The Hawaiians call the spirit or soul uhane and the body is kino.  They believe that the spirit has a very independent life away from the body.  It may leave permanently, in which case the body is dead, or it may just wander off for a while, leaving the person asleep or tired.  They believe that the spirit escapes the body this way by exiting through an inner angle of the eye called lua-uhane.  In this case, a kahuna, or priest, may be called in to put a stop to the wandering spirit with the aid of a wreath that is placed on the head of the person.

Only the kahuna can see the uhane, but anyone might possibly see the lapu, or ghost, of a dead person, which has the same human shape and speaks in the same voice.  They live in great fear of this.  It cannot change shapes, but can change sizes, and may enter small objects just as bones or food.  The Hawaiians have two ways of testing if they are dealing with a spirit or a living person.  The first is to lay down leaves.  Ghosts will leave no trace when they cross them.  The second is to look for the reflection in a bowl of water.  Only people have reflections.

A soul that has left the body may often be spotted fluttering over it.  It may have traveled further and joined the spirits of the underworld.  If caught in time, it may be possible to restore it to the body.  This involves pushing it back up through the feet.  Fragrant plants are wrapped around the body.  Chants are also part of the procedure.  The last step is a purifying bath. Successful resuscitation of a departed soul is called kupaku.

Death to the body does not mean death to the spirit.  The spirit will voyage to an underworld or place of the dead, and be led by their guardian spirit, or aumakua, to a leaping place, which is quite often a tree.  A spirit that is abandoned by their aumakua becomes a kuewa, or wandering spirit, and may end up in a barren place feeding on insects.  These malicious spirits are to be feared and often take great delight in leading travelers astray.

The bones of chiefs were preserved in heiaus, or temples, or distributed to the family members as sources of great mana energy.  Common people were bound in a sitting position and cast into deep pits.  The Hawaiians believed in a place of darkness, called Milu, and one of light, called Wakea.  Over the years, their beliefs were largely influenced by Christian conceptions of original sin and heaven and hell. 

One thing I read that I like to believe is that there is a spirit world called Po, which is like a great sea, out of which the lower forms are born.  It relates more to the cycle of life than any definite beginnings and endings.  Humans are born out of the spirit world.  In old age they return to the safe waters again.  At that point they are guarded until they are ready to take a form again, either as a human or some other force of nature.  This is something like reincarnation without the judgement attached to it.

There was an open mic I’d been considering hitting up at a studio called The Jazz Workshop, but when the night came, I was too depressed to want to be around people.  I wandered over to it and saw the comedian, The California Raisin, walk in, looking for an open stage.  In the end, I just wandered over to the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Mission and stood in front of the statue of the founder, Shinran Shonin, a Japanese monk who helped pioneer the Pure Land belief that salvation is possible to all creatures by believing in the supremely compassionate Amida Buddha.

Leaving there I was accosted by a street hustler, a kuewa, or wandering spirit, of sorts, who first came up and asked me if I’d seen his phone lying around, then took it further and basically accused me of taking it, on a night when I really wasn’t in the mood for it.  I turned and told him firmly to leave me alone, but he kept following on my heels, calling Sir… sir … sir.  Is that my phone?  Can I see it?  Like I was just going to hand it over.

There was music at a place called Pineapple’s and I stopped there to shake the guy, but he moved across the street and waited for me there.  When I started walking again, he began cutting across the street towards me, then stopped in his tracks, seeing the grim look on my face.  There were easier ways to get a free phone than to mess with me.