Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 5, 1 May 2011 — The Hawaiian view of adoption [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Hawaiian view of adoption

By Kau'i Sai-Dudoit rom ali'i to maka'āinana, the practice of adoption I was customary throughout

rthe Hawaiian Islands, but the Hawaiian practice differs from the Western perception of adoption from the ineephon of the concept. The words hānai and ho'okama both are often translated into English as adopt/adopted/ adoption, but there are differences in the relationships the two tenns describe. The Hawaiian understanding is simple, really. The word hānai, according to the Andrews dictionary is a contraction of the word hana (to do,

to work, to cause) and 'ai (food or food plant) so the meaning is to feed; to nourish, as the young. Hānai is to raise from childhood with all the privileges and responsibilities of a natural-bom child, but does not require the natural parents to cut all ties. In fact, in most cases a relationship between the two sets of parents is encouraged. The act of hānai was also perceived as a means of strengthening bonds between families and was considered

an honor. It was binding and yet did not require any legal paperwork, contractual agreements or a judge's uninfonned consent, although that was also possible and heeame the nonn over time. Ho'okama, whieh

is along the same hne, establishes a relationship with an older child or even an adult and is a matter of ehoiee, one that is mutually developed. Here we give three examples from the Hawaiian language newspapers that show the extent of the practice in action, while also exhibiting the automatic passing from the parent to the child of all the privileges of a natural-bom child. The English translations are provided by Puakea Nogehneier. ■

Ho'olaupa'i: Hawaiian Language Newspaper Project is a coIIaborative partnerslnp among the Bishop Museum, Awaiaulu Ine., Alu Like ine. and Hale Kuamo 'o to utilize moāem techno!ogy to preserve and provide access to the voIuminous writings in the Hawaiian Ianguage newspapers forfree access at nupepa.org. Kau'i Sai-Dudoit has been the Project Manager ofHo 'olaupa 'i since 2002.

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