Day 3: Māhū of Hawaiʻi – Guardians of Balance.
In Native Hawaiian culture, Māhū are people who embody both male and female spirit. For thousands of years before colonizers arrived, Māhū roles were cultural norms, with some highly honored as teachers, healers, and cultural keepers. In island society, Māhū were often entrusted with caring for children as well as preserving and passing down hula and other sacred traditions.
Facing Erasure
When Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaiʻi in the 19th century, they condemned Māhū identities as sinful, suppressing Indigenous understandings of gender diversity. Missionary influence was only one layer of colonial impact. Western legal systems, boarding schools, land dispossession, and U.S. statehood also disrupted traditional Hawaiian gender systems, erasing or marginalizing many practices and forms of knowledge.
Survival and Resilience
Even under pressures of colonization and cultural erasure, Māhū traditions survived quietly in hālau hula (dance schools) and through creative adaptation. Today, Māhū leaders and artists are reclaiming visibility by teaching and practicing Hawaiian cultural traditions, preserving ancestral knowledge, and shaping the future of Hawaiian culture.
“Being Māhū is about embodying balance. We carry the wisdom of our ancestors, and we live that truth for the generations to come.” – Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu
Some Māhū now embrace terms like transgender or queer, while others remain rooted in traditional Hawaiian understandings of gender and spirituality, demonstrating that gender diversity is not a deviation, but a sacred gift.
Why it Matters
The story of Māhū reminds us that queerness has long been part of Polynesia’s spiritual and cultural traditions, and that restoring cultural balance means honoring every identity and role within community and kinship networks.
Learn More
- Watch: Kumu Hina (PBS Independent Lens) — This acclaimed film documents the life of Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a Māhū hula teacher and activist, whose work highlights the resilience of Hawaiian cultural traditions and the ongoing effort to restore balance and honor ancestral knowledge.
- Read: The Mahele of Our Bodies: Nā Moʻolelo Kūpuna – Edited by Stephanie Nohelani Teves – A profound exploration of Hawaiʻi’s unwritten queer history. It compiles oral histories from Native Hawaiian elders (kūpuna) who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or māhū (LGBTQM). The narratives span significant periods, including the late Territory era, Hawaiʻi’s transition to statehood, and the impact of HIV/AIDS within the hula community. Additionally, the book delves into activism and political debates surrounding same-sex marriage rights in the 1990s. Edited by Stephanie Nohelani Teves, this work provides invaluable insights into the intersection of Native Hawaiian identity and LGBTQ+ experiences.
Connect and Support
- Papa Ola Lōkahi Māhū ʻOhana – a Native Hawaiian organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Native Hawaiians. Their initiatives include addressing health disparities and developing strategies to support the Māhū Ohana through programs, public policy, and partnerships.
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