Conference hydra::dejavu

Please recall that there's more than one type of exorcism.  One is where
a person who is possessed is relieved of the psychic parasite.  Another
is where a Presence manifests itself (similar to a "haunted house") and
it's driven away.

The secoind kind is less common.

I think if Edwina had wanted to detail the event, she would have already
done so.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

    While growing up in the Hawaiian Islands, I became familiar with
    the old Polynesian religions in an interesting way.  Construction
    companies who were planning to build over old Hawaiian burial grounds
    or holy locations would employ a Kahuna, or holy man from the
    Polynesian religion, to first inspect the site, then perform what
    ever exorcisms or placating rituals might be required to soothe
    or banish any spirits.
    
    There were many interesting stories I heard from people in the con-
    struction business about the accidents and strange happenings that
    could occur in an unblessed site.  One story I was told involved
    the heavy machinery being moved around--in one case an earth mover
    was found upside down in its place when the workers came on the
    job in the morning.  After the exorcism, the weird incidents stopped.
    
    Marcia

    Marcia, there's a difference between exorcism and placation.  Which
    is this (i.e., were the influences banished or were they present
    but satisfied)?
    
    Although this belongs in "superstitions" rather than here, there
    used to be the belief that no construction job (e.g., building the
    Golden Gate Bridge) was actually safe unless at least one person
    lost his or her life during the process.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.
    

    This also squares with the Polynesian tradition of slaying someone
    (usually a slave) and placing the body under the cornerstone of
    any important building.  The spirit was supposed to watch over the
    place.
    
    I can find out more details of the ceremonies performed in Hawaii
    by the Kahunas for the construction sites.  It may become clearer
    to me whether exorcism was involved or merely placation.
    
    Marcia

    The foundation sacrifice is found world-wide, not just in Polynesia.
    "My fair lady," on whom "London Bridge comes falling down" may have
    been a foundation sacrifice.  Household spirits, like brownies and
    lars, may be developed from stories of ghosts of foundation sacrifices.
    Or so I have read in anthropology books.
    
    Earl Wajenberg

    
      I have been working my way thru this file a little at a time and
    had already made a memo to myself to enter an inquiry about the
    Kahuna priests of Hawaii if I found none by the time I reached the
    "current day's entry" notes.  A friend of mine who has unfortunately
    moved away from the city loaned me a book about the Kahuna beliefs
    seven or eight years ago.  The Kahuna mystique (if I may call it
    that) centers around a codification of beliefs about supposedly
    "unnatural" (at least to everyone else) happenings and powers, among
    which that the spirit is connected to the body by a flexible "aka
    thread" which permits projection of the spirit to great distances.
    Included in the body of beliefs and practices are a great number
    of "laying on of hands" type medical treatments which are supposedly
    well documented as to success rates, but the documentation in this
    book was very soft indeed so I was unable to evaluate it.
    
      The book was one of a series of five or six, in a black cloth
    binding.  Wish I could find where Larry is now and consult it again
    in the light of this file, as I find myself thinking of it often
    as I progress from note to note.   Anyone familiar with this text?
    
                                                    -- Herb

    NOTE 33.2  HAWAII
     
          I WAS STATIONED IN HAWAII IN 70-72 WHILE THE HIGHWAY H1 WAS
    UNDER CONSTUCTION.  AT ONE POINT GRAVES WERE BEING UNCOVERED AND
    THE BODIES JUST REBURIED.  IT WAS REVIELED THE GRAVE YARD WAS ONE
    FROM THE EARLY PART OF THE CENTURY AND USED FOR PEOPLE WHO DIED
    FROM THE PLAGUE OR SOMETHING VERY CONTAGOUS.  ANYWAY THE EQUIPMENT
    STARTED BREAKING DOWN AT A RATE THAT COULD NOT BE ACCOUNTED FOR
    AND SOME OF THE CONSTRUCTION CREW KEPT HEARING VOICE FROM PEOPLE
    THAT WERE NOT THERE.  IT TOOK A FEW MONTHS BUT THE CONSTRUCTION
    COMPANY FINALLY AGREED TO HAVE ALL UNCOVERED BODIES TO BE REBURIED
    WITH PROPER RITES IN A AREA BLESSED BY LOCAL KAHUNA PRIESTS.
      AFTER THIS WAS DONE EVERYTHING WENT BACK TO NORMAL WITH NO 
    FURTHER
    UNSOLVED PROBLEMS.  MAYBE THE DEAD NEED TO REST IN PEACE. 
    
    
    
                                                         

    re -.1
    
    And, of course, the conts. crew was from the mainland and employed
    no locals, and site security after hours was maintained, and etc....
                                                                    
    						Don