KUMULIPO

Sam Peralta

Kumulipo

Did The Universe Have a Beginning?

 The question “Why is there something rather than nothing?” has been one of the deepest philosophical questions of mankind which all worldviews must answer.  In the Hawaiian world view the creation of time, space, and matter is infused with the culture, traditions, and history of the Hawaiian people.  The Kumulipo is interested in allowing the listener to be connected and somewhat involved in the process and ongoing of the creation of the universe in contrast to most 16th century philosophy where the individual remains detached and “objective” in his own sense from the universe.  Here from the start we see the Hawaiian worldview interested in calling mankind into history, inviting him to take part in the development of the unknown to the known.  Rather than the question “why is there something rather than nothing?” The question seems more like “what part does humanity have in the history of the universe?”

From the Unknown to Known

 The Kumulipo starts off the first section with the idea of “Po”.  Po can mean a variety of things in the Hawaiian language, and in context of the Kumulipo and various interpretations the definition can include darkness, obscurity, mystery, realm of the gods, and or chaos.  It is interesting to note that the idea of the formation of order of the universe has always come from disorder, this idea has been throughout all creation stories and legends of the major ancient world religions (Mesopotamians, Babylonians, Persians, Egyptian, Judeo Christian, etc).  With the evolution of consciousness creation chants, stories, and legend were effective ways to make sense of the dangers and unknown mysteries of the world.  And as man could articulate more and more of the mysteries and sacred it seemed he could now organize beauty out of the chaos.  And even start to make sense of his surroundings by the world around him.  

Biological Evolution

 Charles Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection gave science and philosophy new ways of seeing the human body development within the context of creation.  In the Kumulipo the stages of the development and process of creation appearances give me the sense of the same kind of idea.  It seems that the evolution of the human body came from stages of animal development, selection, and adaptation.  Each stage of creature development allowed and paved a way for more complex creatures to appear until the first functional human appears. 

Consciousness of the Sacred Realm

 For the first seven or so Wa (epoch/ time span), the Kumulipo finishes with the saying “O ke Akua ke Komo, ‘a’oe komo kanaka”.  Here we are given insight to the awareness of not only the deep understanding of the biological evolution of the human body, but also of the awareness to the realm of the unknown “the spiritual”.  Hawaiians were intune with creation and the force(s) in which sparked life.  They were not naive or ignorant of the fabric layer of the immaterial.  In the Kumulipo we see that this immaterial world is actually the foundation on which the first humans, even gods, could live in.

Consciousness of Creation

 The land and all of creation were in perfect harmony long before humanity became consciousness.  Here in the Kumulipo it is expressed at the end of the first 7 Wa as “Po No”.  “Po No” in the context of the Kumulipo has two possible meanings.  One meaning “darkness indeed”, implying the great mystery that none can fathom in the creation process.  And the other meaning “Pono” the Hawaiian word that cannot be fully expressed in a single English articulation, but is seen or known to mean balanced or in perfect harmony.  Here in the consciousness of creation the Kumulipo is expressing the idea of complete self sustainability as a functional interdependent organism system. 

 One of the hints Hawaiians had the idea of creation being a self sustaining organism is their idea that before the first humans were conscious everything was “Pono”.  

 Other Thoughts:

 Some other thoughts while pondering the Kumulipo is the understanding of the Consciousness of Self, understanding of Social Consciousness, and the Ethical and Moral Implications implied.  Those discoveries are made in the second section of the Kumulipo called “Ao”. 

 The Kumulipo is a very advanced complex narrative of the creation of the universe while weaving in social, moral, and sacred codes to help guide a society of pioneers, adventurers, and warriors.  What made the Kumulipo even more impressive was the writer’s ability to use the Hawaiian language in its most raw original form through melody and rhythm. 

Sources:

Kalekoa Ka’eo HWN Culture 231

Kiope Raymond HWN 107

“Reading Kumulipo” by Peter 5/07/97

Kumulipo “Wikipedia”

Kumulipo Translated by Martha Warren Beckwith