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An Hawaiian Near-Death Experience

A. Kellehear

Journal of Near-Death Studies September 1, 2001 DOI: 10.1023/a:1011164711148 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Case report Peer reviewed
Topics Near-death experience
Key findings Argues that a Hawaiian near-death experience from the early 1900s, found in a folk tale monograph, appears to be a real-life account and shares similarities and differences with other Pacific area NDEs, particularly a Maori NDE.

Abstract

This paper is a case report of an Hawaiian near-death experience (NDE) from the early 1900s, which was uncovered in a turn-of-the-century monograph of Hawaiian folk tales (Thrum, 1907). The account differs from others in the same volume because it appears to be a real-life account rather than a folk tale. I describe similarities and differences from other Pacific area accounts, with particular attention to the only other Polynesian NDE account in the literature, a Maori NDE reported by Michael King in 1985.