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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Researched using a what? A OUIJA BOARD?, August 3, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Origins of Huna: Secret Behind the Secret Science (Paperback)
Ms. Kaehr studied with a Huna teacher in Dallas, Texas, who is not named in the book but who is a well known former pupil of Tad James. After completing one level of Huna training she purchased an Ouija board at Wal-Mart (!) and convinced herself she was communicating with the ghost of Max Freedom Long, the first person to write about Huna in the thirties. Inspired by that, she went to Hawaii and did some research which persuaded her that Max Freedom Long's books were inaccurate and that he made up much of what he wrote. Shelley's book is quite readable and well written. However, on some points her argument falls completely apart. Max Freedom Long says in his books that he never met a kahuna while he was in Hawaii, that he did become friends with Dr. Brigham of the Bishop Museum, and that everything he wrote about Huna came from Dr. Brigham and the Hawaiian Dictionary. Shelley accurately points out that none of these statements are true. Shelley has done an honest and courageous job of exposing the myths, but regrettably she stopped short of discovering the truth. Her documentary research is excellent but to arrive at the end of the story she resorted to Ouija boards, conversations with ghosts banging on the walls of her house, and automatic writing, whereas IMO she should have continued exploring documents. The truth is that Huna was illegal when Max was in Hawaii, that he studied under two kahunas, and that they gave him permission to publish some of what they taught him, provided that he conceal their identities. That he did with the silly stories about Dr. Brigham and the Hawaiian Dictionary which Shelley has thoroughly debunked. All of this came out after his death and after Huna was legalized. Like Shelley, I, too, was unimpressed with the obvious phoniness of these stories, and interviewed a woman in 1986 who studied in Hawaii with several kahunas. She told me that not only were Long's books accurate representations of Huna teaching, but that there were a lot of people in Hawaii who were angry that this information had been published. It is true, as the Kaehr book points out, that the popular understanding of such terms as aumakua and unihipili are different from the secret, esoteric meanings given by Long. But was Long wrong? Not according to people who have spent considerable time in the islands studying with real kahunas. We should note that Ms. Kaehr herself does not claim to have studied with any kahunas while in Hawaii, although she did do some valuable research with others who also did not study under any kahunas. So Ms. Kaehr's book is partly right so long as it depends on documentation, and dead wrong when its statements are based on ghostly visitations and things that go bump in the night (or bang, as the case might be). I say this in the hope that she will bring out a second edition in which these flaws are corrected. It should also be said that Max Freedom Long's bona fides or lack thereof have no bearing on the teachings of Clark Wilkerson, Serge King, or Tad James, all of whom studied in Hawaii, and none of whom claim to have learned everything they know from a dictionary, or from Long, for that matter. All three of these teachers have tipped their hat to Max Freedom Long as the first mainland author to write about Huna and acquaint stateside readers with this ancient Polynesian form of spirituality. It is absurd to say that no one should study under any of these teachers or their students because of Ms. Kaehr's experience with a Ouija board. After all, someone else might look at some tea leaves or something and decide not to study under Ms. Kaehr and then where would we be? Would that make any sense? We need better information than her presumed seances to make intelligent decisions. So I would give this book two stars. Two for the part that is half right, and minus three for the part that is all wrong.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
the WORST HUNA book I have EVER read., May 2, 2003
This review is from: Origins of Huna: Secret Behind the Secret Science (Paperback)
This decendants and friends of Max Freedom Long (MFL) should file a lawsuit against this author for slander and libel. I have two friends that were also friends of MFL. and from these friends, and the writings of MFL I do NOT get the notion that MFL was a liar. 1. Ms. Kaehr allegedly contacted the spirit of MFL by Ouija board then through automatic writing. This is research for a book?. 2. Ms. Kaehr said that MFL contacted her because he was guilty about the lies he told. MFL was a sincere dedicated researcher, and spent the last 52 years of his life trying to reclaim the secrets of the kahunas. 3. Ms. Kaehr states categoricaly that William Tufts Brigham and MFL could never have met. MFL went to the islands in 1917, and began hearing stories of kahunas almost immediately, and Dr. Brigham did not retire from his position as curator of the Bishop museum in 1918. 4. Ms. Kaehr said that HUNA is a form of Wicca. MFL began his research of HUNA in 1918 and ended at his death in 1971. Wicca did not exist before Gerald B. Gardner went public in 1949 after the witchcraft laws were overturned. Any one of those four examples is enough to leave the book sit on the shelf. Now let me explain why MFL made errors in his research. MFL had several things working against him, and in a few places he added 2 and 2 and came up with 6. a. MFL was a ha'ole and the Hawaiians would not talk to him for fear of persecution. b. It was illegal for American Indians and Hawaiians to practise their spirituality before the freedom of religion act in 1978. c. MFL was convinced there had to be a direct line of teachers, and he completely overlooked the mystical (people going into the silence and discovering matters of the soul). The Hawaiians, the Druids, the Lakota indians, the Jewish kabbalaists, and the mongolian shamans, and others all knew of three parts of the soul even though they give the parts different names. d. MFL took prayers and chants apart to discover the meanings of the root words. well that hawaiian/english dictionary was 70 years old, and hopelessly out of date. If you want a list of good HUNA books; go see my HUNA 1 listmania list, read my "So you'ld like to study HUNA and change your life", and read my HUNA 101 web page. http://... Aloha nui loa. Two Bears
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book is not worth one star!, July 29, 2002
This review is from: Origins of Huna: Secret Behind the Secret Science (Paperback)
...The chart on page 33 regarding Pele is incorrect. Offerings (awa. pig, hair, fruit, flowers, gin, coins, berries) the author left out Tobacco as an offering Kinolau (human, flame, young or old woman) The author left out that Pele can also appear as a white dog The author postulates the theory that MFL could not have met Dr. Brigham. I have read just about every book MFL wrote, and I do not recall MFL stating that he had been in the islands four years before he went to visit Dr. Brigham. If I had a sincere desire to learn Hawaiian lore; I would not wait four years before speaking to an authority. MFL went to the islands in 1917, and Dr. Brigham did not retire until 1918 The author postulates that Huna is a form of Wicca, and Wiccans worship nature. MFL did his research from 1917 onward, and published his books in the 1930s. Wicca did not exist before Gerald B. Gardner wrote his series of book in the 1950s. Wiccans do not worship nature. They cast a circle and invoke Deity. "The answers I have received from my research have led me to conclude that many Huna practitioners in the United States are misinformed about the origins of Huna." In my opinion; the author is misinformed about Huna. Page 101: "I had never imagined that Max Freedom Long had committed suicide because he was guilty about all of the lies he told" MFL DID commit suicide; but it was not because of guilt! Mr. Long was over 80 years old. His wife had passed away a few years eatlier, and he was dying of cancer. Summing up; I would recommend that you allow this book to collect dust on the book shelves...
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