The document provides an overview of Hawaiian culture, including its foundations in the concept of "Aloha Aina" which regards the land as sacred. It discusses the Hawaiian language, traditional foods brought by early Polynesian settlers, and important cultural traditions like hula dancing, chanting and music. Images throughout depict sacred Hawaiian sites, native plants, traditional crafts, foods and cultural performances that remain an important part of honoring Hawaiian heritage today.
2. The majestic and tranquil people of Hawaii is why I choose to do my report on the
Hawaiian culture. This culture seems so peaceful and beautiful I decided I would love to
understand their ways of living. The phrase Aloha Aina is one of the main foundations
that the Hawaiian culture is built on. Aloha means Love of the land and this saying has
been instilled through out their culture for generations and is why the Hawaiian people
cherish their Hawaiian Islands so deeply. Aina means the land is the source of their
food. They feel that the land is what gives them sustenance and Hawaii is what sustains
them. Their beliefs are that they are walking on the Islands earth; they breathe its air,
drink its water and eat the food that it provides. To them Hawaii is something that lives
within them because they are using it resources to survive. If they corrupt their land then
it would be like corrupting their selves. Hawaii is one of the most beautiful tropical
places that you will ever visit. Throughout this presentation I will be exploring some of
the great traditions of what this culture has.
They call the Hawaiian language Ōlelo Hawaii which is a Polynesian language,
it’s name is from the biggest island located in the tropical North Pacific a chain of islands
that have been formed tectonically, Hawai’i. In 1893 and 1840 the Hawaiian language
was implimented as well as the English language by King Kamehameha III. As of 2000
there is only about .1% of navtive people that can acutally speak Hawaiian. This
language is starting to become endagered so it’s important for the native people to keep
this unique languge alive.There is also a local English that is spoken is Hawaii which is
called the “Hawaiian Creole English”. This language originated from pidgin English and
is some
3. times called “pidgin”, but this is not the Hawaiian language. The culture today is now a
constant changing language which locals keep coming up with new slang.
The Hawaiian culture is centralized around music. The beginning of Hawaiian
mele or chants was important to their culture because it helps them remember the myths
of gods and the performance of powerful people. This is still a very popular tradition of
Hawaii that they use to celebrate the Aloha Aina. Through out the history of the
Hawaiian music there has been many transformations. Originally the instruments used
were western string and Christian hymns, or himeni which was brought to Hawaii in the
nineteenth century. Transformation began to play out in the twentieth century with new
tourist industry, many musicians were hired hapa-haole (half Hawaiian- half English)
composed a new tone. Also the steel guitar was founded in Hawaii by Joseph Kekuku a
Schoolboy in Hawaii. Now there are well known music festivals that are held in Hawaii
that bring together hula groups all across the world.
The history of Hawaiian food originates from Polynesian seafarers which
arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 300-500 AD. At first there was very few edible plants
on the voyagers, there were few ferns and fruit that grew at high elevations. Food from
voyagers was brought, they came with 27-30 plants, so that the Hawaiian Island could
have a source of food, these foods were taro, sweet potatoes, coconuts, sugarcanes
and yams. The Marquesans one of the first settlers came with breadfruit and Tahitians,
which later introduced baking banana. The food that they had plenty of was limu, fish,
shellfish and easy to catch Flightless birds that would leave behind eggs. In the Pacific
Islands there was no meat for the Polynesian settlers besides bats and lizards so they
had to bring pigs, chickens and dogs over on cargo ships. The pig became a religious
sacrifice, which was
4. offered at many altars and eaten by priests and the rest of the religious community.
Once the setters came to Hawaii their diets became very diverse and were made up of
130 different types of seafood and 230 types of sweet potatoes. Some of the food that
was consumed by these people became extinct like land and sea birds. I would have to
say my one of my favorite parts of the Hawaiian cultures is that men do the cooking.
What I did consider different was that the woman food was cooked in a separate in an
imu, the men and woman would not eat together. People still today use imus of cooking.
This culture is so unique with so much to learn, I feel like I have just began
learning about this culture and can wait to learn more. Their way of life is like know
other, so in touch with their land and surroundings. The land is like no other, with the
tropic landscape and the breath taking views. The music and language that they speak
has great beauty and history behind it. This culture is a great example of how to live off
the land and respect the earth.
5.
6. The beauty of Hawaiian CultureThe beauty of Hawaiian Culture
7. puu kukui bdwlk phpuu kukui bdwlk ph
“Our modern trails take us through amazing places, such as Pu'u Kukui, the summit
of Mauna Kahalawai, the West Maui Mountains, with its forests near-pristine and its
delicate understory protected from trampling by a wooden boardwalk. ”
8. Kaala VistaFvrtKaala VistaFvrt
“The native forest of Ka'ala seems untouched by man, but it is an illusion, land
managers have removed non-native weeds, fenced the plateau against the rooting of
feral pigs, and in general worked extremely hard to make it look like human influence
is lacking!”
9. Mauna KeaMauna Kea
“The moon rises up within the shadow of Mauna Kea as the sunset light paints the
rest of the sky orange. Mauna Kea, or Mauna a Wakea, is one of the most sacred
peaks of the pae 'aina.”
10. Malama Mauna KeaMalama Mauna Kea
“Mauna Kea is a sacred place in Hawaiian culture. Its
summit is the most sacred of all. In the eyes of many
Hawaiians, human constructions on Mauna Kea's
summit constitute a desecration of their deeply held
cultural, religious and spiritual beliefs. These powerful
sentiments lie at the core of all future deliberations
over the use and management of Mauna Kea.” The
Hawaiian Culture Committee
14. kii punohukii punohu
“Carved images made out of spines of the punohu (slate pencil sea
urchin) have only been recorded from a single fishing shrine on the
island of Kaho'olawe. Here is a drawing of that one specimen:”
15. Native PlantsNative Plants
•TI PLANT (KI/LAU KI)
"Wai 'apu lau ki"
"Water in a Ti-leaf cup" ;
HIBISCUS (ALOALO/HAU)
"Ka makani ha 'iha'i lau hau o Olowalu"
"The hau-leaf tearing in the wind of
Olowalu"
16. •BANANA (MAI'A)
"He mai'a ke kanaka a ka la e hua ai"
"A man is like a banana tree on the day it bears its fruit"
PLUMERIA (MELIA)
"Pu'upu'u lei pali I ka 'a' i"
"An imperfect lei, beautified by wearing"
17. lehuapapa adjlehuapapa adj
“In the cloud forests of the summit of the Ko`olau Mountains of O'ahu
grows this rugose (rough) form of the 'ohi'a lehua, called lehua papa.
Its textures are amazing and beautiful, and call me back up to the
mountain tops. ”
18. Aia i kauku kahi o kamapuaaAia i kauku kahi o kamapuaa
“This is a digital version of a block print that I created a number of years ago. It
depicts the pig demigod Kamapua'a, several of his kinolau (physical manifestations),
and symbols of Pele (the volcano goddess) behind him.”
22. e ala ee ala e
“We chant in the sunrise at the pali of Nu'uanu.”
23. “Blowing the pu as the voyaging canoe Hokule'a arrives at Kaho'olawe”
24. Ka `Imi Na`auao O Hawai`i NeiKa `Imi Na`auao O Hawai`i Nei
"E Mau Ke Ea, E Mau Ke Ola"
Let the spirit live; may life and health flourish
25.
26. Sam ecoczar lgSam ecoczar lg
“a self-portrait on the Poamoho Trail, Island of O'ahu, Hawai'i. my
"hat" is a native Hawaiian lobeliad, Trematolobelia macrostachys,
called koli'i in Hawaiian. It looks like a green 'fro or russian cossack
hat.”
31. Hawaiian foodsHawaiian foods
Taro, Colocasia esculenta
The Taro was the most important
plant that was brought to Hawaii
because it was a main part of the
Islands diet and is still a Island
favorite.
Kukui foliage, flowers, and nut
Mashed nutmeats, sea salt were
sometimes mixed with seaweed for special
occasions or traditional feast.
33. Ahi poke, raw ahi (yellow fin) tuna with
chopped kukui nuts, green onions, red
peppers, shoyu (soy sauce) and limu
(seaweed) on a bed of red cabbage Mai Tai
