That's the only solution I can think of.
We subscribe to A.Word.A.Day, a daily word list. To tell you the truth, I usually ignore it, but the other day I glanced and saw that it was telling about a word I know, "kahuna."
"That's from the Hebrew word, Kohen, priest, I said to myself. Many Kohenim (plural of Kohen) have the family name Kahane, very similar to kahuna."
Then I read the email:
A.Word.A.Day--kahuna
This week's theme: words borrowed from other languages.
kahuna (kuh-HOO-nuh) noun
1. A priest or a medicine man.
2. An important person (usually in the phrase: big kahuna).
[From Hawaiian kahuna. Hawaiian is a Polynesian language spoken in the Hawaiian islands in the Pacific. The number of native speakers of the language has decreased to just a few hundred.]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"It's tough being yesterday's man. At a briefing introducing investors to the new AMP boss Craig Dunn, outgoing kahuna Andrew Mohl appeared a little left out." Michael Evans; Marginbet Takes Even Bigger Bet; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Nov 27, 2007.
Hawaiian? No way!
52 comments:
Way!
There's also a word in Hawaiian, kaona, which means the inner meaning or inner intention of an expression. [E.g., the wording of a poem might be understood as being very religious, or as being very, um, rascally. If you want to know which is the true kaona, you'll have to ask the poet.]
It strikes me that the Hawaiian kaona sounds quite close to the Yemenite pronunciation of the Hebrew kavanah (since in the Yemenite dialect the letter vav there is pronounced similarly to a "w").
Then again, I tend to think that "Auwe!" ["Alas!"] is the Hawaiianized pronunciation of "Oy vey!"
BTW, I'm not sure how many speakers of Hawaiian there are now, but the numbers have, I'm sure, been going up in recent decades (after a considerable history of at least quasi-official efforts at suppression). Starting around the 1970's, there developed a growing movement of younger-generation Hawaiians wanting to understand the language and culture of their grandparents. Now there's a network of schools where all the subjects -- arithmetic, social studies, etc. -- are taught in Hawaiian, from the earliest grades.
-- Margalit (Yerushalayim, by way of Honolulu)
Interesting, but now surprise. There are linguistics who see Hebrew as one of the, or THE original language, source of all.
The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology as Hawaiian, but Hawaiian religion is has Polynesian origins (I think), and it is not unreasonable for the word to have made it there from biblical Hebrew. Any etymologists around?
Considering that Hebrew, and Kohanim, have been around a lot longer than the Oxford Dictionary, I'd like to know how long the terms have been in Hawaiin.
As far as I know, the term kahuna is indigenous to the Hawaiian language (i.e., not "imported" into the language by xian missionaries). IIRMHLC [If I recall my history lessons correctly], the Polynesians first reached the Hawaiian Islands about 1500 years ago.
M(YBWOH) [Margalit, Yerushalayim by way of Honolulu]
Margalit, that's very important information, since Hebrew is much, much older!
Thank you
With respect to Hawaiiana, read some good factual Hawaiian history and you will see that the "kahunas" did not have a synagogue, neither did they have Sabbath celebrations. In fact, they had more than one god. Although the kahunas were respected because they administered medicinal herbal treatment [prior to discovery, very little disease], the kahunas placed curses, pronounced taboos, etc. Maybe Hawaiian language naturally evolved from the Tower of Babel?? like other languages with similar sounding words??
Only God knows, the one True God of Israel, that is!
There's hardly a language which doesn't have words similar to Hebrew. Makes you wonder, and it also makes you wonder why that word site ignores Hebrew for such obvious words as "kahuna."
Some Native Hawaiians seriously believe they are descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. "Kahuna" is one of the similarities they use as evidence, as are the similarities between the places of refuge, or Pu'uhonua, set up by the Kahunas for lawbreakers or for times of warfare, and the place of refuge set up by Moses in the Torah. Further evidence is seen in the word "aloha", which is used both as a salutation and to mean "love". This is very similar to "shalom", which is used both as a salutation and to mean "peace".
Personally, given the Hawaiians' history of polytheism and human sacrifice, I find their claims of kinship more than a little farfetched. But I welcome any indigenous peoples who court our friendship; I'd sure rather have them on my side than the crazy right-wing Christians who seek to use Israel to further their own millennial aims.
Oh, and Batya: sorry to burst your bubble, sweetie, but no serious linguist believes that Hebrew was the original language of anyone but the Hebrew people. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Asiatic_languages for more information on related languages.
Interesting, but not to burst your bubble, sweetie, just like I don't trust "word of the day," I don't trust wikipedia as the experts.
Aloha,not many people know this, but the original voyagers to Hawaii followed a star called Hokulea which means "star of gladness" (which was actually a prophecy). They arrived around 400 a.d. It was known through oral history in many families, that this first group that arrived worshiped just one G_d, known as Io. Places of offerings called "heiau" was where daily offerings and burnt offerings were made to Io on the Big Island of Hawaii. For nearly 700 years they worshiped just one G_d, but as time went on, word reached the rest of the polynesian islands of this secluded paradise across the sea. Around 1200 a.d. Tahitian settler's came and brought the Kapu system (polytheistic religion that deals with human sacrifice) that subjigated the Hawaiians. The name Io was forbidden and carried a death sentence if spoken and the Hawaiians went through dark and bloody times and the "heiau" became defiled with other gods. My family says that the reason why Io allowed this bloody period of human sacrifice and heart break, was because our hearts turned away from Io. Io, being the root word, is derived from Iohova; from the bible term Jehova. I'm not calling myself one of the lost tribes of Israel, but I do know that G_d has left His imprint on my people through their voyages down the centuries and it was through ancient prophecy that Hawaii was found. Aloha
Thank you so much for the added information. It's really so interesting.
This is very interesting. I know Hawaii has a few cultural concepts in language as mentioned, I also know they have a strange custom found in ancient Israel that of a city of refuge.
Who knows if they are from the lost tribes or not. Linguistically Polynesian has no relations to Jewish people, but people also adopt other languages, also as mentioned it is right that there were several migrations to Hawaii from other parts of the Pacific. DNA comparison may be interesting.
I myself don't think they have any connection to the lost tribes of Israel. But, I remember a Native Hawaiian that mentioned he believed that Native Hawaiians were biologically from peoples from South India, he mentioned seeing specific canoe mast designs used there.
The Bnei Israel an ancient Jewish community from the Mumbai region, believes that they are from the lost tribes of Israel, and their tradition is their ancestors ended up in that part of India in an ancient shipwreck.
Well, today with so much knowledge and history and science available, anything is possible.
As I recall only a few years ago hearing about the Bnei Menashe, for many years no one took them seriously as being from the real tribe of Menashe. Today one of the Cheif Rabbis of Israel ruled that they are.
I think Kibbutiz Giluyot will bring many suprises.
ONe of the North American Indian tribes has similar customs to Judaism and there are those who think them of the lost tribes, so Hawaii is just as possible.
just to throw one more in - the biblical category toeiva and the polonesian tabu.
I live in Israel, but I'm part native-Hawaiian from Hawaii. I don't think that the Hawaiians are specifically from the lost tribes, but perhaps influenced by people from the lost tribes maybe in Asia. The Polynesians realm extended across most of the Pacific from Rapa Nui(Easter Island), New Zealand, and to Asia, perhaps somewhere they picked up something from another group. I know in Jerusalem some rabbis and organizations are looking at the Shinto religion in Japan as being from ancient israel and the lost tribes.
The Kahuna priest system was also not just religious but also of different bodies of knowledge, I think there were like 40 or so categories. Like a Kahuna of the navigational arts or one of the medical arts. But, there are some strange things about Hawaiian culture, besides the Kahuna priest system they also had a city of refuge concept like in ancient Israel. I have not come across other cultures with it. My Hawaiian grandfather told me he believed that genetically the Polyneasians like the Hawaiians, Tahitians, and Maori came from India. Although, linguistically there are other theories.
Unfortunately most of the Kahuna knowledge was lost in the 1800's when the Hawaiian Queen Kahumanu under the influence of the Christian missionaries outlawed the system, thus eradicating many centuries of oral knowledge. My grandfather also told me that the Polynesians did have a written library of their knowledge, it was at Rapa Nui. However, some of the first Europeans there brought termites that ate most of the written works there.
Mica, that's very interesting about the similarities. We don't really know what happened to the missing tribes.
Mentioning names from Cohen like Kahane. Growing up in Hawaii I never realized Kahane was a Jewish priestly family name, as I seen it first used as a Hawaiian family name, before I noticed it used as a Jewish family name.
I wonder if there has been genetic testing on those with the name?
Shalom Batya,
I still don't think the Polynesians are from the lost tribes. But, I really do appreciate the Hawaiians for being very inclusive and warm people. Actually in a few days, Hawaii will no longer have the only Jewish governor in the U.S., whose term as governor ends because of the term limit in Hawaii. Many Native Hawaiian's really appreciated having Linda Lingle as governor and that she supported their cause to get indigenous rights, in some of her speeches to Native Hawaiians she mentioned her motive to help Native Hawaiians with their cause were from her own convictions as being Jewish and believing in the zionist cause of Israel. I do think there is an interesting relationship between Native Hawaiians and what they think about the Jewish people.
By the way I read a couple of interesting things. I read about a professor in New Zealand that did some DNA tests of Maori in NZ, and found that they came via India. It is interesting about the Maori as they are both linguistically and genetically closest to the Hawaiians and Tahitians among the Polynesians. Actually, there some Maoris that also claim to be from the lost tribes, and I think they even had a small group converting to Judaism.
I also know that Tudor Parfitt from the University of London SOAS did some DNA tests on another group in the Pacific from an ethnic group in Papua New Guinea that claimed to be from the lost tribes. I don't know what the results were.
Shalom Batya,
I still don't think the Polynesians are from the lost tribes. But, I really do appreciate the Hawaiians for being very inclusive and warm people. Actually in a few days, Hawaii will no longer have the only Jewish governor in the U.S., whose term as governor ends because of the term limit in Hawaii. Many Native Hawaiian's really appreciated having Linda Lingle as governor and that she supported their cause to get indigenous rights, in some of her speeches to Native Hawaiians she mentioned her motive to help Native Hawaiians with their cause were from her own convictions as being Jewish and believing in the zionist cause of Israel. I do think there is an interesting relationship between Native Hawaiians and what they think about the Jewish people.
By the way I read a couple of interesting things. I read about a professor in New Zealand that did some DNA tests of Maori in NZ, and found that they came via India. It is interesting about the Maori as they are both linguistically and genetically closest to the Hawaiians and Tahitians among the Polynesians. Actually, there some Maoris that also claim to be from the lost tribes, and I think they even had a small group converting to Judaism.
I also know that Tudor Parfitt from the University of London SOAS did some DNA tests on another group in the Pacific from an ethnic group in Papua New Guinea that claimed to be from the lost tribes. I don't know what the results were.
Thanks, this is all so interesting. I appreciate your comments.
My name is Linda-Liora ,born and raised French I am also Israeli having lived many years in Israel.I have been for the past 5 month in Hawaii and the first thing that caught my attention was the street names coinciding with the Hebrew meaning like Kahuna=kohen, Malaka=malka(queen),the city of refuge being used by the Hawaiien in a similar way as they did in the bible city of refuge. I have a very strong feeling that one of the lost tribes are here! They must have been here first since the names are still present even though the practices got taken over I guess by other cultures around mingling and forming new concepts. I started paying attention to the names in Hawaiien and the most incredible one is the word Hawaii itself!write it down in Hebrew and it gives you the name of G-D with the exception of the Alef that was included as the letter for the lost tribe of Asher or Efraiim! There are too many words with Hebrew strong meanings to be just a coincidence.I asked a Hawaiien girl if she knew where they came from? Her answer was that she was told she belonged to Efraim,which makes sense when seeing the letter Alef included in the name of G-d for the name Hawaii (in Hebrew version).please comment and if anyone researched the matter. I am fascinated and curious to get more answers.contact me at k_linda770@yahoo.com
Linda, anything's possible,
Actually the original hawaiians or "settlers" of the island worshiped one God only. The practice of worship of multiple Gods were introduced by the Tahitians
Kalani here. This is fascinating. I work with a kupuna council (elders council) of Hawaiian healers. There is much agreement with the original God of old Hawaii. They say it is indeed "io" which is short for iohovah. The name is on the royal palace "iolani" palace. Lani means heaven so it is "God of heaven's" palace. Also the many similar words aloha-shalom. Auwe-oyvey. Kahuna-cohena. Another to add is matana in Hebrew means gift. Which is makana in Hawaiian
Lol. He mustve meant natve indiand from south america.
South american indians
The Israelites did partly worship more than one God and it was very normal.
Historians can explain it to you. There was evan a Goddess, as a spouse from JHWH
Religions are a developing story.
What do you mean by "Israelites?" They aren't Jews for sure.
Spot on Anonymous
The Mormons are the ones who acknowledged that Hawaiians are a part of that Lost Tribe. While the 12 spent 40 years going around in circles to get from here to there, Hawaiians were navigating the oceans, raising continents and islands out of the sea, Settling the Americas, crossing the Pacific and settling the Polynesian Triangle. Fantastic voyage!
Well we are a very very old people with a long history and an old language AND we are/were very well traveled so, I'm not surprised that our words have been adopted in good measure by other languages/people. We've done similarly... some of our new words like the one for computer (kamepiula) for example are somewhat inspired by other languages. Just thinking out loud. Would be nice if they just say Aloha... not that many people know what is, "Shaloha" that's why and it could be offensive to some... unless that's their translation for Aloha in their OWN language which is nice, we get an honorary mention. Aloha :)
How is it that suddenly there are more recent comments here?
I live on Maui and have facilitated three "Kupuna Meet the Rabbi" events over the years featuring onstage dialogue between Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz from Israel and local Kupuna(pl) Puanani Mahoe and Maile Shaw. The dialogues were fascinating and many points of similarity were found. Auntie Pua was told as a child by her grandmother that they came from one of the lost tribes. You might find this site informative: http://www.ancienthuna.com/gods_diagram.htm
My father is Black my mother is Hawaiian I lived in Ohio my entire life but we'll travelled including visiting Honolulu in the military. I too have noticed the similarities of the original Hawaiian language and that of ancient Hebrew. When one studies the scripture on "who are the lost tribes and "where" they are located in the end times, scripture is silent on this matter. Scripture is not silent on the present so called "Jews" which occupies Isreal today. They are not the original Hebrews of the Bible. So, with that truth said only Our Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit knows He's people and where they are. He will gather them all from the four corners of the world to place them back in the wilderness of Isreal very soon. Have complete Faith in The Most High in all things! Giving all Honor and Praise's to Yahawah Bahasham Yahawashi! Shalom
Winston, I published your comment only to tell you that you are totally wrong and know neither history nor theology. You've been seriously brainwashed. Today's Jews follow the Laws of the Bible and are descended from the Jews of the Bible. Your religion is based on falsehood and an attempt to steal the identity and history of genuine Jews.
Aloha. O Tim ko’u inoa
Hawaiian word “PA’IA” means firm
Hebrew word “RAKIA” means firm
Pa’ia pa’a o ka lewa lani
Firmness of the sky
And to put more connections to the words they were both used in the same contexts in both languages. It’s the word they used to describe the sky’s. Hebrew and Hawaiian were both in tune with the true nature of the earth. Not a globe. Hokule’a circumnavigates the earth using only stars. They could do that because the stars are true and consistent. Something a spinning soul-lure system cannot allow. We’d seea different set of stars every night. The pa’ia pa’a lani is true to this concept 100%. And Hawaiians and Hebrew knew this. Remember the three wise men that found Yeshua(Jesus). They also navigating with stars on land to find him.
Jordan Shaw
Aloha and Shalom,
I have been following a Dr. Stephen Pidgeon who has retranslated the Cepher from original documents like the Torah, Septuagent(sp), Book of Enoch etc. He noticed it as well.
Elo’ah = feminine form of Elohim
Mix them to together? You get Aloha. Which means a blessing of Gods breathe Who else but Original tribes believed in the Spirit of God in this way? Hawaiians also have Giants in the land that are hidden. This would indicate that Nephilim blood was found in some of them. Some Hawaiians today are massive and they were fierce warriors.
The Torah tells us the entire earth was populated by 3 guys on a boat. There are pre historical civilizations found on every continent with no explanation from todays scholars. The answer has been staring them in the face.
Kia Ora, I am Maori, from New Zealand :) you can call me 'WAI' which is Maori for water.. Aroha in maori means love, same as Hawaiian, we carried the original name of 'IO' on our voyage to NZ which is same as 'iauwe' in Hebrew. Our ancestors sailed from a place called "kawaiiki', one of the chiefs name was 'Kupe'. Currently at church ( original Sabbath Friday even to Saturday even), we are searching out our connection to being one of the lost tribes. This particular study referring us back to Cohen/Kohath/Kahuna,,just for reference 'koha' means gift.. I believe we are off the levite tribe. Aboard the 12 waka (canoes) that set sail off hawaiiki was a tohunga which is a priest, one canoe in particular were full of holy men called the takitimu, tohunga name 'tamatea arikinui' which means man of god/ Father IO.. We carried very similar practises of those who built the tabernacle, as described in the bible. There is no doubt in my mind, We are descendants of the levite tribe, the one and only Creator Yhwh/Yhwh. Arohanui to the whanau across the ocean :)
James, don't try to understand Judaism from translations.
a 19/5/18 02:13, interesting. Contact Michael Freund
They were scattered to the four corners of the Earth true Israelites are everywhere
Mr Batya are you a Jewish convert or from the bloodline? If so which tribe? I am bloodline from the tribe of Judah and we recognize the Hawaiians and all Polynesians in the South Pacific including parts of Australia as Naphtali. We gather on the Sabbath in Waianae. Judah and Naphtali are in our church without a split. For further info and biblical facts on our findings anyone please feel free contact me at anavchereb7@gmail.com
Sorry, but what you write about your "church" isn't Jewish at all.
I reference to split I meant there is no split between us in present whom gather together. Yes there was a split between the Northern and Southern Kingdom and you are correct we are not Jewish. We are Jews of Judea. Southern Kingdom Judah, Benjamin and Levi. There is no such term as Jewish passed down from the either tribe. The term Jewish was created by Khazars. No such thing as Jew-ish. No where in the twelve tribes did our ancestors pass down a conversion guideline. So many Jewish people today have been led astray its sad. Im not saying that Jewish people will not make it to the kingdom because scriptures say that some will but only the ones who realize they were decieved just like we were. Put down Satan/Yahweh and worship whom you all know the real God Almighty. The One hidden in your records as Ehyeh. Correctly AHAYAH The Great I AM
Aloha, the words of our original tongue of the first people to step foot on this land called Ha-wai'i a imperfect Hebrew word.Named after a God, known to the original people native Hawaiians to whom were half Hebrew half Egyptian. They arrived here with reference to their knowledge of their four father's God of Isreal. Ha-wah,dedicating this land to him as a stepping stone to heaven or an alternative to where you bring your gift. So then what would be the most wonderful gift to offer up, it would be he praise and glory to all mighty God. It is written in the holy writing to fear the fear him in a fee imspiring way and give him glory, and tell others of him. The one who does this is exceptibile to him.
Aloha, the words of our original tongue of the first people to step foot on this land called Ha-wai'i a imperfect Hebrew word.Named after a God, known to the original people native Hawaiians to whom were half Hebrew half Egyptian. They arrived here with reference to their knowledge of their four father's God of Isreal. Ha-wah,dedicating this land to him as a stepping stone to heaven or an alter native to where you bring your gift. So then what would be the most wonderful gift to offer up, it would be praise and give glory to all mighty God. It is written in the holy writing to fear God and praise his holy name. Fear him in a fear imspiring way and give him glory, and tell others of him. The one who does this is exceptibile to him.
Mahalo.
I would like to remind the readers that there was at least once one continent and people could travel with ease from one place to another. I don't believe the traditional Indo-European chart of language development is as accurate as once thought, nor does it explain everything. Isn't the Atlantic is still expanding? Maybe the Pacific is contracting. The primary means of the early peopling of the "Americas", especially North America would not only be the Bering Strait. People weren't as isolated as we think. New Florida Native
I would like to remind the readers that there was at least once one continent and people could travel with ease from one place to another. I don't believe the traditional Indo-European chart of language development is as accurate as once thought, nor does it explain everything. Isn't the Atlantic is still expanding? Maybe the Pacific is contracting. The primary means of the early peopling of the "Americas", especially North America would not only be the Bering Strait. People weren't as isolated as we think. New Florida Native
Yes shinto religion is from the tribe of epraim that means the impreal family and fujiwara clan is from epraim and jeroboam ben nevat made shinto in a relgion how do i know Japan is from epraim = shinto- = jerboam religion of 🌴 warship to asherah= amatarsu
Yes, as another replied, Hawaiians worship a single deity, the God of All. We interpret the multitude of gods and goddesses more as family members/ancestors, guides; archetypes or energies.
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