The Investigation of HUNA
and How It Really Came About
and How It Really Came About
by Rev. James Vinson Wingo, DD
Many people mistakenly think Huna was the religion in Hawaii or the "teachings of the Ancient Hawaiian people," but Huna actually refers to the Metaphysical Theory developed by Max Freedom Long, along with a number of respected Kahunas, which was primarily based on the Ancient Hawaiian Psychological, Religious, and Philosophical traditions of the Kahuna.
Huna does not refer to any specific practice ... like Hoomana, Hooponopono, Hula, Chanting, or Lomi Lomi ... but instead refers to the underlying assumptions upon which these individual Hawaiian practices are based.
In fact, over 2600 separate Hawaiian systems have been discovered and researched. And, even though they differ from island to island, from village to village, from clan to clan, from family to family, and from individual to individual, there are certain key principles upon which they do agree.
It is these most fundamental and universal principles, upon which all traditional Hawaiian Healing methodologies are based, that comprise Huna.
Huna may be called a philosophy or a system of psychology because it contains elements of philosophy, science, and religion.
During the last century investigations were made into native magic in Africa, India and other parts of the world. Spiritualistic phenomena have been certified as genuine and studied by recognized scientists. Spiritual and psychic phenomena have been generally verified and are gaining wider acceptance in the Western World.
But there was never any definite basic system, philosophy, theory, or psychological-religious science which would explain, even in the most general terms, the phenomena of the various fields until the publication of Recovering the Ancient Magic by Max Freedom Long.
He gave this general theory the name Huna.
Around 1880, in Hawaii, an investigation began which, after seventy years of research, produced a general theory that promises to provide answers for a host of puzzling questions.
This investigation was begun by Dr. William Tufts Brigham, long-time curator of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
In Hawaii there were, up to about 1900, many Kahunas, or native priests, who, although outlawed, worked among their fellow Hawaiians as healers or practitioners of the dreaded "death prayers." Some fire-walked over lava flows, a few demonstrated instant healing, and the young Dr. Brigham was fortunate enough to observe and study a case in which a boy, dead from drowning for sixteen hours, was brought back to life through a use of "native magic. "
Dr. Brigham came to the conclusion that, behind these and similar activities, there must be a single basic scientific system which explained all such "magical" phenomena.
He postulated ...
1. There must be some form or entity or consciousness which the Kahunas were able to contact through ceremony or prayer.
2. This "unidentified consciousness" could use an unidentified force or energy in such a way as to control temperature in fire-walking or make the changes in physical matter necessary to produce instant healing.
These conclusions pointed inevitably to a system of Metaphysics, so it was necessary to include research into the Psychic Sciences because this secret and mysterious system found working magic in Hawaii was not a matter of empty words and theorizing because it clearly worked.
In due time it was possible to explain a part of the basic theory and its methods of application. Because of the major contribution made by Hawaiian Kahuna ("keepers of the secret") preserving and maintaining these ancient practices, Max Freedom Long gave this new theory the name Huna.
Max continued doing research along with the Huna Research Associates until his death in 1971, when he bequeathed the organization to Dr. E. Otha Wingo, then professor at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, where the Huna Research Associates are continuing the coordination of teaching, research, and practice of Huna today.
So why the confusion?
In the mid-1960's some authors, recognizing the popularity of Max Freedom Long's Huna, began promoting themselves as Kahuna. Other people began promoting a variety of Hawaiian and pseudo-Hawaiian belief systems by saying they were "the real huna" even though the word previously referred only to Max's work.
This trend is still going on today, but everyone using the word Huna got it from studying Max Freedom Long.
His most popular book was The Secret Science Behind Miracles, which is totally incomplete because he wrote it long before establishing the Huna Research Associates. But Max was fortunately able to produce more than 50 years of painstaking research himself, and the vast majority of it was never published in books.
So a deeper understanding of Huna and complete, workable system for producing miracles was passed on through the Huna Research Associates, who quietly continue studying and perfecting the system through a world-wide network, meeting annually to share, teach, learn, and explore new territories.
Nana I Ke Kumu!
--Vince
© 2010 Rev. James Vinson Wingo, DD
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