When I first came to Hawai’i – I was at the beach in Waikiki and met a couple of locals. They asked where I was from, how long I was staying…the usual questions locals ask people on vacation. It was a friendly talk-story conversation – until they found out that I intended to stay in…
Category: Hawaiian History and Culture
Flashback Friday: 2008 I get a Shaka from Obama
I originally posted this in mid-2008. I miss Obama. I respected him. I would have voted for him if there had been any question of him not winning in Hawai’i. I’m still pretty stoked that his brother-in-law was one of my instructors at the University of Hawai’i and his sister was someone I’ve chatted with…
Robert Louis Stevenson in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands
Robert Louis Stevenson was an explorer, writer, poet, essayist and speaker. Stevenson was one of the great literary geniuses the world has produced, and everyone knows him because of his most famous works Kidnapped and Treasure Island. Of course, who can forget two of the strangest characters ever, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, who were…
King David Kalakaua – The Merrie Monarch – Last King of Hawai’i
King David Kalakaua was a champion of Hawaiian culture, the last King of Hawaii, and is celebrated as the Merrie Monarch – but he also had dreams of a Hawaiian-Japanese empire and was the first monarch to circumnavigate the globe. He was both a celebrated musician and composer and a dedicated archivist and writer. It…
Ancient Hawaiian Death and Burial Practices
When a person died in pre-contact Hawai’i – a kapu was imposed (kapu is taboo) during the time between death and burial. A couple of days for a regular person and ten days or more for a chief or chiefess. So the house and family of the dead became taboo for this period and were…