Yes, “Ho’oponopono” does come from Hawaii.
The fact that Ho’oponopono comes from Hawaii* should not be an exotic sales pitch. You need to have lived for a while in the archipelago to understand the extent to which every moment of native life is imbued with a practical spirituality.
Memories from a “lost kingdom”.
In these islands, an anachronistic remnant of authentic Polynesian tradition, every daily gesture is imbued with respect and nothing begins without an offering. The influence of American culture is strong, but the fabric of daily life still maintains a close link with the essence of the “Original Kingdom”. “The Kingdom of Hawaii” and the spirit of its traditions live on in Olelo, the traditional language long banned after the archipelago was annexed by the United States.
When people drink Kava, the sacred drink made from the pulp of the plant of the same name, they always begin by offering some to the gods and ancestors. This is not a superstition, it’s because Hawaiians preserve their wisdom through everyday rituals.
Tradition is the recognition of an order of things that begins with Creation. This is then passed on to the human lineage, whose first representatives must ensure and pass on its respectful use. For the native Hawaiians, this link with their origins is never lost. It protects and inspires. Of all the Pacific islands, it is the one where this ‘Spirit’ has been preserved with the greatest purity despite colonization.
The protective force of an ancestral lineage
You can live in the archipelago, but I think that no matter how hard you try and respect the customs, you can never become Hawaiian. It’s in the people’s DNA that their irreducible originality lies. It is possible to draw inspiration from the recipes of this tradition or try to copy them, but nothing can replace the memory of the voluntary exodus that led men, women and children from the region now known as the Marquesas Islands, some 1500 years ago, to risk their lives to discover these uninhabited, remote and widely scattered lands of the central Pacific.
The journey was made in perilous conditions, on sacred traditional boats carved from trees trunks. Perseverance and faith enabled these seafaring people to find land to land on, with only the stars to guide them.
In addition to bananas and coconuts, their luggage included taro, a root from which poï** is made, plantain, cooking bananas, breadfruit, yams and sugar cane. For meat, they also carried pigs and chickens. In other words, they had not taken this epic journey lightly.
The DNA of every Hawaiian will forever contain the memory of this seminal adventure. For them, there is no battle against the elements. They believe that there is a global harmony to Life and that if you know how to respect it, you are protected and guided. This is what we call The Spirit of Aloha.
Ho’oponopono is not “for sale”
This brief look at the origins of Hawaii and its traditions gives us a better understanding of the inner attitude of the natives towards Ho’oponopono. It also gives us a hint that what is taught in the West can only move away from the spirit of the original ritual.
We also have to accept the obvious: if the representatives of this ‘tradition’ are called ‘guardians of secrecy’, it’s not because they want to reveal information about this taboo subject to anyone, and especially not outside their territory, which would make no sense whatsoever…
Among Hawaiians, “sacred” is also called “secret”. This is why, during my first visits to Hawaii, the people close to this tradition couldn’t help but smile knowingly when I told them that I was there because I was an official trainer of this practice. It seemed incredible to them that anyone could claim to teach Ho’oponopono.
This background in no way invalidates the transmission made by Morrnah Simeona. It is just essential to bear in mind that the original Ho’oponopono cannot be experienced outside Hawaii. It cannot therefore, in essence, be transmitted free of charge or for a fee.
Ho’oponopono is not a method, it is a precise ritual forming part of an ecosystem in which its role is to preserve Harmony. It can therefore only be practiced under the guidance of people who are qualified, not by certificates or diplomas, but by the role they have been given in the culture to which they belong.
Notes
* In the name Hawai’i, ‘HA’ means ‘breath’ or ‘breath of life’, ‘WAI’ means ‘water’ or ‘life force’, and ‘I’ is the Supreme Identity.
Ha” is an excellent “cleansing tool” that uses the breath, to which I’ll return later.
Similarly, the word “Ha-Wai-I” can also be used as a “cleansing tool”.
- *Poi, a traditional Hawaiian staple, is a dish prepared by pounding boiled taro roots (this tuber is reputed to be one of the most nutritious starches on the planet). The crushed root is mixed with water until smooth. This puree is eaten with salt, sugar or even soy sauce.
(Translation from my book : “The Manual of Ho’oponopono” published in France by Editions de l’Opportun.
