The Haumana was nervous, for this was to be the first of his major initiations into the Order of Kane. As he made his way to the appointed meeting place, he wondered just what his initiation would mean. As he walked, he thought of all the reasons why he wanted to study the ancient science of Ho'omanamana. Even as a child he remembered being fascinated with things mysterious and esoteric. He had always loved the idea knowing the secrets and mysteries of the universe. The idea of being of service had not yet dawned upon him, but it would.

As he neared the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (City of Refuge), he remembered all that he had learned about the Pu'uhonua. They had all been built in the ancient time (hundreds of years ago), during the time of balance. The legend was that if a person were to walk, or swim, or crawl, or even drag themselves inside the boundaries of a Pu'uhonua then any and all past transgressions and sins were immediately forgiven and, with the aid of a Kahuna, you were immediately reborn to a new life.

The Haumana managed to make his way to the area late in the afternoon, and as he neared the entry to the Pu'uhonua, he passed by the small cluster of Noni trees, and then he saw the Kahuna. The Kahuna was tall, very tall -- maybe six feet, maybe more. Her hair was very long, with streaks of gray. There was great wisdom in her eyes, and when he looked at the Haumana, he felt as if the Kahuna could see to the depth of his soul. Trembling, the Haumana walked with the Kahuna out toward the ocean, around past the small bay. Once past the tall stone wall, they stopped at the main platform of the Heiau. The Kahuna chanted:

"Aloha na hale o makou I maka-maka ole,
Ke ala nui hele mauka o pu'u kahea la, ie ie!
Ka-he-a.Ê E kahea aku ka pono..."

The Kahuna stopped in mid sentence. That was unusual. She drew in a long deep breath. "This is a very special initiation," she said, "I'm to reinitiate you and instruct you to the highest levels. You see, you have been here before as a great one -- a Kahuna Na'auao."

If he wasn't in awe before, the Haumana was now. Silently, he followed the Kahuna around past the Heiau and over to the ancient site -- the one that had been used for thousands of years. Together they stood by the very tall solid lava spear that rose 20 feet into the air. "Now, breathe -- like this." The Kahuna took a deep breath in through the nose, and exhaled, making the sound, "Haaaaaaaa." "Keep breathing," he said. Then he began to chant:

"Aumakua, aumakua
Na aumakua o ka po
Na aumakua o ke ao
Na aumakua o ka pau luna
Na aumakua o ka pau lalo
Hele mai, hele mai
Ho mei ka ike, ka mana, ke ola no
Elieli kapu, elieli noa
Amama, ua noa."

As she started the sixth line of the chant, the Kahuna placed her hand on the top of the Haumana's head. As she did, the Haumana felt the top of his head disappear into what seemed to be infinity. In gratitude, he fell to the ground, lying face down with his hands outstretched over his head. As he fell to the ground everything around him disappeared, and from somewhere above, but not through his ears, he heard a familiar chant,

"Kau ka halia,
I ka manawa,
He hiamoe kou..."

For a moment, he realized he was in that place of boundlessness described in the chant. Then he disappeared in the light.

Hours later, he regained consciousness, but the crown of his head was still gone -- it would be three days before he felt that it had come back. In later years he would remember this initiation as the one that started it all -- the one that put him back on the path.


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