понеделник, 26 ноември 2012 г.
Aumakua
In Hawaiian mythology, a family GUARDIAN
SPIRIT god. The aumakua are linked to the nature gods,
and they inhabit everything in nature similar to the kami
of SHINTO. They are worshipped and propitiated in order
to ensure the protection and well-being of the family. The
aumakua are inherited and have a limited jurisdiction in
the locality of a family. The aumakua have laws that must
be followed. Transgressions are punished, sometimes for
generations.
Offspring of the aumakua can be born into human
families. Various legends tell of such people, who are
endowed with supernatural powers, such as the ability
to assume the shapes of animals, plants and rocks. In this
respect, they are similar to a totem spirit (see TOTEMISM).
The aumakua serve as PSYCHOPOMPOI and escort the
souls of the dead safely to the afterlife in a ghostly procession
(see MARCHERS OF THE NIGHT). According to lore, they
take the entire body. If for any reason the body is not taken,
the family prepares the corpse for burial and its transformation
into the aumakua form (such as a snake or shark).
It is of vital importance to be on good terms with
one’s aumakua, lest a soul be abandoned before reaching
the land of the dead. Such abandoned souls haunt the
places where they were left, feeding on spiders and moths
and maliciously leading travelers astray. They remain in
this limbo until another aumakua takes pity on them and
leads them out. If one has not rectifi ed sins and transgressions
against the aumakua prior to death, one has a
chance to beg for pardon when procession makes the fi rst
stopping place.
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