''Hānai'' is a term used in the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

an culture that refers to the informal adoption of one person by another. It can be used as an adjective, such as "''hānai'' child", or as a verb to ''hānai'' someone into the family. In the Hawaiian culture, ''hānai'' has historically been a practice of one family ''hānai''-ing their child into another family. It has made tracing genealogical roots somewhat more complicated. When

Winona Beamer Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer (August 15, 1923 – April 10, 2008) was a champion of authentic and ancient Hawaiian culture, publishing many books, musical scores, as well as audio and video recordings on the subject. In her home sta ...

spoke about the issue of ''hānai'' and its relevance to admission at Kamehameha Schools, she had first-hand knowledge of the practice in her immediate family. Kaliko Beamer-Trapp was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with his biological mother. When Beamer decided to ''hānai'' Kaliko into her family, it was with a special ''hānai'' ceremony. Other

Polynesian culture Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras: *Exploration and se ...

s, such as the

Tahitians The Tahitians ( ty, Māohi; french: Tahitiens) are the Polynesian ethnic group indigenous to Tahiti and thirteen other Society Islands in French Polynesia. The numbers may also include the modern population in these islands of mixed Polynesia ...

and Māori (in which culture the phenomenon is known as ''whāngai''), have similar practices of adoptions.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanai Hawaiian words and phrases Hawaii culture Hawaiiana Adoption in the United States

See also

References

External links