E kū makani : a "life history" story of kahuna lāʻau lapaʻau Levon Ohai

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to recount a "life history" of the late Levon Ammon Ohai by focusing on his teachings and narrative interviews: Levon was a retired DOE teacher from Kauaʻi and also a lāʻau lapaʻau instructor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This thesis addresses the issue of a gap in knowledge on Levon Ohai with special attention to the connections of what he believed in and the results of what he did with those beliefs. The product of this endeavor is this thesis which emphasized: the sense of urgency to document the moʻolelo of a kahuna lāʻau lapaʻau; the incongruent value systems he experienced between his lāʻau lapaʻau culture and western institutions; the value of empirical medicine; and his love for Akua. These themes that illuminated themselves in the narratives validated the importance of documenting life histories for future generations. The emergence of this life history research at this time contributes considerably to the field of Hawaiian biographical research.