Commission’s decision denies Hawaiian history.The Cultural Resources Commission seems to ignore or disregard an ancient Hawaiian practice of outrageous feasts being held in the islands in its decision to forbid Lahaina’s Halloween celebration because it “does not promote the town’s Hawaiian cultural history.”
It was a very prominent Hawaiian custom up into the early 19th century to indulge in public outrages where people of all ranks were free of all taboos and ran around naked (as usual) and took advantage of the opportunity to do literally whatever they liked, including everything that foreigners and missionaries would label “sin” and even “abominations.” There was screaming and dancing and love-making and self-mutilation and intoxication of all kinds—and even crime. It lasted for days. Hawaiian historians and visitors, as well as foreign researchers who traveled the world to preserve indigenous practices by writing them down, have described this Hawaiian custom in detail. (It’s really easy to look it up in any history book or archive.) It usually took place after the death of a high chief who had ruled the area, and some island inhabitants hid those times because it was such a wild celebration of life and emotions in that “noa” period—free of restrictions. The heir to the ruling chief’s position would leave the area for that time, and when he or she returned, it was his or her duty to reinstate the “kapu” or taboos. Then people were once again living under tremendous restrictions and were killed for doing things that they had been free to do during those wild celebrations.
I don’t exactly see how the many shops that sell useless stuff along Front Street promote Hawai‘i’s culture, and the cruise tours don’t either—but that’s just me. It seems that measuring facts with diverse measures, depending on what one wants to promote and what to deny, has long replaced a true understanding and honoring of cultural identity.