surfing is best left to the experienced.  Details of the celebration varied by area and island.  As Makahiki concluded, the offerings that had been collected for Lono were put into a canoe and set adrift at sea, some say to help Lono return to the ancestral lands and be generous in the coming year.  A final feast marked the end of Makahiki and the beginning of a new year.

The celebration can be seen to incorporate both traditional harvest festivals (like Thanksgiving) and religious notions of the coming/return of deity (like Christmas and Easter).  It recognizes the cycle of nature; the rainy season is necessary for fertility in the coming year.  But my favorite notion is the idea that people, too, need a rest.  After working hard to plant, cultivate and harvest, we need time for rest, play, talk-story and spiritual renewal.  The "chilly" mornings and rainy nights remind us to relax — soon enough it will be time to re-enter the fields.

Posted by Cindy Scheopner  Follow me on Twitter @Scheopner

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Entry Filed under: Customs, Practices and Pastimes, Hawaii Vacation Links, In General, Uncategorized