Hawaiian Culture

Traditional Hawaiian culture and the customs of Hawaii's ethnically diverse immigrants are an integral part of the social fabric. This is not simply a place where East meets West, but a place where the cultures merge in a manner which seems to bring out the best in all of them.

The revival of traditional Hawaiian culture has seen an explosion of Hula halaus (schools) and many Hawaiian artists and craftspeople are returning to traditional mediums and themes such a tapa weaving, quilt making and the creation of colorful Flower Leis.

Aloha Aina

Aloha aina means love of the land. It is the profound respect we have for Hawaii and the care we take to protect our Islands.
Aina means that the land is the source of our food. In that sense, then, the land is what gives us sustenance; it is Hawaii that sustains us. We who live in the Islands walk upon its earth, breathe its air, drink its water, and eat the food it provides. Hawaii is within us, a part of us. If we defile Hawaii, it is as if we defile ourselves.

Aloha Aina is shared with visitors so they, too, will respect Hawaii and treat the islands with care.

Hawaiian Language

English is the dominant language in Hawaii, but it is infused with Hawaiian words, phrases and pidgin slang. The Hawaiian language is only spoken by an estimated 9000 people, but 85% of all local place names are Hawaiian and they often have interesting stories behind them. Hawaii's early immigrants communicated with each other in pidgin, a stripped and simplified form of English which survives today as a lively, ever-changing local slang.

Hawaiian Music

Music has always played a central role in Hawaiian culture. In early Hawai'i, mele, or chant, was the most important means of remembering myths of gods and deeds of powerful people. Today, Hawaiians continue to use music to define themselves and celebrate aloha 'aina, or love of land.
Western string instruments and Christian hymns, or himeni, introduced to Hawai'i in the nineteenth century, transformed earlier forms of Hawaiian music and provided ingredients for new musical forms. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a newly created tourist industry began to employ musicians and hundreds of Hapa-haole, or half Hawaiian-half English, tunes were composed. These songs reflected some aspects of the older traditions but were primarily a popular commercial genre. Hawaiian music was transformed by the success of these songs on the American mainland.

Steel guitars were originally invented and popularized in Hawaii. Legend has it that Joseph Kekuku, a Hawaiian schoolboy, discovered the sound while walking along a railroad track strumming his guitar. He picked up a bolt lying by the track and slid the metal along the strings of his guitar. Intrigued by the sound, he taught himself to play using the back of a knife blade.

Other persons who have been credited with the invention of the steel guitar include Gabriel Davion, an Indian sailor, around 1885, and James Hoa, a Hawaiian of Portuguese ancestry.

Hawaiian groups were a big hit at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. From there the sound of the Hawaiian guitar spread throughout the United States. From about 1915 to 1930, a large number of Hawaiian guitar methods and songs were published by the major music publishers.

The sound of the Hawaiian guitar was picked up and incorporated into blues and country music. From there, the steel guitar slid its way into rock, pop, African and Indian music.

Hawaiian Cooking

The islands' ethnic diversity makes eating out a real treat. You can find every kind of Japanese food, an array of regional Chinese cuisine, spicy Korean specialties, native Hawaiian dishes and excellent Thai and Vietnamese food. Fresh fish is readily available throughout the islands as well as an abundance of fruit including avocado, coconut, guava, mango and papaya.

Hawaiian Mythes & Stories

Madame Pele (PEH-le) This powerful volcano goddess is said to make her home in the Halemaumau firepit of Kilauea Volcano. Remove a souvenir rock from her home and legend has it you will be plagued by bad luck.
Maui (MOW-wee) This demigod is the brother of Madame Pele. Maui is said to have lassoed the sun in order to slow it down and make the days longer on the island of Maui. For this reason, his home in the crater of Haleakala is called the House of the Sun.
King Kamehameha the Great (ka-MEH-ha-MEH-ha) This brave warrior king united the Hawaiian Islands under one rule in 1795. The Kamehameha dynasty lasted until 1872, through the reign of Kamehameha V.
Queen Liliuokalani (li-LEE-u-OH-ka-LAH-ni) She was Hawaii's only reigning queen and the islands' last monarch, ruling until 1893. This multi-talented woman wrote Aloha Oe, Hawaii's beloved farewell song.
Menehune (MEH-ne-HOO-ne) These impish mythical figures are the Hawaiian cousins of Ireland's leprechauns. They are said to do good deeds during the night, such as digging fishponds. The legend of the menehune was most likely inspired by an ancient tribe that died out long ago.
Nene (NEH-ne) This large goose is Hawaii's state bird. The endangered nene geese make their homes in volcanic regions. Biologists believe the birds originally were attracted to the volcanoes' lava pits, which resembled the lakes and ponds geese favor.
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (HOO-mu-HOO-mu-NOO-ku- NOO-ku-AH-pu-WAH-a) Made famous in the song Little Grass Shack, this tiny fish with the big name is Hawaii's official state fish.