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David Malo, a full-blooded Native Hawaiian, was born in Keauhou on the island of Hawaii around 1793 and moved to the island of Maui in 1823. Read more

What is sacred?

David Malo, a full-blooded Native Hawaiian, was born in Keauhou on the island of Hawaii around 1793 and moved to the island of Maui in 1823. There, he sought to document the ancient religious practices of Native Hawaiians and wrote a book in the Hawaiian language, the first of its kind: “Hawaiian Antiquities,” which was published around 1838.

It is the most comprehensive documentation of ancient Hawaiian cultural and religious practices known.

In his book, he meticulously documents in more than 100 pages of the 283-page book the religious practices of ancient Hawaiians.

Nowhere in this book does he mention Mauna Kea as a site of religious activity or being a sacred site.

Additionally, nowhere does he document where ali‘i bones (iwi) were buried, as ancient Hawaiians felt that their power or mana was in their iwi. Therefore, ali‘i bones were all buried in secret locations.

Gary R. Johnson

Kaneohe

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