Some lessons in Hawaiian Culture

It was our first full day on Big Island, HI. What we had planned for the day was a Hawaiian culture tour on the west coast of the island: A visit to Hulihe’e Palace, which was the summer palace of the nobles (now a museum), see Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical park and end the day watching some traditional hula performances.

If we had to catch the Hula we had to be back at the Waikoloa area by 6 in the evening and we had lost a lot of time trying find addresses for the GPS navigation system, which of course we failed at. So we decided on going to the southernmost point-of-interest first and then working our way back northwards. By the way, when we couldn’t find the street numbers and finding the place by its latitude and longitude also didn’t work, we turned to my android phone. With Bing maps and Verizon Navigation, we managed to find every place we needed to, starting that day and that point.

(Keep this in mind if you plan to go there and find that your navigation system is letting you down.)

Hawaiian Culture Tour

We set out on the culture tour by getting on to highway 19, also known as Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway and began driving beside the Pacific Ocean once again. Highway 19 later turned into Highway 11, continuing to run by the coast. After almost an hour and a half, we turned right at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau Road and headed towards the ocean to get to Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, which is also called the Place of Refuge. This place told us a lot about ancient Hawaiian culture.

The Place of Refuge was the last resort for people who had done badly at war or more importantly broken a kapu (sacred law) or done something that was considered taboo. This was the place they ran to if they wanted to avoid execution. The area was walled off on one side and beyond that, was the Royal Grounds and a temple. And those who wanted to be washed off their sins had to take the water route to the temple where a  priest would purify them, thereby making them worthy of returning to society. However swimming across the bay and getting to the heiau (temple) was almost a feat, as the shoreline is made up of jagged lava rocks.

Are you curious to know what might have been taboo in those days? I sure was. The notes that came along with a map I picked up at the visitor centre/gift shop had this to say:

According to the kapu, a common person could not look at or get close to the chief, walk in the chief’s footsteps, touch the chief’s possessions or let his shadow fall on the palace grounds. Everyday activities too were regulated by the kapu. Women could not eat the foods reserved for offerings to the gods, they could not prepare meals for men or even eat with them. In order to provide for all, seasons for fishing, killing animals and for gathering timber were all strictly controlled. When a kapu was broken, the penalty was always death. Otherwise, the gods might react violently, perhaps with volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, famine or earthquakes. To protect themselves form catastrophes, the people pursued the kapu breaker until he was caught and put to death or until he made his way to Pu’uhonua.

Now, Pu’uhonua O Honaunau’s great wall and the ancient Hawaiian village were left to the mercy of the elements and were damaged in due course. However, a good part of it, including the stone wall and a temple have been re-constructed in order to preserve the history of the land. At the place of Refuge we also saw a canoe hut, a heleipalala – a royal fish pond and even caught sight of the green sea turtle that Hawaii is known for.

After looking around this place we headed towards Hulihe’e palace to see the furniture and other things that the nobles used. We were more than halfway there when I checked one of the travel guide-books we had with us and found that the palace would close at 3:00 pm. The book went on to suggest that we get there by half-past two if we wanted to see the whole place. To my dismay, I had just learnt that we wouldn’t make it but decided that we would take a detour to Ali’i  Dr. anyway and drive by the place at least. So we made no change of plans. There we also caught sight of Moku’aikaua Church, which is said to be Hawaii’s earliest church, built in 1820.

After a good evening walk through Kailua Kona, which is the home of the Hulihe’e palace and the church, we did manage to catch some Hula performance at Kings Shops later that evening.

A bit about Hula

Hula is the traditional dance of the Hawaiians. The song and chant that accompany the movements of the art form are an oral presentation of the history of the Hawaiian people.

The graceful movements, the colourful costumes and the mellifluous language of the Hawaiians have an amazing way of capturing our attention and keeping us fully engrossed in the performance. The natives of these islands are very proud of their rich Hawaiian culture and showcase it at several public places, museums and resorts.

We caught some action at an upscale mall in the Waikaloa area.

Just before the program at King’s Shops Center Stage began, a charming lady dressed in traditional attire and flowers in her hair gave us an introduction to Hula. It gave me a better perspective of the art form and so I really enjoyed the staged items. She told us a little about Hula –the art form and the two forms of it: the ancient and the contemporary. She went on to say how hula almost died with the entry of the missionaries and how it was  later revived. She explained the meanings of some of the songs and gave us a brief background of each of the performances, which further taught us about the counting system of the Hawaiians, the sounds that make up the language and about the songs that were sung in honour of the nobles of the land.

The Hula performance made for a perfect way to end the Hawaiian Culture Tour we on, on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Have you been to Hawaii? What did you learn about Hawaiian culture and the people of these islands in the Pacific Ocean? Do put them down in the comments section and I would love to learn what you took home from the Aloha State.