Kapu refers to the ancient
Hawaiian code of conduct of laws and regulations. The
kapu system was universal in lifestyle, gender roles, politics, religion, etc. An offense that was
kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of
mana.
Kapus were strictly enforced. Breaking one, even unintentionally, often meant immediate death,
Koo kapu. The concept is related to
taboo and the
tapu or
tabu found in other
Polynesian cultures. The
Hawaiian word
kapu is usually translated to English as "forbidden", though it also carries the meanings of "sacred", "consecrated", or "holy".
