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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, July 31, 2005

Hawaiian healing gains acceptance

By RON STATON
Associated Press

Alapai Kahuena, of Wai'anae, a Hawaiian healer, collects the green pohuehue vine and the yellow kauna'oa vine along the Leeward coastline near Nanakuli. Both vines grow wild in the area. More Hawaiians are reaching for such plants for their healing properties.

Lucy Pemoni | Associated Press

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WAI'ANAE — It was Tuesday and the volleyball player at Punahou School had a painful sprained finger, but she wanted to play that Friday.

Alapai Kahuena received a call and went from her home on the Leeward Coast to Ala Moana Park to look at the girl, the granddaughter of a friend.

Kahuena, a practitioner of Native Hawaiian healing, pounded leaves of ha'uoi, a plant also known as verbena, and mixed it with Hawaiian salt. After massaging the girl's arm, she placed the mixture on the finger, wrapped it in gauze, and told the girl to leave it on for three days. "Her mother later told me the pain went away and the girl was able to play on Friday," Kahuena said.

A growing number of Hawai'i residents are turning to traditional healing practices as an alternative or a supplement to visiting a regular doctor.

Traditional healing practices also are being combined with standard medicine in state-supported health care programs for Native Hawaiians, although there is a shortage of Hawaiian healers. The University of Hawai'i also has a new department that recognizes and studies Hawaiian medicine.

"People are not happy with Western medical treatment and are seeking alternatives," said Babette Galang, complementary health officer for Papa Ola Lokahi, a nonprofit group set up to improve the health and well-being of Native Hawaiians.

Traditional healing goes on in a variety of settings around the islands — in clinics and community health centers as well as private homes and public parks.

Kahuena frequently uses an herb called 'olena, a ginger family plant also known as turmeric, to treat several ailments. It's anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, she said.

Kahuena said she tries all herbs before prescribing them, and is using 'olena herself for treatment of diabetes and heart problems. She hopes eventually to be free of her Western medicines.

Both Kahuena and Galang emphasize the spiritual element of traditional healing.

"Ke Akua (God) is the foundation," Kahuena said. "Pule (prayer) is a big part in healing. I'm not a healer. He's the healer; I'm the helper."

Galang quotes the late Henry Auwae, a po'okela, or master, of la'au lapa'au, or herbal medicine, as saying that healing is "80 percent spiritual and 20 percent la'au."

La'au lapa'au is one of three forms of native healing, along with lomilomi, which uses forms of massage, and ho'oponopono, which means "to make right" and is a form of dispute resolution in which problems are talked out.

Kahuena trained with Auwae for eight years, and her clients are mostly relatives and friends. She doesn't advertise and, like Auwae, does not charge for her services.

Auwae taught the practices that were taught to him, as a gift to be shared and never charged for these services, said Kekuni Blaisdell.

"He felt it would interfere with the healing process," said Blaisdell. "But the younger generation wants to pursue this as a career."

Blaisdell first learned of the herbal forms of native healing while a student at Kamehameha Schools. He had learned about lomilomi from his grandmother.

Blaisdell went on to become a doctor trained in Western medicine and is retired from the University of Hawai'i's medical school.

A Hawaiian health study by the nonprofit group Alu Like and the University of Hawai'i led to a report, E Ola Mau (to live on), that became the basis for the Native Hawaiian Health Improvement Act of 1988.

The act provided healthcare facilities for Hawaiians. Papa Ola Lokahi, which serves as a Native Hawaiian health board, was established to develop the infrastructure to address concerns raised in the study.

By 1991, the healthcare systems were in place on all islands, encompassing both Western and traditional healing. Papa Ola coordinates and oversees five Native Hawaiian healthcare systems.

Traditional healers are exempt from state licensing, but their qualifications are reviewed by kupuna councils affiliated with the healthcare systems, and in turn reviewed by the Papa Ola Lokahi board, said Hardy Spoehr, executive director of Papa Ola Lokahi.

The University of Hawai'i's medical school recently created its Department of Native Hawaiian Health, which is committed to improving the health and wellness of Native Hawaiians while embracing traditional Hawaiian values and practices.

Learn more: Native Hawaiian Healthcare: www.nativehawaiianhealth.net/index.cfm

University of Hawai'i Department of Native Hawaiian Health: www.dnhh.hawaii.edu/Home.asp ?tabHome