Makahiki: Hawaiian New Year

Makahiki is the traditional Hawaiian New Year and a time to worship the God Lono. This was not a one-day festival as our New Year is today. Makahiki went on for several months traditionally from October to February.

Makahiki takes place at the end of the agricultural season. Communities had feasts to celebrate and people took time to rest. Activities to strengthen the body and soul were of primary importance.

A lunar holiday, Makahiki officially starts when the constellation Pleiades appears.

The Ancient Roots of Makahiki

Makahiki traditionally begins with the rising of the Pleiades constellation (called Makali'i in Hawaiian) in late October or early November, marking the start of the rainy season. For ancient Hawaiians, was a cosmic signal that Lono had returned to the islands, bringing with him the life-giving rains and the promise of abundance.

The timing is absolutely perfect from both a spiritual and practical perspective. After months of summer heat and the intensive work of cultivating and harvesting, the community was ready for a period of rest, reflection, and renewal.

Three Phases of Celebration

1. Spiritual Cleansing

The first phase was about preparation and honoring the gods. All citizens contributed something they had such as crops, meat, and feathers. These things were offered to the gods.

War was absolutely forbidden—no conflicts, no battles, no violence. Can you imagine? Four months of guaranteed peace, protected by divine decree. This wasn't just about avoiding physical conflict either; it was a time for healing relationships, resolving disputes through peaceful means, and focusing on what brings communities together rather than what tears them apart.

Communities had stone altars where they placed offerings. Some of the altars were in the shape of a hog because Lono is represented by swine. You can read about them in Boar as a spirit animal here.

2. Dancing and Sports

Second, the regular work of agriculture was suspended. This phase included much celebration. Instead of regular work, people engaged in sports, games, religious ceremonies, and artistic pursuits. They held competitions in surfing, wrestling, spear throwing, and other athletic activities. The Hula dance was performed and there were many sports competitions. Javelin throwing, canoe races, and swimming remain popular today.

Competitions were not limited to physical sports. Mental games in the form of riddles, recitation, and storytelling were also popular. They told stories, created art, and strengthened the bonds that held their communities together. It was like a four-month festival celebrating everything that makes life worth living.

The ancient Hawaiians understood that constant doing and producing can exhaust both the land and the people. Makahiki provided a necessary pause—a time to let Lono's natural abundance flow without human interference.

3. “Tax” Canoe

At the center of Makahiki was the understanding that abundance isn't something you grab or hoard—it's something you receive with gratitude and share generously. The season began with the Makahiki tax, but this wasn't taxation as we understand it today. Instead, it was a ritualized sharing of the community's abundance with the ali'i (chiefs) and the temples, ensuring that everyone had what they needed for the season ahead.

The tax ceremony was deeply spiritual, involving elaborate processions around each island. A crew would carry the Lono-makua, a tall pole topped with white kapa cloth and feathers, representing Lono himself. As they traveled from village to village, people would bring forward their offerings—not as reluctant taxpayers, but as grateful participants in a sacred exchange that honored the god who made their abundance possible.

This procession, called the Makahiki circuit, took about four months to complete, visiting every ahupua'a (land division) on the island. It was part religious ceremony, part community celebration, and part renewal of the social contract that held Hawaiian society together. When the procession reached your village, it was like receiving a divine blessing—a reminder that you were part of something larger and more beautiful than yourself.

The season culminated with the Makali'i ceremony, where the Pleiades were ritually "caught" in a net, symbolically ending Lono's time on earth and preparing for his departure until the next season. It's a poignant moment that captures something essential about pagan spirituality—the understanding that all things are cyclical, that endings are also beginnings, and that saying goodbye is part of what makes reunion so sweet.

Lono (Akua Loa)

Lono is one of the four major akua (gods) in the Hawaiian pantheon. While his brothers Kū represents war and strength, and Kanaloa governs the ocean depths, Lono embodies everything that makes life flourish—rain, fertile soil, peaceful times, and the abundance that comes when communities live in harmony.

He's intimately connected to the cycles of nature and the rhythms that sustain all life. He's often depicted with symbols of fertility and growth, and his presence is felt most strongly during the rainy season when the islands turn lush and green.

What makes Lono particularly fascinating for modern pagans is how he represents the sacred masculine in its nurturing aspect. Unlike many warrior gods in world mythologies, Lono's power comes through cultivation, healing, and bringing communities together.

He is the god of agriculture, fertility, music, and peace. During the traditional time of Makahiki war was forbidden. Today Hawaiians practice making peace with neighbors or family members.

Lono descended to earth on a brilliant rainbow. He is married to Laka goddess of the forests and creator of the hula dance.

He is also associated with rainfall and brings the Kono storms. Makahiki occurs during Hoʻoilo (the wet season). During this season priests would carry a long pole with a human effigy and symbols of Lono around the main island.

Lono is the god of agriculture, fertility, music, and peace.

Celebrate Today

A fun but undoubtedly expensive way to celebrate is to visit Hawaii! The islands continue to celebrate Makahiki as a traditional celebration and a way to draw tourists. Keola Magazine talks about the cultural resurrection of the holiday.

• Learn to hula.

• Cook rice cakes called mochi. These cakes are believed to bring strength and long life. Eat them with fish.

• Go swimming and dry off by a bonfire on the beach.

• Get involved in a sport this winter season to strengthen your body.

• Give thanks for tropical birds, especially the Kaupu bird (Laysan albatross) which symbolizes Lono.

• Thank Lono and Laka for the earth and its abundance.

An introduction to the basics and deities of Celtic, Greek/Roman, Egyptian, Native American, Norse, Slavic, Wicca, Yoruba, and Eclectic pagan paths.

Makahiki in Modern Hawaii

You might wonder how a tradition this ancient survives in our modern world, especially after the tremendous disruptions that colonization brought to Hawaiian culture. The beautiful truth is that Makahiki not only survives—it's experiencing a remarkable revival as part of the broader Hawaiian cultural renaissance that began in the 1970s.

Today's Makahiki celebrations blend ancient wisdom with contemporary needs, creating something that honors the tradition while speaking to modern Hawaiian communities. Schools throughout the islands now celebrate Makahiki season with educational programs that teach children about their cultural heritage through hands-on activities, traditional games, and storytelling.

The athletic competitions that were central to ancient Makahiki have been revived in spectacular fashion. You'll find modern Makahiki festivals featuring traditional Hawaiian games like konane (Hawaiian checkers), ulu maika (Hawaiian bowling), and various spear-throwing competitions. These aren't just fun activities—they're living connections to ancestral ways of understanding competition as community building rather than dominance.

Many Hawaiian communities now hold Makahiki opening ceremonies that echo the ancient traditions. They might begin with oli (chants) that call Lono back to the islands, followed by the hoisting of traditional Makahiki flags or banners. Some communities create their own versions of the Lono-makua procession, adapting the ancient circuit to modern circumstances while maintaining the spiritual essence of the practice.

Food plays a huge role in contemporary Makahiki celebrations, just as it did anciently. Communities come together for massive potluck feasts featuring traditional Hawaiian foods—poi, lau lau, kalua pig, haupia, and seasonal fruits. These aren't just meals; they're acts of communion that embody Lono's gift of abundance and the Hawaiian value of sharing what you have with your community.

Celebrating Your Own Makahiki Season

While you might not live in Hawaii, you can still honor the spirit of Makahiki in your own practice. Consider marking the rising of the Pleiades in late October as the beginning of your own season of sacred rest and community celebration. This could be a time to step back from the constant push of productivity and instead focus on gratitude, relationship-building, and creative expression.

You might create your own version of the Makahiki tax by gathering together the abundance in your life—whether that's food, handmade items, or simply your time and attention—and sharing it generously with your community. This could be as simple as organizing a potluck feast or as elaborate as creating handmade gifts for everyone in your spiritual circle.

Consider instituting your own "no conflict" policy during this season, committing to handling disputes through peaceful dialogue and focusing on what brings harmony rather than what creates division. Use this time to heal relationships, forgive old hurts, and strengthen the bonds that sustain your community.

The Makahiki tradition reminds us that spirituality isn't just about individual enlightenment—it's about creating communities where everyone can flourish, where abundance flows freely, and where the sacred is woven into the fabric of daily life. In honoring Lono and the wisdom of Makahiki, we connect with an ancient understanding that the earth provides everything we need, if only we remember how to receive its gifts with gratitude and share them with generous hearts.

So this fall, as the Pleiades rise in the eastern sky, consider joining the thousand-year-old celebration of Makahiki. Let Lono's gentle rain wash away the stresses of constant striving, and allow yourself to rest in the abundance that surrounds you always, waiting only for your grateful recognition.