Awakening of the spirit

“The Seven Dawns of the Aumakua: The Ancestral Spirit Tradition of Hawaii,” by the late, Kauai’s own, Moke Kupihea, might be a book you’ve been looking for if you enjoy learning about Hawaiian spirituality. It has understandably garnered high praise from many, including the famous Hawaii historian Andrew Bushnell, and is well worth the read.

There are many volumes written about Huna, or Hawaiian spirituality, coming from a variety of perspectives: historical, metaphorical, or even new-age/psycho-metaphysical. So, what is it that makes this book unique from all the others?

One of the most defining points of “Seven Dawns” is the author Moke Kupihea. Kupihea was raised in Kauai’s Waimea Valley. From family, he studied the traditions and roots that formed the core foundation of the spiritual essence of Hawaii’s culture. These lessons from his youth and of how he learned over time to listen to the faint yet present ancestral voices and channel it through striving to live both mindfully and present with the land, is wonderfully chronicled in this book.

As he is guided through the lessons of native spirituality amidst his exploration of the wilds of the Garden Island, we as the reader get to learn with him, understanding their context as they were given.

Even if read as only a history, one truly gets a genuine experience, unfiltered from the influence of other cultural understandings or interpretations in an easy-to-read prose. That unto itself makes “Seven Dawns” a very special entry in the study of Huna.

We were fortunate enough to have met the author several times. We remember him to be as open and generous as the lessons in his book espouse. That being said, it has always been easy for us to recommend “Seven Dawns” when customers ask for Hawaiian spirituality books.

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Ed and Cynthia Justus own The Bookstore in Hanapepe.