Path of the Kahuna
Historical Perspectives by
Kahu Wendell Kalani Silva

Marriage - Ancient Hawaiian Style

Part 1

Types of Marriages
Marriage, as it is celebrated in the Hawaiian islands today did not exist in the days of old Hawai`i. The uniting of two people in a relationship in traditional Hawai`i was not conducted with elaborate wedding rituals, or governed by strict licensing applications, legal registration requirements, technical pre-nuptial agreements, or life-long civil and religious contracts. For the early Hawaiian couple, there were primarily three types of marriage unions: Noho Pu, Ho`ao, and Male.

Noho Pu
In the ancient times, for the maka`ainana or commoners, there were little or no formalities for marriage. Hawaiian couples simply chose each other and (hiamoe) slept together or commenced (noho pu) living together as common law spouses.

Ho`ao
The Ho`ao wedding ritual normally reserved for the Hawaiian chiefly class, is usually considered today as the traditional formal Hawaiian marriage ceremony.

Ho`ao which literally translates as to stay until daylight. This also refers to the Night of the day called Huna, the eleventh night of the month when the ho`ao nuptial ceremonies usually took place. It is believed that the Ho`ao marriage custom originated as a decree by a supreme commandment of ke Akua, (God) in order to create a lasting bond (ua pa`a loa ka noho ana) between a single man and a woman.

The principal purpose for the Ho`ao marriage ceremonies was to formalize a royal couple's union in order to procreate noble offspring whose chiefly lineage and rank was clearly legitimate, whose inherited mana (spiritual power) was assured, and in whom certain ancestral genetic physical and mental attributes could be anticipated.

Mare or Male
Mare or Male is a contemporary "westernized" Hawaiian term for marriage, matrimony, wedding ; to marry and generally which refers to post western contact marriages performed in Hawai`i after the coming of the Missionaries in the 1800's and is associated primarily with the introduction of the religious Christian marriage.

Part 2
Look for more in the next issue...

The Betrothal - Ho`opalau