Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 4, 1 April 1992 — Hawaiian Health Horizons [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian Health Horizons

A brief history of licensing traditional native practitioners

by Maleolm Naea Chun Program Specialist Hawai'i Department of Health

Licensing medical and healing practitioners is an issue of guaranteeing the quality of professionalism or authenticity of their training, methods, and practice. This is difficult when trying to reconcile traditional native healing practices and modern medicine. It is complicated by the imposition and prejudice of different religious, political and cultural ideas. For instance, only recently has the World Health organization recognized how important the traditional native practitioner is in the use of native plants and materials to heal.

Dr. Gerrit P. Judd made the initial attempt to reconcile the two practices when he admitted, "It is out of the question for us to think of putting down the native practice unless we will attend all the sick ourselves." He organized a research team of native assistants to collect information on traditional healing practices and he began to train natives in modern medicine.

Judd s resolve could not stem the tide of epidemics and illness whieh decimated the Native Hawaiian population in the islands. In 1867 a group of concerned Native Hawaiians, many of whom were professionally trained and leaders in the community, formed an organization to address and resolve the problem of depopulation. They compiled a report by interviewing kahuna, traditional healing practitioners, for submission to the kingdom's board of health. They hoped the report would persuade the board to recognize the legitimate practice of traditional healing as an alternative to expensive foreign medicine.

The next year, the legislature passed the first act to license kahuna and establish a Hawaiian board of health (Papa Ola Hawai'i). It was approved by King Kamehameha V. There were several kahuna who were granted licenses to practice under this act. Their record books,

whieh were required by law, still exist today. This 1868 Session Law was later enlarged under the reign of King Kalakaua in October of 1886 to expand the Hawaiian board of health, increase the license fee, lower the fines for practicing without a license, and to allow the board the power to establish loeal boards that would report on "qualifications of applicants to practice native medicine; and to state if the remedies proposed are suitable cures."

These laws of the kingdom were repealed after the overthrow of the monarchy by the new republic in 1893. However, board oT health reports from that period indicated the practice of "kahunaism" was still widespread. During the first territorial legislative session in 1900, some legislators again proposed legalizing kahuna. But it was not until the 1919 territorial legislative session that an act passed allowing the board of health to grant permits for the administration and "use of medicines made from Hawaiian herbs and plants."

The 1919 legislature also appropriated funds to begin an investigation into the use and scientific identification of Hawaiian herbs and plants. This study was published in 1922 as "Hawaiian Herbs of Medicinal Value." One of the difficulties encountered in implementing the law was reaching some sort of regulation for fees and then to form a board to oversee the permit process. It took some 37 years after passage of the act before the board was created in 1948.

The only publicly recorded petition for a license was denied and later rejected under an appeal because the applicant failed to successfully pass the required examination whieh was a test to give the botanical names of the plants she used. It was also noted in newspaper accounts that the doctors appeared dubious of the curative value of herbs in the treatment of heart diseases, diabetes and some other ailments. As the territorial government moved toward statehood and modernization, the laws eon-

cerning traditional healing practices were further amended to keep them consistent with administrative and regulatory changes. These laws remained on the books until the 1965 state legislature repealed them as obsolete. With the recent and increasing interest in traditional healing, questions about the legal recognition of kahuna or kupuna are.once again being asked.

Although some of the old prejudices still remain quite strong, new and changing attitudes toward this question may help to further the process of reconciliation that was begun over 100 years ago. It remains for Native Hawaiians, those involved in the health care profession and industry, politicians and religious leaders to continue the discussion and deliberations to reach a consensus as to how to resolve the question of legally practicing traditional native healing in the Hawaiian Islands.

Information for this eolumn eame from "The History of Licensing Traditional Natiue Practitioners" and "Occasional Paper Number Two," an addendum to the aboue publication. Both are auailahle in limited supply from the Department of Health.