Scores of times I have been asked "what is your Aumakua"? To which I have grown accustomed to the answering a question with a question. "Do you mean such as a Hawk, owl, Turtle, shark or maybe a certain natural event such as a particular type of rain or lightning", I ask.
I ask because from the responce I get a much clearer picture of the inquisitors understanding of the Hawaiian concept of "Aumakua". generally speaking I find that when that question is aked the person asking has an incomplete concept. They have most likely been told simply that Aumakua or an Aumakua your ancestral spirits in a physical manifestation. Although this is true (in part), it is a quick explanation, which looks at the product of the concept or experience.
Again we see that this word also can be (intially) broken down into three seperate words.
The first word being "Au"
The second is "MA"
and the third being "KUA"
I feel it is more appropriate to explain it/ they (Aumakua) thus: "they are the spirits of your decest ancestors" nothing more, nothing less. Where the confusion seems to lie is in understanding that within this concept there is not only room for but an integral component being the physical manifestation of your elders. This is when your aumakua or guideing ancestral spirits take one physical form or another. This can be to emphasize a statement he/she/ they may wish to make known to you. It could a warning of eminant seen or unseen danger, a sign displaying the disagreement or condonement of a choice of action taken or to be taken by their progeny. And certainly there could be an experience with your Aumakua where they are just displaying their love and admiration of you!
1. I, in the first person.
2. period of time, epoc, era, cycle, current, flow, eddy, movement
channel, canal, conduit
3.to trap
1. In, on or at.
ex: "He kamailio ma ke kelepone"
A conversation on the telephone.
2.His or Her rentinue, entourage' or family, group
ex: "We went to see aunty Maille Ma"
-we went to see aunty Maille and all her group.
1. Back, rear, burden, or to carry on the back
2. To hew, chop, form or shape.
3. Variation of Akua or God/goddess.
4. Generations back, two or more
5. ridge, rib as in the spline of a palm frond
or the ridge of a mountain range
6. To turn into, take the appearence of.
On not such a light note I have had many people say to me things like "If my grandfather is my Aumakua, then I don't care, he was a complete jerk and treated me terribly, he never loved me, he never loved anything but himself!". "Well" I say to this "that is unfortunate that it took his death to realize what he took for granted, and he now realizes his love for you and all his progeny" More often than not the sour puss says "well he never had an once of love or respect for me in his life and I don't believe he does in death either". Although the negativity of such a person is almost impossible to diffuse, it is true, no matter what took place in the physical during their mortal life believe me things are a little (Little, Ha Ha right!) different for them now! I will discuss motl
when I combine the meanings of the different individual words,
and create an amalgamted "overview" of them as the whole word Aumakua,
I get something that so perfectly tells the story of us as offspring of our
ancestral spirits!
another aspect of the concept I would like to touch on comes from the question, "If I have and will not have children then I will not become an Aumakua to anyone after my passing from physical to spirit then 'eh?" Not so, Not so at all, you came into this world the product of a genealogical line (traceable or not), and will leave with that same genetic finger print. If you have brothers and sisters with children they are still desendants of your genealogical line. But much more importantly lets not forget the word love! The concept is all about loveing/ guiding spirits. Love Is a very powerful tie, which trancends time and space. ( If not than how could healing be done from afar, which has happened many times) ok well I will discuss motl.
-Quite literally means I (in the first person), am an era, a channel or conduit in the current or flow of time, carried on the backbone of those before me who have taken spirit/akua form, and whom I grow to appear as!
I feel it is inappropriate to ask someone what is their Aumakua. Because if you understand the concept then you allready know! It is the spirit form of the persons desceast ancestry, nothing more, nothing less! Now to ask what is the physical manifestation of someones Aumakua as in a turtle or hawk etc, is in my oppinion kinda silly for two reasons, least of which is that, who really cares what my grandfather wore for clothes or how he expressed himself on thursday, because certainly it changed from day to day. Now, I realize in this westernized world we tend to ask "What do you do" which in turn means> how do make your income, which in turn implies an amount income to some degree. On the same token what my grandfather wore for clothes was not what he was all about. Yes he did express himself with clothing. I have a wonderful memory of him standing beside the lake in the summer with his baggy navy blue swim trunks and, ah never mind all that. You see he was grandpa no matter what he wore. The second reason I don't ask somebody about the physical manifestation of their desceast ancestry/Aumakua is because this is generally a very personal experience and shared voluntarily by a person if they so choose, otherwise I leave it alone.
To say "My aumakua is ( singular instance/ animal or event, such and such, like a shark say!) is not really embracing the whole of the concept. I was taught that you can potententially expierience as many various physical manifestations of your Aumakua, as you have desceast ancestors ( back say from 7- 12 generations then it gets a little fuzzy). Obviously some manifestations will be more prevalent than others, some repeating the same type of appearence consistantly and sometimes it's just "A one shot deal". My point being that I was taught that the physical manifestation (for what ever reason) of your Aumakua is not limited to simply animals of sea life! It could be a wind, rain or lightning ie: a natural event!
"What is a true sign of an Aumakua"? Well it is completly up for individual interpetation. There are those that might have a singular expierience with an animal of one type or another and be convinced that, that is a manifestation of their Aumakua. And there are those that in the face of what I would consider to be repeated, blatant displays, that will adamently demand " Spirits taking shape Harumph! rubbish, no such thing prove it! Well "prove it" not me man! Not my place to do so, nor do I feel the need to help anybody interpert the signs of their Aumakua!