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Showing posts from March, 2013

The Practice of Hanai

The Practice of Hanai Hanai ( v. ) ·          to adopt, to be close; to nourish, to sustain the culture ·          basically a paperless, not legally binding adoption, but a verbal agreement between parties involved.   No written records were necessary.   (In old Hawaii there was no written language.) Adoption promise, “nau ke keiki kukae a na’au”, which literally translates to, “I give you this child, intestines and all.” ·          a kanaka maoli custom whereby a family adopts a child given by someone else and raises that child as a family member ·          a tradition, a part of history In old Hawaii, life revolved around the extended family and the clan; it was a 'ohana' (family) society (a group of both closely and distantly related people who shared nearly everything: land, food, children, status, and the spirit of aloha.) Hawaiians viewed family as relatives, as well as people who they loved or people who joined them in cooperative actions.   Children w