Pioneer researcher into the mystery of Huna magic, the secret techniques of Kahunas, or Polynesian priest-sorcerers. Long first went to Hawaii in 1917 as a schoolteacher following his graduation from Los Angeles Normal School (now the University of California at Los Angeles). Over a three-year period he was introduced to the stories of the native Hawaiians, though they refused to talk to him about the interesting occult aspects of the narratives.
In 1921, as he was planning to return to California, he stopped at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and met William Tufts Brigham, then curator of the museum. Brigham had studied the seemingly miraculous feats of the Kahunas, including paranormal healing, weather control, and fire ordeals that involved walking over red-hot lava. Long stayed in Honolulu and studied with Brigham until the curator died in 1926. They were unable to discover the Kahunas' secret. Long returned to the mainland and opened a photography business. He had all but given up finding an answer to the Kahuna mystery when in 1935 it suddenly occurred to him that the secret might be indicated by the terms used for various aspects of Huna in the Polynesian language.
He published the first report on his discoveries, Recovering the Ancient Magic, in 1936, though most of the copies were destroyed in the German bombing of London during World War II. In 1945 he founded the Huna Fellowship, began issuing printed letters to what had become a long list of correspondents, and published a small pamphlet on the basic Huna concepts. Three years later the letters became a regular bulletin, and his most important book, The Secret Science Behind the Miracles, was published. A second book, The Secret Science at Work (1953), integrated what he had come to know of the Huna work and what he had learned in its practical modern application.
He developed the Huna concepts in various books over the rest of his life. In 1968 he met E. Otha Wingo, an instructor at Southeast Missouri State College, and for the last three years of his life groomed Wingo to succeed him. Also during the 1960s, a memorial library was established in his honor in Fort Worth, Texas, and now houses many of his mementos. Wingo continues as head of Huna Research.
Sources:
Hoffman, Enid. Huna, A Beginner's Guide. Rockport, Mass.: ParaResearch, 1976.
Long, Max Freedom. Growing Into Light. Vista, Calif.: Huna Research Publications, 1955.
——. Recovering the Ancient Magic. London, 1936. Reprint, Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Huna Press, 1978.
——. The Secret Science behind Miracles. Kosmon Press, 1948. Reprint, Vista, Calif.: Huna Research Publications, 1954.
——. The Secret Science at Work. Vista, Calif.: Huna Research Publications, 1953.
Wingo, E. Otha. The Story of the Huna Work. Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Huna Research, 1981.
