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 were raised not only by their
parents, but by grandparents and other relatives. No stigma was attached to being hānai.Reasons for the practice of hānai:
·
To ensure that the Hawaiian culture was passed on to the younger
generation.
- Parents would offer their children to their parents as the highest form of respect that they could bestow upon them.
- If the child were not offered, the grandparents would ask for the hanai privilege; they could not be refused.
o
The claim of the grandparents upon their grandchildren took
precedence over the claim of the parents who bore them.
o
The parents could not keep the child without the grandparents'
permission.
o
A male child was offered to the parents of the father, and a
female child was offered to the mother's parents.
o
This practice extended into the community so that if the
biological parents were unable to adequately provide for the needs of the
child, someone else would be chosen to be the hanai parents.
o
To those children that no longer had parents
o
Children were also passed on to relatives or friends who had no
children.
o
Hanai was practiced by the alii too
§ Bernice
Pauahi was the hānai child to her Aunt Kina’u whom she lived with until the age
of seven when Kina’u died. She then
returned to her biological parents, Abner Paki and Laura Konia.
§ Liliuokalani
was the hanai child of High Chief Abner Paki and High Chiefess Laura Konia
(Pauahi’s biological parents). Her
biological parents were High Chiefess Keohokalole and High Chief Caesar
Kapa’akea. She was the 3rd of
ten children (David Kalakaua and Miriam Likelike).
·
In her biography, “Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliu’okalani”
o
she reports that hanai "is not easy to explain... to those
alien to our national life, but it seems perfectly natural to us. As
intelligible a reason as can be given is that this alliance by adoption
cemented the ties of friendship between the chiefs."
o
“I knew no other father or mother, no other sister than Bernice.”
The custom of hanai was strongly condemned by the missionaries. They couldn't understand the looseness of natural family ties.
Hanai still exists today.
Examples of when being of Hawaiian ancestry is required:
·
Kamehameha Admission Policy: Although there is no required blood
quantum, Kamehameha Schools only accepts students who can verify some Hawaiian
ancestry. About 15 – 25% of new spaces
are reserved for either orphaned (loss of one or both biological parents
through death) or indigent (total household income at or below 185% the poverty
level in Hawaii) applicants as directed in the will of Princess Pauahi. They must demonstrate the ability to be
academically successful at KS. Foster
children are considered indigent with proper documentation.
·
Department of Hawaiian Homelands-an applicant be at least one-half
Hawaiian.
Resources:
·
“The meaning of Hanai Kaaihue Genealogy
Project,” last modified June 14, 2009, http://kaaihue.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/the-meaning-of-hanai/
·
“Ho’ao Pa’a and the Ohana Marriage and the
Family,” Fall/Winter 2003, LBD Coffee LLC dba Coffee Times, Kauai, HI, 96746, http://www.coffeetimes.com/marriage.html
·
Julie
Steward Williams, Alii Brochures: Laura Konia & Abner Paki, The Parents of
Bernice Pauahi, (Hawaii: Kamehameha Schools, 2006)
·
Julie
Steward Williams, Alii Brochures: Queen Liliuokalani, (Hawaii: Kamehameha
Schools, 2006)
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