In old Hawaii, the spirit that resided within humans was called uhane. So, to, was the animating force that caused the body to move about while alive and the human soul.
The uhane was not permanently attached to the body. It could leave the body during sleep through a "spirit hole" which was located near the inner corner of the eye, and return to the body before or open waking. It was in this spirit form that humans, gods, and goddesses were able to travel long distances in short periods of time. It was considered normal for the uhane to travel at night. The adventures of ones uhane during sleep formed the basis of dreams and nightmares.
At death, the uhane became permanently disconnected from the body. But though the body died, the spirit lived on. It left its earthly life forever by traveling the foot paths of the island until it reached a specific spot that usually overlooked the sea. From here it leapt to Po (the underworld). Unfortunately not all uhane made it to the leaping place and became lapu (ghosts).
A ghost had the same shape as the body that it once possessed, with one exception: the feet of ghosts were often not seen. In fact, few humans could see ghosts, but they were widely feared. Ghost were believed to have the power to grow larger or smaller.
Though they were feared, ghosts do not seem to have the power to harm humans. Still, many measures were taken to protect life, home, and possessions against ghosts. Food was particularly vulnerable to ghosts. Leaves of the Ki (Ti) plant were tied to food packages transported to feasts at night to guard against ghosts.
Ghosts are still present in Hawaii today. This is not difficult to understand since hundreds of thousands of Hawaiians are buried here as are hundreds of thousands of non-Hawaiians. Hawaiians did not accept that the spirit died following the death of the body. Hence, the spirits are still present amongst us.
Story courtesy of "Spooky Stories From Maui" Activities-4-Less
Halloween Recipe
Ghosts In The Graveyard
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Serving: 1
Ingredients:
3 1/2 Cups Cold Milk
2 Pkgs. (4 Serving Size) Jello-Chocolate Pudding
1 Tub 12 Oz. Cool Whip Thawed
1 Pkg 16Oz. Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Instructions:
Crush cookies in zip style bag, with rolling pin, or in food processor.
Make pudding as directed on package using 3 1/2 cups milk; let stand 5 minutes.
Stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping and 1/2 of the crushed cookies.
Spoon into 13x9 dish. Sprinkle with remaining crushed cookies.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
Decorate with candy pumpkins, candy corn, milanos and spoonfuls of whipped topping for ghosts (pipe in chocolate eyes)
