A Kahuna is a Hawaiian name for a ”priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession”. There are 40 different types of Kahunas. They range from experts in herbal healing to experts in boat making. The missionaries came to Hawaii and outlawed the Kahuna, but there is a revival of the Kahuna, today. The Kahuna communed with the ancient gods to help them in their crafts. Kahunas could be both male and female.
The Kohens are patriarchal priests of Jewish (Hebrew) lineage. According to Wikipedia:
The noun kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, both Jewish and non-Jewish, such as the Jewish nation as a whole, as well as the priests (Hebrew kohanim) of Baal (2Kings 10:19). During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, Kohanim performed the daily and holiday (Yom Tov) duties of sacrificial offerings.
Kohanim sounds very similar to Kahuna. Christian priests are referred to as Komer in Hebrew. I have also seen pictures and stories of Tahitian temples that contained animal pens for pigs that were sacrificed to the gods of the temple.
There are 24 different types of Kohens. Per wikipedia:
King David assigned each of the 24 priestly clans to a weekly watch (Hebrew mishmeret ?????) during which its members were responsible for maintaining the schedule of offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem (1Chronicles 24:3-5). This instated a cycle of ‘priestly courses’ or ‘priestly divisions’which repeated itself roughly twice each year.
A picture of a grave site shows the Kohanim blessing:
There are female and male priests/priestesses in all ancient cultures. The Mende people have both as well.
The Poro prepares men for leadership in the community, so they might attain wisdom, accept responsibility, and gain power. It begins with the child's grade of discovery, followed by extensive training and service. During the seven-year initiation period, the young men converse with each other using a secret language and password, known only to other Poro members. The member always knows and understands what is being said. This is part of the mystery of this secret society.
All Mende women when they reach puberty begin the initiation process into the Sande society. The goals of this secret society are to teach young Mende women the responsibilities of adulthood. The girls are taught to be hard working and modest in their behavior, especially towards their elders. Sande influences every aspect of a Mende woman's life; it is present before birth and still present after.
The word Shinto ("Way of the Gods") was adopted from the written Chinese (神道, pinyin: shén dào),[4] combining two kanji: "shin"(神), meaning "spirit" or kami; and "tō" (道), meaning a philosophical path or study (from the Chinese word dào).[3][4] Kami are defined in English as "spirits", "essences" or "deities", that are associated with many understood formats; in some cases being human-like, in others being animistic, and others being associated with more abstract "natural" forces in the world (mountains, rivers, lightning, wind, waves, trees, rocks). Kami and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity.[3]
Many ancient cultures have priests/priestesses who were given beneficial knowledge for the tribe. It is sort of like small apprentice schools. The priestess/priest cults were all over the world before many were wiped out and outlawed.
by Rita Jean Moran (www.thelibrarykids.com)
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