Hawaii is a tropical paradise which has more than its share of pristine beaches, stunning sunsets, towering waterfalls and reefs teeming with colorful fish. Anyone who has been here knows hawaii is different, unique, special and unforgettable. What sets these islands apart from the rest of the world? it 39 s the native culture, the hawaiian culture. It 39 s a culture that is filled with fascinating customs, music, legends, traditions and values.

the flower lei today, probably the most enjoyable and unforgettable hawaiian custom is the flower lei. Custom dictates that a lei should be offered graciously with a kiss and removed only in private. It 39 s considered rude to remove a lei once it 39 s accepted in view of anyone, but especially in view of the person s who gave it to you. Lei designs are limited only to the imagination and range from the simple common one strand orchid or tuberose presented as a special treat to those who arrive by plane or ship to the more elaborate or rare depending on how important the occasion may be. expert canoe builders and non instrument navigators early hawaiians have a history of being expert canoe builders. The tradition requires that prayer and food offerings are made to forest gods before, during and after the tree is taken from the forest.

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Using only the sun, moon, stars and waves, they were known to traverse the pacific, which resulted in the occupation of many small islands in polynesia. The hawaiians had an intimate knowledge of the location and types of celestial bodies. Everything from the north star to the south cross have hawaiian identities and lore. Comprised of only five vowels and eight consonants, hawaiian has the shortest alphabet in the world. Tricky for most to master, the language is compromised of soft sounds with words having many and often hidden meanings. It 39 s probably the most widely known of all hawaiian words, and it is one of the most important.

Aloha not only means hello, goodbye and love, it also means sympathy, kindness, compassion, affection and fondness. This word is more than a greeting or expression of love – it is the basis of what hawaiians consider to be one of the culture’s core values. Hawaiian cultural values also include terms like akahai, which defines a person’s demeanor as modest, gentle and unpretentious. Also important is lokahi, meaning harmony and peace, oluolu meaning agreeable and pleasant and ahonui, which means patient and enduring. The hula has evolved over the years from an activity exclusively for men and for religious purposes to today 39 s contemporary dances, where both the men and women dance for fun, expression and enjoyment. Hula today has two major forms, the ancient, or hula kahiko and the modern, or hula auana. Hula kahiko is accompanied in the hawaiian language along with drums and other percussion implements.

Hula kahiko is performed for storytelling or for religious and ceremonial purposes. Dancers are adorned with bark cloth, coconut fibers and native grasses, plants and ferns. Auana dances are accompanied by song in either english or hawaiian, as well as ukuleles and piano guitars. Ever evolving from a beginning of simple drumbeats and chants, music today is filled with a multitude of artists and genres that include hapa haole hawaiian melody with english lyrics , traditional, luau, kolohe naughty or teasing hula , chalangalang, jawaiian and more. Legends were a way of documenting history, knowledge, facts and beliefs from generation to generation. Some of the more popular legends include the story of the demi god maui, who pulled the island up from the bottom of the sea, the wicked, deceptive and jealous volcano goddess pele and her snow god sister poliahu.

There are legends about the kumulipo, which tell about the creation of the hawaiian islands and others that tell fishing stories about the shark gods. The hawaiian culture also has many superstitions and omens, which are widely known and still observed today. Taking pork over the pali highway, which connects the leeward to the windward side on the island of oahu, is considered a deed that is said to anger the gods and to bring bad luck or at least car trouble.

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It 39 s still considered bad luck to bring bananas on a boat, to step over a baby who is lying on the floor and to wear a lei if you are pregnant. Another dark omen that is more modern in nature is about the taking of lava rocks from a volcano, which will lead to being followed by bad luck. People often times send the rocks they collected and took home back to the hawaii volcanoes national park with no return addresses. So, when you 39 re in hawaii, be sure to look past the sunsets, sunshine, surf and sand and take the time to explore the culture that makes the hawaiian islands truly special and unforgettable.

Our writers can help get your essay back on track, take a look at our services to learn more about how we can help. Essay writing service essay marking service place an order the hawaiian new year festival is called makahiki and was a very important time of the year in ancient hawaiian civilization. The celebration marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the new agricultural growing season. The celebration was in honor of the god lono, and encompassed about four months from november to march. The celebration was separated into three phases: the first being ho'okupu, a time of taxes to the king and redistribution to the people. The creation of the second phase and the mythology behind it shows how sports and games were not only important to people as means of leisure activities but also how they were important in their relation to culture and religious beliefs.

Lo no was the fourth of the four great gods that were worshiped throughout polynesia. Traditions connected with the ancient kings lonokawai and lono i ka makahiki, seem to have been mixed with those belonging to the primeval god lo no. Lono i ka makahiki is reputed to have instituted the games which were celebrated during the ma hahi ri festival. He is said on some account to have become offended with his wife and murdered her but afterward lamented the act so much as to induce a state of mental derangement. In this state he traveled through all the islands, boxing and wrestling with everyone he met.

He subsequently set sail, in a singularly shaped canoe, for tahiti, or a foreign country. After his departure he was deified by his countrymen, and annual contests of boxing and wrestling were instituted in his honor. Cullin 1899: 203 the third phase of the ceremony was wa'a'auhau and was a time to pay taxes to the gods. A canoe was sent adrift with a tribute to lono and after this tribute was paid the king would also go adrift. The final act of the ceremony, according to cullen, took place when the king with a numerous company went fishing, taking the long idol with him.

As the king leaped ashore a man rushed forward with two spears bound with white kapa, and hurled one at him, which was parried, after which he simply touched the king with the other spear, and the ceremony was over 1899: 204. The final act was the sham battle, in which the king overcame the islanders' defense of the landing which symbolized his worth and permitted him to continue to rule. Seaton assumes that, the intensity of the defense was proportional to the general dissatisfaction, for failure to land was regarded by the hawaiians as a demonstration that the ruling chief had lost his mana and therefore, the right to rule 1974: 201.