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4574
qualitative
journal
Shushan, Gregory, "My heart sang within me, and I was glad to be dead": The Reception of Near-Death Experiences Across the Cultures of Oceania, Journal of Near-Death Studies, 36(3), Spring 2018, pp. 135-160. Kalima (Kona, Hawaii), Case 2
Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 36, Number 3, Pages 138-139, 2018
1892
2018
F
Kalima, a woman from Kona, Hawaii, died during her funeral as family and friends mourned near her "rigid form and ashen face." She suddenly breathed and opened her eyes, then recounted her remarkable experience.
She described leaving her body and standing beside it, looking down at her dead form. The "me" that was standing looked like her body but was alive while the body was dead. She left the house and village, walking to the next village where she found crowds of people, much larger than any earthly village with many houses and people of all ages. Some she knew and recognized as deceased, though it seemed strange since she knew they were dead. Nearly all were strangers, but everyone was extraordinarily happy with joy in every face and bright, loving words on every tongue. Kalima continued through more villages, meeting people she had known in life. She felt so full of joy that her "heart sang within me, and I was glad to be dead." Feeling happier every minute, she proceeded to a large village near Pele's volcano, which was a barren area in earthly reality. There she was greeted cheerfully but told "You must go back to your body. You are not to die yet." She begged and prayed to stay but was told if she didn't go willingly, they would make her go. She wept and resisted but was ultimately forced to return the way she came. The people in the villages turned against her and drove her back to her lifeless body. She looked at it with hatred, finding it a "horrid, loathsome thing" compared to the beautiful, happy creatures she had seen. She refused to re-enter, so the spirits pushed her "head foremost into the big toe." Her body came to life and she opened her eyes. She never varied her account and never ceased to regret coming back to her body.
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Home
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10
Weak Evidence
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Death occurred at funeral with witnesses present but no medical details
Observed villages of deceased people, joyful atmosphere, forced return
written_account
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7/24/2025
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