Post #93722 by christiki295 on Mon, May 31, 2004 3:32 PM

I found this opinion which links the preservation of burial sites as necessary to maintain the mana for the preservation of the o'hana and states that Hawaiians must maintain the integrity of the burial sites, instead of the Bishop Museum:

Ola na iwi (The bones live).

Native Hawaiians believe that na iwi, the bones, are considered sacred after death because within them lies the mana, the spiritual essence of the person. The uhane, or spirit, of the person is believed to hover near na iwi and thus, supreme care is taken to guard them. The burial of the deceased is considered a planting or cultivation that is followed by physical and spiritual growth; Hawaiians believe that they were nourished from foods fertilised by the bones of their ancestors. The na iwi are seen to release the mana of the deceased into the land, invigorating the land with the spiritual energy required to sustain it and those that rely upon it for survival.

It is the responsibility of the living to protect the family burial sites and to pass on the responsibility to the generations following in order to maintain family integrity. Central to the physical and spiritual well-being of Native Hawaiians is the inheritance of mana from their ancestral past. In turn, the ancestors care for and protect the living, affirming the interdependent relationship between them and their living descendents, whereby each cares for and protects the other.

The arrival of the colonists to Hawaii in 1779 led to significant social, economic and political changes. The population of Native Hawaiians dropped from 800 000 to 130 000. They were displaced from their traditional homelands and thus were unable to protect their ancestral burial sites. As assimilation efforts intensified, traditional practices and cultural values were gradually forgotten by most. Over the next century, looting, archaeological collection, erosion and construction resulted in the desecration and removal of thousands of ancestral Native Hawaiians. Many of the remains were taken to the United States and Europe to be studied and displayed in museums.

Native Hawaiians believe that the consequences of the separation of mana from the land are the economic, social, health, housing and political conditions they are currently dealing with. A fundamental means by which to heal both the living and those ancestral Hawaiians who await reunification with their homelands is to bring them together, to bury the na iwi and thus restore precious mana to the land and the families.

In 1988, an ancestral burial site in Maui called Honokahua was excavated to allow for the construction of a Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Native Hawaiians rallied together and protested until the excavation was halted, the hotel was relocated, and legislation was passed to protect the burial site in perpetuity. This was the first victory of Native Hawaiians in the repatriation of their culture and it gave rise to a Native Hawaiian organisation called Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai’i Nei, whose main goal is to protect burial sites and relearn the cultural protocols relating to the care of ancestral remains.

Numerous victories have since followed, including the enactment in the United States of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990. Federally recognised tribes are authorised to exercise their responsibility to their ancestors, their belongings, sacred objects, and cultural patrimony by repatriating them to the possession and control of the culture’s living descendents. These accomplishments stand as a testimonial to the revitalization of traditional cultural values, traditions and practices.

Ayau, Edward Halealoha. Indigenous Voices - Native Burials: Human Rights and Sacred Bones. Cultural Survival, Indigenous Voices. 2000.
http://www.wusc.ca/campuses/lc/deved/2002/Culture.htm