Now, whatever you call it, god or demigod, I did have an aumakua look after me in Hawaii. It happened when we were to begin excavations on the island of Kauai in 1978, and a luau was held to bless the excavations and to bring the family on whose land the site existed together. The politics of the situation were quite complex, but one part of the part Hawaiian family hoped to "clear" the land- a sand dune and related back beach area beyond Hanalei, for sale and construction under coastal zone and forest management policies, while the other part of the family wanted to maintain the land intact. The luau was great fun, but the dominant ritual was a blessing of the site and an admonition to the archaeologists to recognize that the land was sacred and not to destroy its integrity. A well recognized lay minister peformed the ceremony. After it, he told me in private that a great aumakua would watch over me and guide me. He whispered the animal type to me, and asked me to keep it a secret. The next morning, as I left my tent, I was surprised to both hear and see the aumakua looking down at me. I was amazed, and like the Tongan King with the press, I muttered "a god, truly a god", though I knew it was not a god in our sense of the word. The mana of that aumakua was present during the whole season. Sometimes, when I am in Hawaii, I still look for my aumakua, and have inevitably found it.

True story!