Hamuel Hoahania
Hamuel Hoahania | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | AreAre, Malaita, Solomon Islands |
| Died | October 15, 1986 |
| NSA member | South West Pacific Ocean 1966 - ???? Solomon Islands 1978 |
| ABM | Australasia 1978 - ???? |
Hamuel Hoahania (d. October 15, 1986) was a Solomon Islander Bahá’í who served as a National Spiritual Assembly and Auxiliary Board member in the Solomons.
Biography[edit]
Hoahania was born in AreAre in the district of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. He was a traditional chief and owned land in Malaita which he used to produce cocoa which he traded with the British authorities prior to the Solomons achieving independence. In his youth he worked at the South Sea Evangelical Mission but became disillusioned in Christianity as the missionaries at the school would not associate with the Islanders.[1]
In the 1950's Hoahania started working as a government medical dresser allowing him to travel throughout the islands. In July 1956 he met Bahá’í pioneers Alvin and Gertrude Blum in Honiara and visited their home. They taught him about the Bahá’í Faith and he invited them to visit Hau Hui to teach which resulted in a Local Spiritual Assembly of Hau Hui forming with Hoahania being elected as a member.[1]
In 1961 the National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific appointed Hoahania to the Solomon Islands Teaching Committee and in 1962 he was elected as a delegate of the Solomon Islands to the Regional Convention of the South Pacific and he was re-elected as delegate for several years.[1] In 1966 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the South West Pacific Ocean,[2] and in October 1967 he visited Australia and attended the Sydney Intercontinental Teaching Conference.[1]
In 1978 Hoahania was elected to the independent National Spiritual Assembly of the Solomon Islands and that year he attended the International Convention in the Holy Land, making him the first Bahá’í of the Solomons to visit the Holy Land, and cast a vote in the election of the Universal House of Justice. He visited Iran after the Convention visiting the House of the Bab in Shiraz and later in the year he was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member.[3]
In 1986 Hoahania passed away and was survived by his wife and sixteen children.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 843. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 425, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 844. View as PDF.
