Title: Blessing
General Information about the item:
- Genre and sub genre: Customary folklore: custom
- Language: Hawaiian/English
- Country: USA
Informant data:
- Zoe Leonard ’19 from Honolulu, O’ahu. Born in Hawaii and grew up their until coming to Dartmouth.
Contextual data:
- Social context: A blessing is a rite of passage and social ceremony.
- Cultural context: Blessing a place uses magic to expel bad spirits or energy and cleanse the area to have good energy. The ancient tradition has been carried down for generations.
Item:
- When a new business, school, or establishment opens in the islands it is almost always along with a blessing ceremony where a kahu, or Hawaiian priests, blesses the place.
Collector: Aaryndeep Rai