The Department of World Religions wants to thank Michael Ing, Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Program at Indiana University, and all of the faculty, students, and community members who attended the David and Sherry Berz Lecture this Spring 2026!
Prof. Ing's presentation, "Darkness before Light: Hawaiian Accounts of the World's Origin," described the oral and textual cosmogonic traditions of the creation of the world in indigenous Hawaiian culture. By turning to translational challenges and possibilities, Prof. Ing highlighted the range of creative thinking that placed darkness as the original status of existence, the source of relational connectivity, and the means of understanding one's ontological (in-)/significance in the cosmos. Prof. Ing further discussed the way these traditions were threatened, debated, maintained, and blended after colonial encounter, followed by an engaging Q&A. We are tremendously thankful for all who participated in the Berz this year!
