Festival of Cigbo

It’s Huna Holiday Time!

Time to Consider A Kalo Card Reading or New Huna Prayer Request 

There are three Holy Days celebrated by Hunians world-wide. The Huna Year begins on Makahiki, celebrated on March 21st. The Day of Remembrance is celebrated on October 26th, Kahuna Max’s (Max Freedom Long’s) birthday, and the last is the Festival of Cigbo, celebrated on the last day of February. 

This year is a Leap Year, so we get to commemorate the founding of Huna on February 29th. Traditionally, the entire month of February was marked by celebrations and parties, for it was some time in February of 1872 that Kahuna William (Dr. William Tufts Brigham), the First Primal Leader of Huna, set foot upon the Islands of Hawaii in 1872.  

Cigbo Day marks the beginning of Makahiki Season, our three-week period of reflection, It culminates at Makahiki, when Hunians renew their membership vows and participate in the Hunian Firewalk.  

   The Festival of Cigbo

It was popular for clubs of the 1940s and 1950s to collect dues and keep them in a cigar box. So when Kahuna Max, who was very fond of cats and had several, was collecting stamps and small change to cover postage and printing costs for HRA Bulletins, he chose to keep them in a cigar box. A feline personality developed that he named “Cigbo” (CIGar + Box). He was a popular character in the HRA Bulletins, the first reference that I could find was in HRA Bulletin #11. In fact, he plays a very active role in the Huna Vistas newsletters when Kahuna Max wrote about the Kalo (Tarot) Cards. 

Cigbo enables Kahuna Max’s wit to emerge when Cigbo took up the pen to report the events of his life and would ask for donations to keep the Bulletins going. Kahuna Lani and Cigbo worked together in 1968 to convince Kahuna Max to hold a convention for HRA members. But it didn’t happen. Kahuna Max said that HRA members were lone wolves. 

It is fitting that Cigbo be honored as the last holiday of the Huna year, and that it should be the most joyous and happy of our Huna holidays. 

The holiday involves the giving of gifts and a luau. While members bring their own gifts to distribute, the person hosting the Festival of Cigbo hides gifts for all the invited participants. The gifts are tied to long red strings that are interwoven throughout the area. Names are written on sticks in the center of the aka web, and everyone gets to find their gift by following his or her own aka thread. 

This is the time to balance things in the extended ohana A person might stand to say that when he was sick an unnamed person came and cleaned the house or fed them. Or it might be a child that had done something that made her parent proud.  

This is a way for all to honor those people as role models. 

The Season of Makahiki 

Cigbo Day marks the beginning of Makahiki Season. The three weeks between the Festival of Cigbo and Makahiki are devoted to reflection on the past year and the formation of intentions for the next. 

During Makahiki Season, the na Kahuna of the Huna Heiau are available to meet individually with Members to reflect on their past year’s progress on ke alanui e pono ia Huna, the Great Path of Huna Righteousness, and set intentions for the next year. 

Intentions for the next year are formulated during these three weeks. Our intentions will carry us into a fresh, clean year:  renewed and ready to meet all challenges. 

The na Kahuna of the Huna Heiau are available to assist in providing guidance and clarity for Members and non-Members. Consider getting a Kalo (Tarot) Card Reading or even working on an `ano`ano (prayer request) with a Kahuna. 

We’d be delighted to schedule some time to work with you! 

 

Kahuna Keonaona

Huna Heiau

Heiau Institute of Huna Studies 

 

TMHG Prayer Requests or email:  TMHG@HunaHeiau.org  

Kalo Readings by Telephone or email:  Readings@KaloCards.com