Naming traditions: Hawai

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#sacredlivingmovement

Aloha everyone! More, more, more naming traditions! Today, Hawaii! 

"Inoa po"

name in the night

a name received in a dream

Dreams. Did you meet your baby in your DREAMS? Did you receive signs about conception, guidance about birth or visions about your child's appearance in your sleep?

For the people of Hawaii this is a naming path: dreaming. 

Names are of great importance to Hawaiians and parents (or grandparents) dreams are prophetic, and those names believed to influence the child’s mana and SPIRITUAL development.

Native Hawaiians have many names; a spiritual (dream) name, family name, and nickname or characteristic name (and sometimes an event name!).

Ancestor lineage names can be sometimes kept SECRET to protect a royalty origin for instance.

The name itself is believed to hold POWER and if needed will be changed. If the child gets sick, for instance, a new name can "cure". If there is a shameful event the family the surname can be dropped and a new family name invented for all the future generations.

Naming traditions vary, it can happen that the baby’s parents choose the name; some families have one person that names all the babies in the family; other families have a kupuna (grandparent) or kumu (master) that is called to name the baby.

If someone other than the parents names the baby, the name chosen is traditionally based on how the pregnancy or delivery happen and how the baby acts after birth.

Hawaiian names are UNIQUE to that individual, babies are rarely named after someone else.

Naming a child requires much prayer and reflection, so being asked to name a child is an honor that people take very seriously. 

Birth names are powerful and often express qualities hoped for, or seen, in a child. Once a name is needed, the entire ‘ohana starts looking for signs and INSPIRATION. 

It is so beautiful how true Hawaiian names reveal themselves in so many ways.

It is common for most people to answer to a short version of their name, many times, literally, as long as a LOVE SONG... 

Wow... Oh please share, what #namingtraditions are you creating (even if only in your dreams!), #sacredtribe ?