Blessing Your Honolulu Home!
September 24th, 2009 categories: For Sellers, Rants & Riffs
It is always fun to work with a family moving from the mainland to Honolulu. An inevitable part of a home purchase is helping orient my client to the cultural nuances of living in Hawaii. One of the local practices I always recommend that a new homeowner plan on doing is the “blessing of the home”. This is usually done anytime a major event happens to a home and it involves bringing a minister, or Kahu, into the house to hold a ceremony involving prayers for abundance and good in the home. After the ceremony, the preacher generally walks around the interior and says more prayers in relevant places; these invocations are usually accompanied by water in koa bowl, sprinkled or splashed from shredded ti leaves. I don’t know if it is unique to Hawaii, but based on the reaction of many buyers, I imagine it is one of Hawaii’s more unusual customs associated with the ownership of real estate.
The following are a number of events that might lead to the “blessing” of a house or condo.
1. A new owner moving into a home for the first time.
2. Before significant remodeling project is started.
3. After a remodeling is completed.
4. After a home has been owned for a long time.
5. After the occurrence of a number of bad things (accidents, missing things, things going bump in the night, etc.).
6. After a death occurs in a home.
7. Anytime a homeowner feels the house’s “blessing” needs updating.
If you are new to the idea of “blessing” a home, you may be wondering who should do the ceremony. In my experience, it should be a holy person relevant to the homeowner. If you are a committed religious person, speak with your rabbi, priest, minister or spiritual guide and ask them if they can help you. You may be surprised to find that they have performed many blessings of homes. If you are at a loss and need a referral to someone that I have seen “bless” many homes, here is a referral.
Reverend George Scott 808-295-3530
Reverend Scott is a chaplain at Punahou School and I have known him for 17 or 18 years. He was an associate minister at Honolulu’s famous Central Union Church and does a terrific job with home blessings.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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This was a very nice message for anyone going through troubles or moving here.