Mana

Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. After stepping into a well known vortex in Wainiha (literal translation “un-friendly water”) on the North Shore of Kauai, I was fortunate/unfortunate enough to channel Mana. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian. In anthropological discourse, mana as a generalized concept is often understood as a precursor to formal religion. It has commonly been interpreted as “the stuff of which magic is formed,” as well as the substance of which souls are made.
Oil painting copyright (c) Trevi Bennett 2012