Hawai I Rituals Essay

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The rituals performed in ancient Hawai’i were of greater concern to the elites, while the rituals performed in the Greek polis were open to everyone. The differences in ritual participation led to social unity or stratification. There was already a complex system of social classes in the archaic states of Hawai’i, but religion and the rise of the ancient Hawai’i made rituals even more of a class affair rather than the cohesive affair seen in the Greek polis. There were certain rituals only performed by elites, or the ali’i, in order to maintain their divinity. In more specific terms, the rituals were concentrated on the ideas of manu and kapu, in which mana is the power that exists in higher ranks because of their connection to the gods and kapu is the state needed to preserve mana. The fact that only the elites were more closely related to the gods displays there was no social mobility, which the Greek polis encouraged. The common…show more content…
Higher rank was displayed through lavish headpieces and neck ornaments, which required an excruciating amount of labor. Since such a vast amount of labor was needed to make these art pieces, the elites indicated that they had numerous people under their command. Their power was also demonstrated through the amount of labor they utilized when it came to crops, such as taro and sweet potato. Both art and agriculture became crucial components in the development of ancient Hawai’i, because it meant that a sophisticated political system was underway if a person or peoples could command large amounts of common people and resources. On the other hand, the Greeks moved towards an egalitarian society. The Greek polis was an agricultural society, but they depended on sanctuaries for the flourishing of crops. They moved towards a political system because of the planning and building of sanctuaries, which established a foundation to

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