09/07/2023
Noho, Ai akua: Eat for a spirit.
'Ai akua or "eating for a spirit" was believed to be done when a human was possessed (noho) by a spirit who wanted food. In these cases, Mrs. Pukui recalls, the mortal consumed unbelievable quantities of food. A canoe-ful of fish! A whole barrel of poi at one sitting. The enormous amounts of food made 'ai akua clearly different from mere over-eating. Mrs. Pukui believes the tradition of 'ai akua resulted from seeing bereaved persons eat unusual
amounts in the days when ordinary meals were already large.
In a 1968 'ai akua mention, one mother said that her son was possessed by the spirit of her recently deceased husband. "He is eating for his father's spirit," she told the social worker.
In this particular example, the son had seemingly developed a voracious appetite after his father's death, apparently as a response to grief and generally disturbed family relationships.
Today when 'ai akua is related by clients, very probably eating has become "comfort in crisis." Or, as in this case, the woman, deprived of her husband, may have simply transferred her attention to her child, either plying him with food or merely taking fresh notice of his ordinary eating habits. The "spirit" eaten for, seems actually to have been the "spirit of unrest" in the household.
-Nana I Ke Kumu, vol. 1, p. 8
