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CHAPTER 15 The Māhū of Hawaii

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Pacific Diaspora
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CHAPTER 15 The Mähü of Hawaii Carolina E. Robertson When the lights dimmed in the Waikiki Shell on September 21,1987, an audi-ence of thousands rose to its feet to cheer the memory of kumu hula (master teacher) Darrell Lupenui. Hawaiians filled the lawn of Honolulu's outdoor concert arena in a tribute to one of the great creative forces in the Hawaiian renaissance movement. I was aware that we also were mourning the death of a prominent and respected rrnhu—a person of mixed gender who had found sanctuary in the domain of Laka, god/goddess of the ancient hula. Mahu from the full continuum of gender variation and from every island of Hawai'i participated in Lupenui's memorial concert, both as members of the audience and as chanters and dancers. Some of them wore dog-tooth necklaces and silk tunics. Others sported jeans, T-shirts, and stacks of flower leis that they gave away to friends and family in one of the oldest gestures of aloha. Mahu with children along translated some of the dance gestures and Hawaiian words for them. Like the great musician they were honoring, these mahu embody an ancient Polynesian principle of spiritual duality and integration. The outer presentation of the mahu is usually female, even when the person is biologically male. In Women of Polynesia, Tui Terence Barrow describes the mahu as an "intermediate sex": Sex is to the Polynesians a very down-to-earth thing which need not be too much thought about and is certainly not repressed. Sometimes Mother Nature cannot make up her mind whether to make a man or a woman, even in Polynesia, so she mixes up a little of the male with some of the female element. In Polynesia transvestites in whom the male and female are not clearly differentiated, either at the physical or psychic level are called the mahu who, although physically speaking more men than women, prefer to dress and act as women.1 This essay was previously published in Feminist Studies 15, no. 2 (1989): 312-322. 262
© University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu

CHAPTER 15 The Mähü of Hawaii Carolina E. Robertson When the lights dimmed in the Waikiki Shell on September 21,1987, an audi-ence of thousands rose to its feet to cheer the memory of kumu hula (master teacher) Darrell Lupenui. Hawaiians filled the lawn of Honolulu's outdoor concert arena in a tribute to one of the great creative forces in the Hawaiian renaissance movement. I was aware that we also were mourning the death of a prominent and respected rrnhu—a person of mixed gender who had found sanctuary in the domain of Laka, god/goddess of the ancient hula. Mahu from the full continuum of gender variation and from every island of Hawai'i participated in Lupenui's memorial concert, both as members of the audience and as chanters and dancers. Some of them wore dog-tooth necklaces and silk tunics. Others sported jeans, T-shirts, and stacks of flower leis that they gave away to friends and family in one of the oldest gestures of aloha. Mahu with children along translated some of the dance gestures and Hawaiian words for them. Like the great musician they were honoring, these mahu embody an ancient Polynesian principle of spiritual duality and integration. The outer presentation of the mahu is usually female, even when the person is biologically male. In Women of Polynesia, Tui Terence Barrow describes the mahu as an "intermediate sex": Sex is to the Polynesians a very down-to-earth thing which need not be too much thought about and is certainly not repressed. Sometimes Mother Nature cannot make up her mind whether to make a man or a woman, even in Polynesia, so she mixes up a little of the male with some of the female element. In Polynesia transvestites in whom the male and female are not clearly differentiated, either at the physical or psychic level are called the mahu who, although physically speaking more men than women, prefer to dress and act as women.1 This essay was previously published in Feminist Studies 15, no. 2 (1989): 312-322. 262
© University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Introduction: Pacific Diaspora? 1
  4. PART ONE Identity
  5. CHAPTER 1 My Life in Four Cultures 29
  6. CHAPTER 2 Pacific Islander Americans and Multiethnicity: A Vision of America's Future? 40
  7. CHAPTER 3 The Filipino Question in Asia and the Pacific: Rethinking Regional Origins in Diaspora 56
  8. PART TWO Leaving the Islands
  9. CHAPTER 4 Paradise Left? : Pacific Island Voyagers in the Modern World 67
  10. CHAPTER 5 Security and Confidence as Basic Factors in Pacific Islanders' Migration 87
  11. CHAPTER 6 Motivations for Contemporary Tongan Migration 99
  12. CHAPTER 7 From Village to City: Samoan Migration to California 118
  13. PART THREE Cultural Transformations
  14. CHAPTER 8 Creating Their Own Culture: Diasporic Tongans 133
  15. CHAPTER 9 Papalagi Redefined: Toward a New Zealand-Born Samoan Identity 150
  16. CHAPTER 10 Fight Boys, 'til the Last. . . "; Islandstyle Football and the Remasculinization of Indigeneity in the Militarized American Pacific Islands 169
  17. CHAPTER 11 The Dynamics of Aloha 195
  18. CHAPTER 12 A Compromise Identity: Tongan Americans in the United States 211
  19. PART FOUR Gender and Sexuality
  20. CHAPTER 13 Colonialism's Daughters: Lighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Western Perceptions of Hawaiian Women 219
  21. CHAPTER 14 Pacific Island Women and White Feminism 253
  22. CHAPTER 15 The Māhū of Hawaii 262
  23. PART FIVE Social Problems and Responses
  24. CHAPTER 16 Family Dynamics among Pacific Islander Americans 267
  25. CHAPTER 17 Historical and Cultural Aspects of Native Hawaiian Health 279
  26. CHAPTER 18 An Introduction to the Practice of Ho'oponopono 286
  27. CHAPTER 19 Pacific Islander Modes for Dealing with Sexual Abuse 295
  28. PART SIX Hawaiian Nationalism
  29. CHAPTER 20 A History of Dispossession 309
  30. CHAPTER 21 Ho'omana 322
  31. CHAPTER 22 Recognize Native Hawaiians: A Quest for Sovereignty 331
  32. Bibliography 355
  33. Contributors 377
  34. Index 381
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824844486-016

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Introduction: Pacific Diaspora? 1
  4. PART ONE Identity
  5. CHAPTER 1 My Life in Four Cultures 29
  6. CHAPTER 2 Pacific Islander Americans and Multiethnicity: A Vision of America's Future? 40
  7. CHAPTER 3 The Filipino Question in Asia and the Pacific: Rethinking Regional Origins in Diaspora 56
  8. PART TWO Leaving the Islands
  9. CHAPTER 4 Paradise Left? : Pacific Island Voyagers in the Modern World 67
  10. CHAPTER 5 Security and Confidence as Basic Factors in Pacific Islanders' Migration 87
  11. CHAPTER 6 Motivations for Contemporary Tongan Migration 99
  12. CHAPTER 7 From Village to City: Samoan Migration to California 118
  13. PART THREE Cultural Transformations
  14. CHAPTER 8 Creating Their Own Culture: Diasporic Tongans 133
  15. CHAPTER 9 Papalagi Redefined: Toward a New Zealand-Born Samoan Identity 150
  16. CHAPTER 10 Fight Boys, 'til the Last. . . "; Islandstyle Football and the Remasculinization of Indigeneity in the Militarized American Pacific Islands 169
  17. CHAPTER 11 The Dynamics of Aloha 195
  18. CHAPTER 12 A Compromise Identity: Tongan Americans in the United States 211
  19. PART FOUR Gender and Sexuality
  20. CHAPTER 13 Colonialism's Daughters: Lighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Western Perceptions of Hawaiian Women 219
  21. CHAPTER 14 Pacific Island Women and White Feminism 253
  22. CHAPTER 15 The Māhū of Hawaii 262
  23. PART FIVE Social Problems and Responses
  24. CHAPTER 16 Family Dynamics among Pacific Islander Americans 267
  25. CHAPTER 17 Historical and Cultural Aspects of Native Hawaiian Health 279
  26. CHAPTER 18 An Introduction to the Practice of Ho'oponopono 286
  27. CHAPTER 19 Pacific Islander Modes for Dealing with Sexual Abuse 295
  28. PART SIX Hawaiian Nationalism
  29. CHAPTER 20 A History of Dispossession 309
  30. CHAPTER 21 Ho'omana 322
  31. CHAPTER 22 Recognize Native Hawaiians: A Quest for Sovereignty 331
  32. Bibliography 355
  33. Contributors 377
  34. Index 381
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