Loving Creator, we thank you for the ways in which your ever-moving, life-giving Spirit continues to unfold in our midst. Open our hearts in love to your presence in this moment and to our neighbors, near and far, both human and non-human, with whom we share this beloved earthly home. Amen.
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This week we continue our sermon series on world religions with an exploration of some of the religious beliefs and practices of indigenous peoples. This sermon can only briefly highlight some of these traditions. So, if you are interested in learning more, there are a lot of great educational materials out there.
*(See below for some resources that I have found helpful and interesting.)
When we talk about indigenous peoples, we are talking about the original inhabitants of a place; those who resided in a location before colonialism – before European explorers first made contact, before settlers, before missionaries, before industrialization and globalization. And we are talking about their descendants, our contemporaries, many of whom still live in these places and all who claim these places as their ancestral homes, despite the incalculable impact colonialism has had on their people’s ways of life throughout history.
And we owe a debt of gratitude to indigenous peoples for preserving and sharing their religious traditions with the broader world. It is their persistence and perseverance that has kept their cultures alive. Here in Long Beach, we should particularly give thanks to the Tongva Nation, for we now reside on their homeland.
As we consider indigenous religion, I find it helpful to remember that all of the world’s religions were, in a sense, indigenous, at the beginning. And that is because all religious traditions grew up out of the experiences, perspectives, cultures, and histories of particular peoples in particular places. And all of these traditions have continued to develop, evolve, change, and grow in various ways over time. Religion is dynamic, not static. Some traditions have stayed more local. Some have gone more global. And, as we know with our own faith, there are diverse and varied expressions and perspectives to be found when learning from practitioners of all spiritual paths.
About 1,700 years ago, a group of Polynesians set out in their canoes from the Marquesas Islands and ventured north to the uninhabited island chain we now know as Hawaii. They brought with them their inherited culture and religion, and over the centuries, as they settled into their new environment, their way of life evolved to become distinctively Hawaiian.
Like many indigenous traditions, Native Hawaiian religion is deeply rooted in relationship with the natural world. The sky, the land, the sea, and all who call earth home are sacred. All of nature is alive and animated by spiritual power. Humans can know and experience the divine through our interactions with the natural world. And all creation is one family, one ‘ohana, one interdependent web of life. We humans are relatives, siblings, to the wind and the waves, to the pineapple plant and the humuhumunukunukuapua’a (the trigger fish that inhabits Hawaii’s reefs).
Native Hawaiian religion notes that humans are the younger relatives of the older, non-human entities of the islands and this truth invites us to practice reverence and humility.
One creation chant, the Kumulipo (which has over two-thousand lines that were chanted from memory) tells the story of the unfolding development of creation over sixteen eras which all began in the dark, chaotic primordial soup called Pō that gave birth to all life. It chronicles many of the distinctive features of the islands such as the formation of the reefs, and the fish and other creatures that call the reefs home, and various types of seaweed. It is only after the creation of much flora and fauna that some of the major gods are created and later, the first humans. The Kumulipo teaches all who hear it about the beautiful and precious world around them and their place within it.
Native Hawaiian religion includes many akua. We can translate akua into English as a god, a deity, a spirit. Hawaiian Christians also refer to God as Akua. Many akua are embodied by the elements of nature and the akua animate and orchestrate the movements of nature. And there is a lot of specificity. For example, one of the most important akua, Kāne, embodies the sun. But Kū makes it rise and Hina makes it set. There are also important akua associated with fish and fishing, a central source of food.
You’ve probably heard of Pele. Pele even made the New York Times when Kilauea erupted several years ago. She is the leader of a clan of akua associated with Hawaii’s volcanos. Pele is embodied in the lava and the one who causes it to flow. She is the creator of the islands who is still creating land to this day. And humans must respect her power for both creation and destruction. Pele’s younger sister follows in her wake and is the one who brings forth new vegetation in the cracks of the cooled lava, making the new land Pele has created viable for life to unfold.
The power of akua surpasses that of humans, of course, and calls for our worship and respect. There are thousands of akua that are named. But many Native Hawaiians also note that there are more akua than humans know. I love that idea. There is a mystical leaning to this acknowledgement that we can’t possibly know all the akua. There is always mystery in the Divine and mystery in the cosmos that we humans cannot comprehend.
So, with all due respect to the Apostle Paul, I think perhaps he may have misinterpreted the intent of the Athenians altar to an unknown god. We don’t always have to know everything in order to worship and to experience awe, wonder, reverence, and respect for the Divine that is bigger than ourselves and beyond our comprehension at times. The Athenians might not have been looking for an explanation.
However, Paul’s theological perspective is a good one. God (known by many names) is the one who gives life to all; the Divine presence, source, and Spirit who is near; the one in whom “we live, and move, and have our being.” This idea meshes quite well with a lot of indigenous religious beliefs and practices that emphasize the creative power of the Divine and divine presence right here, right now, within all creation.
Native Hawaiian spiritual practice also includes veneration of ancestors. ‘Aumākua are ancestral guardians who protect, guide, comfort, strengthen, and impart wisdom and knowledge to their descendants. They are often embodied in non-human forms such as animals or other elements of nature. And when family members die it is their ‘aumākua who meet them and guide them to the spirit world.
When many Hawaiians converted to Christianity in the 19th century, veneration of ‘aumākua is one element of Native Hawaiian spirituality that persisted strongly at that time and continues to. These days, many Native Hawaiian Christians have harmonized their indigenous religious beliefs and practices with their Christian faith. Many Native Hawaiian Buddhists have done the same with Buddhism.
Native Hawaiian spirituality also centers on the idea that mana (spiritual power) is what enlivens and animates all things. People have mana that manifests in various spiritual gifts like the gift of prophecy or the gift of a good memory to tell the stories and lead the chants (some of which are quite long, as I noted earlier). Words have mana (think of aloha; that is a word that has the power to express love, offer hospitality, build community). Objects can have mana. Breath has mana that is life-giving and healing. Mana can be given to others by those who have power to bestow (historically those included chiefs and kings). Akua can pass along mana to people. And one could even curse someone by taking away their mana.
Specific practices have varied throughout history. But worship has often included rituals and prayers that honor and give thanksgiving to akua and ask akua for help and for mana that is needed. Offerings may be made to akua. Chanting and dancing (including hula) and other ritual worship activities that still persist in Hawaiian culture were developed in community over time.
Like many religious traditions in other cultures, there were also prohibitions and regulations in Native Hawaiian practice including dietary restrictions, codified gender roles, and a defined social order. Historically, these helped structure society. And these have also evolved and changed in various ways over time. In 1819 King Kamehameha II abolished many of the strictest gender laws. Prior to that time, men and women had to eat separately, for example, and there were foods that were forbidden for women to eat that were associated with certain male deities. However, men did the cooking.
There are many parallels between Native Hawaiian beliefs and practices and those of Native Americans on the mainland. One of the central tenets of both is that we humans are called to coexistence and to live in cooperation with the natural world. We are allowed to use the natural resources we need, but we should not take too much from Mother Earth. We are called to respect, revere, and give thanks for creation. And we are invited to recognize and honor the Divine Spirit that is present in all that is.
Reverence for creation is part of our own faith as well. Unfortunately, throughout history, many of our ancestors of European descent have too often forgotten and neglected this call to respectful coexistence.
And many times, throughout our history, indigenous peoples have reminded any who will listen that the land is sacred and that people are part of the land, not above it. They have called out the misguided colonial view that people are superior to other creatures and that nature is ours for the taking. Indigenous peoples have often been the leaders in protecting that which is sacred, including ancestral lands and burial grounds, water sources, oceans, and species in danger of extinction.
Maybe you’ve heard the proclamation of the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy that “in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” Or perhaps you’ve heard the Ute proverb: “Treat the earth well. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” These are more than nice sentiments. They are calls to action. We must always consider what impact our current actions might have on others, including future generations.
Indigenous spiritual traditions also invite us to embrace an anti-colonial perspective in our own practice of faith. We must look to the past and learn from it. We must atone for the sins of our own ancestors when needed and strive to do better and be better global partners for a more just and peaceful future for all. This call to live in harmony with all creation, both human and non-human, is perhaps the most important lesson we can learn and practice we can strive to embody.
In 1872, at the age of nine years old, Black Elk, a member of the Oglala band of the Lakota tribe received this vision from Wakan Tanka (Great Spirit):
I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there, I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together in one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy. (Black Elk Speaks, p. 43)
As an old man, nearing the end of his life, reflecting on the years of hardship his Lakota people had endured, Black Elk lamented that the beautiful tree in his vision had not bloomed and, in fact, had withered. But, nevertheless, in faith, he still called out to Wakan Tanka, “it may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds. Hear me, not for myself, but for my people.” (Black Elk Speaks, p. 274)
Black Elk’s vision for a world at peace, a creation living in harmony, is a vision shared by many people throughout history, including Jesus (I am reminded of his parable of the mustard seed). We have inherited this vision. And it is ours now to embody, to create together, not only for ourselves, but for all who call earth home, both human and non-human, and for the generations to come.
Amen.
Bibliography & Some Resources for Further Education
Brown, Marie Alohalani, Indigenous Religion of Hawai’i, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, February 22, 2023.
*This article provides a great introduction to Native Hawaiian religion.
Kumulipo: A Video About the Importance of The Native Hawaiian Creation Story
Beckwith, Martha Warren, Hawaiian Mythology, 1940.
Introduction to the Tongva Nation of the Greater LA Basin
Neihardt, John G., Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, as told through John G. Neihardt (Flaming Rainbow), 1932.
Ken Burns’ Documentary, The American Buffalo, 2023.
This film does an excellent job of presenting a piece of our country’s history that every American should know about and learn from.
Dadirri – A Podcast Episode About Australian Aboriginal Spirituality