“When we think of medicine, we think of prescriptions and pills, but medicine comes in so many different forms,” said Pii Lawson, a Native Hawaiian culture practitioner.
Born into a family of ancestral weavers and kahuna lapau’u (Native Hawaiian healers) who revere the power of plants, Lawson shares his practices with guests at Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. ing. He grew up just a few miles away from the resort.
As Lawson explained, medications are correlated to your needs. “I have to get in the water. That’s my medicine for the day. I might just have a cheeseburger. What our bodies need right now,” he added.
Native Hawaiians, who have a deep connection with nature, turned into a plant It is an ancient practice known as sage, which has been used for centuries to treat and prevent all sorts of ailments. Laau Lapaau (lā’au means plant and lapa’au means healing.)
“We often think of plants as ‘Oh, nothing, they’re just there,’ but they’re there to serve a purpose and provide medicine,” he said. rice field. “It has been with our ancestors in indigenous cultures around the world.”
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Kava, or “awa” in Hawaiian, was believed to relax muscles and cure insomnia. People were given parts of the kukui plant as a laxative, and the nuts were used to treat ulcers and sores. “Orena, or turmeric, was used as an anti-inflammatory agent. The list goes on.
and Heading to a Four Seasons Resort this summerLawson holds a weekly workshop to make smudge sticks from native plants picked on the premises. Once the stick is dry, you can burn it as “a way to bring balance to your body, mind, and perhaps your home or car.” He also offers another workshop, Muhala Sound His Healing His Ritual.
What is dirt?
What is smudging sacred customs It is used by many indigenous cultures to ward off evil spirits and energies, especially during rituals. The most popular plants that make up smudge sticks are: white sageIt has also been incorporated into food and medicine, mainly by tribes in California and Mexico. Smoke has cultural and religious significance to many people around the world, as the Chinese, Japanese, Egyptians, etc. are known for it. burn incense.
“This workshop is about how we can connect with that energy and intention and use the plants that are already around us to make our own smudge sticks,” Lawson said.
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Lawson has always enjoyed the tradition of burning sage, but wanted to give the custom a place in Hawaii.
It’s not hard to find smudge sticks in stores, especially those that sell New Age items such as tarot cards and crystals. The mainstream popularity of white sage smudge sticks overharvesting of plants, It negatively impacts indigenous cultures that are deeply rooted in this practice. The same thing is happening in dry forests. Palo Santo A wood burned in religious ceremonies by indigenous communities in Central and South America, it is now popular in the Western world.
“Why don’t we use plants here?” Why source things from the mainland? It’s robbing them of their practice,” Lawson said. “As native people, we must be mindful of other native practitioners. Spirituality is mindfulness.”
In 2020, Lawson began experimenting with Hawaiian botanicals to see what effect they had on Smudge Sticks.
So far, he is the only workshop in Hawaii that does something like this with smudge sticks, and he doesn’t know of any other practitioners doing it either.
“As practitioners, we limit ourselves to what we’re told and are afraid to explore new things because someone might say, ‘Oh, that’s not right,'” Lawson said. said Mr. “But our ancestors … have always adapted.”
What does it feel like to stick your own dirt on Lawson?
Before you start harvesting plants, you should: protocol, Required Hawaiian Code of Conduct: Seek permission from ancestors and spirits. Hawaiians follow rules when entering sacred sites like Mauna Kea or when collecting flowers for a lei.
Our protocol is to recite a short thank you prayer written by Lawson in Hawaiian before we go to pick the plants.
We walk to a sprawling shrub with tiny rounded leaves and purple flowers on its branches, just by the pool.of Pohinahina is a unique plant related to the Labiatae family and has a light, herbal scent that captures the energy Lawson seeks.
Twelve cuttings are cut using the traditional Hawaiian method, using body measurements. I hold each branch from the tip of my index finger to the tip of my thumb and call the length “Kikoo”.
Around the corner of the resort by the koi pond, we surveyed the ground, lauaesida, recognized by leaf spores. Native to Australia, but ubiquitous in Hawaii, these plants give off a sweet, almond-like scent.
I’ve seen these plants everywhere, from malls to beaches, and overlooked their potential.
We sit down again and wrap the pohinahina cuttings in a tight bundle in fern leaves. He places a selenite crystal in the center, which aids in purification, and tightens the bundle with twine.
Guests can take smudge sticks home and wait weeks for them to dry. Once the stick is ready, people can light it to purify their space.
Kathleen Wong is a Hawaii-based travel reporter for USA TODAY. Please contact [email protected]..
