soch111 history of healing · ho’oponopono traditional hawaiian family problem solving process to...

SOCH111 – History of Healing

www.endeavour.edu.au

Session 6

Traditional Medicine in the

Pacific

Department of Social

Sciences

© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 2

Session Aims

o To describe the cultures of Hawai’i, New

Zealand, Samoa, and Fiji

o To describe the spirituality of the Pacific Islands

o To describe the concept of health in Pacific TM

o To identify traditional healing practices in the

Pacific region

o To identify similarities and differences in Pacific

TM


By User:Kahuroa - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12011484

The Pacific Islands

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12011484


The Pacific Region

o Hawai’i

o Papua New Guinea

o Guam

o Fiji

o Samoa

o Cook Islands

o Solomon Islands

o Tonga

o Tahiti

o Easter Island

o Aotearoa - New Zealand

o Australia

o Vanuatu


Hawai’i

By Jacques Descloitres - NASA. Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curi

d=11359528

o Northern-most Polynesian

islands

o 7 major, inhabited islands

o Formed by series of

volcanoes due to

movement of tectonic plate

over undersea magma

hotspot

o Active volcanos continue

on Big Island and off its

south coast



History of Hawai’i

o Prior to colonisation:

• Hawaiians followed Kapu

system

• Culture thrived, illness not

common

o ~800,000 Hawaiians prior to

Captain Cook’s landing in

1778

• By early 1800s: 180,000

• Current: 368,600

Native/part-blood, 6,000-

8,000 pure Hawaiian

By User:Makthorpe - Artist: John Webber, artist

aboard Cook's ship. Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid

=1000748



o Without health (ola) there is no

life

o Mind, body and spirit are one

o Nature and health are

inseparable

• Maintaining the land (aina)

promotes the health of the

people

• Mana – healing energy felt by

the soul from the Islands

o All things in nature are

interrelated by creative power

from the gods

Hawaiian Culture

CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/in

dex.php?curid=3879439

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3879439


Healing Philosophy

o Lokahi – harmony between

man, nature and the gods

o To live a prosperous life,

important to keep peace

with the self, the family, the

gods and the land

o Sense of wholeness from

lokahi – ho’omana

o Illness comes from

• being without lokahi

• punishment for breaking

rules or participating in

evil

By Jacques Arago - Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ind

ex.php?curid=16863378



Hawaiian Healing Practices

Practice Description

Ho’oponopono Traditional Hawaiian family problem

solving process to make things

"right/good"

Lomi lomi Traditional, spiritual and physical

massage

La’au Lapa’au Healing with the use of traditional

Hawaiian herbs

Pale Keiki Maternal-child care, before, during and

after birth

La’au Kahea - Spiritual or faith healing through prayer

and chants - a form of exorcism.


Hawaiian Healers

o Kahuna – Priest,

teacher, healer

• “Keeper of the

secret”

o Chosen within the

family

o Diagnostics, herbs,

treatments,

procedures, bone

setting, sacred

prayersPublic Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHawaiian_

Kahuna_Kahiko_(PP-33-11-023).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hawaiian_Kahuna_Kahiko_(PP-33-11-023).jpg


Types of Kahuna

Healer Healing

Kahuna Haihai iwi Bone setting

Kahuna haha Diagnose illness by palpation

Kahuna hoohanau keiki Childbirth (delivery, and provide pale

keiki for mother and child)

Kahuna paaoao Diagnose and treat illness in infants

Kahuna lomilomi Healing through traditional massage

Kahuna aloha Induce love

Kahuna la’au lapa’au Herbalist


Hunao Uses the power of the mind to:

• re-establish balance (people, objects, places,

circumstances)

• accomplish healing and spiritual development

o Understanding the 10 elements of the self and learning

how to talk to the self

• 3 selves (superconscious, conscious, subconscious)

• 3 invisible bodies of self

• 3 energies (mana)

• the physical body


Impacts of Non-Native Influenceso Traditional Hawaiian forms of healing are treatment of choice

in areas of more dense Native Hawaiian population

o Japanese and Chinese immigrants brought acupuncture,

shiatsu, tai chi, which have been assimilated

o Many Hawaiians distrust Western medical practices today,

though conventional medicine has made efforts to integrate

some traditional approaches and philosophies

o Increased chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, alcohol/tobacco

use) and reduced life expectancy much more prevalent in

Native Hawaiian population

o When they return to their native diet, disease incidence falls

dramatically


Traditional Practices Today

o 60-80 Kahuna estimated in

Hawai’i today, average age

of 75

o Nature of relationship with

the patient is deeply

personal, loving and

spiritual

o Positive and empowering

atmosphere

o Encourage patient to look

within themselves in order

to heal

By Makana Chai - personal photo, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid

=10558670



Herbal Healing - La’au Lapa’au

Botanical Indication

Kava *caution

with consumption*

Anxiety, insomnia

Awapuhi (Ginger) Ringworm, sprains, bruises, headache,

toothache, stomach ache

Kalo (Taro) Root rubbed on wounds to stop bleeding,

prevents inflammation from stings

Mai’a (Banana) Nervousness in children. Sap – chest pain

Noni (Indian

Mulberry)

Kidney problems, high blood pressure, loss

of appetite, diabetes, immunity, joint pain

Pohuehue (Beach

Morning Glory)

Skin infection and inflammation


Lomi Lomi

o Form of massage that has

both physical and spiritual

aspects

o Called “loving hands” though

forearms and elbows are

more used

o Both stroking and deep tissue

techniques

o Relaxes body, relieves pain,

increases circulation

o Transfers positive thoughts,

channels mana to release a

sense of wellbeing

By Thomas Wanhoff from Phnom

Penh, Cambodia - CC BY-SA 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ind

ex.php?curid=2735045



Ho’opono’pono

o Counseling, mediation and

personal practices to heal and

balance relationships and resolve

conflicts

o Objective is to remove obstacles

to being well, which can include

emotions, self-esteem issues, or

lack of forgiveness of self or

others

o Prayer and mantra to cleanse

heart and mind of negative

thoughts and feelings

I’m sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

I love you


Revision Questions

o What is the Hawaiian word for vital healing energy

and where does it come from?

o List 3 healing practices from Kahuna medicine and

what each is used for.

Other food for thought:o We now see a pattern of the declining health of

indigenous people due to influx of Western culture

and diet—what do you see as the reasons for this

based on your existing knowledge and life

experience?


Aotearoa – New Zealand

o 900s-1300 CE – Māori

settlement from Polynesia

o 1642 – Able Tasman (Dutch)

o 1769-1770 – James Cook

(English) navigation and

French

o 1814 – arrival of missionaries

o 1840s-1850s – British Colony

“Treaty of Waitangi”

o Māori population decline into

early 1900s, ~15% populationBy New_Zealand_location_map.svg

SRTM30, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/in




Traditional Māori Healing

o Hauora Māori – Māori Health

• Spiritual, physical, emotional and

psychological

o Rongoā Māori - Traditional Māori

healing system

• Oral knowledge of diverse healing

practice, spiritual dimension of health

• Remedy and prevention against

illness and death

• Spiritual connection to nature

• Illness is a symptom of disharmony

with nature By Gottfried Lindauer - Visual

Archives, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/

w/index.php?curid=16560762



Mauri – Life Force

o From Io, the Supreme God

o Gives life to all living

organisms

o “when a person is born, the

gods bind the two parts of

body and spirit of his being

together. Only the mauri or

power of Io can join them

together” (Barlow, in Rollo)

o Manawa, heart, provides the

breath of lifeBy Photography by Wikipedia

User:MrX, CC BY-SA 3.0,





Aspects of Health

o Taha Hinengaro: mental state

o Taha Tinana: the physical body

o Taha Wairua/mauri: the spiritual being

o Manawa: the heart, life source

o Hā: the breath, breathing

o Hauora: the breath of life, the ‘wellbeing.’


Traditional Healerso Tohunga – practitioner of Rongoā

Māori

o Learned through passage of

knowledge from elders

o Seen as earthly medium

o Determine imbalance causing illness

• Treat by addressing spiritual,

psychological, emotional, cultural,

social, environmental, family and

physical aspects of health

o Treatment individualised to tribes,

areas, local plants and individual

needs

By Wilhelm Dittmer - Book: Te

Tohunga, Public Domain,





Healing Practices

o Rongoā rākau: plant remedies

o Mirimiri: massage, physical therapies

o Karakia: prayer, spiritual healing

http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/wp-

content/uploads/2014/10/Ron

goa-Tutu-Otaki_021.jpg

http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Rongoa-Tutu-Otaki_021.jpg


Rongoā Rākau


Kawakawa (Maori

Pepper Tree)

Wounds, bruises, arthritis, chest

congestion, pain

Mamaku (Black Fern

Tree)

Boils, sore eyes, expel placenta,

breast pain

Kumarahou

(Gumdigger’s soap)

Coughs, colds, asthma, bronchitis,

blood purification

Manuka (tea tree) Anti-inflammatory, anti-septic,

pain, sedative, kidney and urinary

problems, fever


Karakia

o Ritual chants invoking

spiritual guidance and

protection

o Requests to the gods

(Atua) for a favourable

outcome

o Links the ill person to Atua

o Used in many settings

other than in healing, such

as in ceremonies and

meetings and as greetingsBy Carving by Bernard Makoare, Manos Nathan, and Lyonel

Grant.Photograph by Avenue. - Own work, CC0,




Rongoā Māori Today

o Resurgence of Māori culture in recent decades has

brought Rongoā back into wide practice

o Holistic approach is more appealing to Māori

patients than the narrow physical approach of

conventional medicine

o Geographic and financial barriers also lead some

Māori to attend Rongoā healers

o Steps have been taken to include traditional Māori

healing in public health system


Revision Questions

o Compare the physical and non-physical aspects of

the Māori healing tradition.

o List the 3 major healing practices of Māori

medicine.

Other food for thought:o What are some similarities between Māori and

Hawaiian healing traditions?


Samoa

By CloudSurfer at the English

language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/in


o Population: 180,000

o Settled by British,

Germans and Americans

o Early 20th Century –

Britain ceded to Germany

o 1918 – 1962: New

Zealand control

o 1962 – Samoan

Independence

o America Samoa (US

Territory) - Tuitila and

eastern islands



History of Health

o No written records of traditional medicine prior to the

landing of European colonisers

o Health of population prior to arrival of European

influences was good given their lifestyle and living

conditions

o Colonisation brought foreign diseases, but also foreign

herbal medicines

o Traditional indigenous medicines are used to treat

endemic diseases, and introduced herbal or other

Western medicines are used to treat introduced/Western

diseases


Traditional Healing Practices

o Good health dependent

upon balance of natural,

social and spiritual

worlds

o Fofo = traditional healer,

folk medicine, massage

o Taulaitu = spiritual

healer, source of healing

for internal ailment or

those with no obvious

cause

By Bartlett Tripp (1842-1911) Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?c

urid=8524420



Traditional Herbal Remedies


Nonu (Indian

Mulberry)

Skin infections, respiratory and urinary

tract infections, repelling spirits

thought to cause some illnesses

Mamala (Native

Bleeding Heart)

Hepatitis

Fue manogi Mouth ulcers, sore throats, infected

wounds

Matalafi Skin inflammation, infected wounds,

drive out possession by spirits, in the

coffee family


Present Day

o Estimated 150 full-time

practitioners of traditional

medicine in 2001

o Practice is unregulated

and traditional

practitioners not

considered to be

breaking laws against

unregistered practice of

medicineBy Neil - CC BY 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.or

g/w/index.php?curid=9406299



Fiji

By Zamonin - Source: At least one of the following Public

Domain data sourcesETOPO1 (Resolution 1° = 1,8km)SRTM

4.1 (Resolution 3' = 90m), CC BY-SA 4.0,


o Settled by indigenous

Melanesians 3000-4000

years ago

o Became British colony in

1874

o British brought in Indian

contract labourers

o Current population of

900,000, half of

Melanesian descent and

half of Indian descent



Traditional Healing Philosophy

o Mate vayano: minor

physical problems, seen

as accidental, treated

physically

o Mate ni vanua: ‘diseases

of the land’, due to

influence of spirits, treated

supernaturally

o Dauvakatevoro: sorcerers

(shamen)

o Herbs used both physically

and supernaturally

By Thomas Williams (possibly) (1871) Public Domain,


53978



Traditional Herbal RemediesBotanical Indication

Yaqona (Kava) Used in ceremonies to treat “diseases of the land”

or of spiritual interference; also coughs, cold,

headache, sore throat and parasites

Vesi Rheumatism, bone fractures, asthma, mild colds

Gasau Diarrhoea, urinary problems, eye injuries and age-

related eye problems

Wa yalu Constipation and other GIT complaints, infected

wounds, scabies, contraception and period pain

Nui (coconut

palm)

Massage oil and ointments, aches and pains from

many causes

Wabosucu

(mile a minute)

Cuts and bruises, wasp and other stings, boils


Present Day

o Rural Fijians are highest users of traditional medicine, but

increasing in popularity in urban areas

o 60-80% of population use traditional medicine, over 2000

traditional medicine practitioners

o Many conventional practitioners also practice traditional

medicine

o Training remains informal and by an oral tradition

o Traditional medicine seen to be more effective and cost-

efficient than conventional, but there is strong faith in

conventional as well


Revision Questions

o What are two herbs that are used in more than one

of the traditional medicines of the Pacific studied in

this session?

o What is the relationship of spirits in the view of

health in these cultures?

Other food for thought:o What do you think are some advantages and

disadvantages to how the traditional and

conventional Western medical systems are

operating in friendly parallel in Samoa and Fiji?


Referenceso Auckland Libraries, Rongoā Māori – Māori Medicine, viewed 25 June 2016

<http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/maori/teaomaori/maorimedicine/Pages/maorimedicine.aspx>.

o ‘Demystifying Rongoā Māori: Traditional Māori Healing’ 2008, Best Practice Journal, Vol.13, viewed 25 June 2016, <http://www.bpac.org.nz/BPJ/2008/May/rongoa.aspx>.

o Hilgenkamp, K & Pescaia, C 2003, ‘Traditional Hawaiian healing and western influence’, California Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 1, Special Issue, pp.34-39, viewed 25 June 2016 <http://www.cjhp.org/volume1_2003/issuehi-textonly/34-39-hilgenkamp.pdf>.

o Kayne, SB 2010, Traditional medicine: a global perspective, Pharmaceutical Press, London.

o Rollo, TM (nd), Mā te waika piki ake te hauora, viewed 25 June 2016 <http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8917/Ma%CC%84%20Te%20Wai%20Ka%20Piki%20Ake%20Te%20Hauora.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y>.

o Wilson, J, 'History', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, viewed 25 June 2016, <http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/history>.

o World Health Organisation 2001, Legal status of traditional medicine in complementary/alternative medicine: a worldwide review, viewed 26 June 2016, <http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2943e/>.

http://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/EN/maori/teaomaori/maorimedicine/Pages/maorimedicine.aspx

http://www.bpac.org.nz/BPJ/2008/May/rongoa.aspx

http://www.cjhp.org/volume1_2003/issuehi-textonly/34-39-hilgenkamp.pdf

http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/8917/Ma%CC%84 Te Wai Ka Piki Ake Te Hauora.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y



http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/history

http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2943e/

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