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[Facts] Hawaiian names in general
I did some research on the net on the Hawaiian culture and religion, but I didn't find much about naming on Hawaii. From the list of Hawaiian names on this site I gather that most names root in a culture that is very close to nature up to a pantheistic religion.
Now what I would like to know: Was naming on Hawaii at all influenced by Christianity? Were names like OKALANI (which I posted a few days ago) interpreted in that way? ("From Heaven" = from God as the Christian God?) I can imagine that in Polinesian culture, sky and heaven were/are interchangeable.
Any experts around?
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I don't know about the interpretation of names ending in -lani by Christians.However, there were a great many Hawaiians given Hawaiianized versions of Biblical names, such as Keoni for John or Malia for Mary.
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Thank you, Steve! (nm) Andy ;—)
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