Aloha
Home of the world’s most active volcano and the world’s tallest sea mountain. Birthplace of surfing and the hula. Former seat of a royal kingdom. One of the youngest geological formations in the world. But perhaps HAWAII’s most unique feature is its Polynesian Spirit of Aloha: the warmth of the people of HAWAII that wonderfully complements the Islands’ perfect temperatures.
HAWAII is comprised of 18 islands and atolls spanning a distance of 2,400 km (1,500 miles). At the southeastern end lies the 8 ‘main islands’; Ni’ihau, Kaua’i, O’ahu, Moloka’i, and Hawai’i (Big Island), in order from northwest to southeast. All of the islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor because of the Pacific Ocean’s tectonic plate movement. This volcanic formation, the isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, combined with the extensive range of environments found on the large islands located in and near the tropic, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and fauna.
The islands volcanic formation means that a human presence originated from the ‘3 W’s’: wind, waves and wings. HAWAII was first inhabited around 1000 AD by Polynesian settlers, mostly probably from Marquesas. These first Hawaiians lived isolated for 800 years without interference, building a complex caste society governed by various chiefdoms and following a social and religious lifestyle named the kapu system. Captain James Cook, a British explorer, then discovered the Hawaiian archipelago in 1778. The new European presence had hugely significant influences on the Hawaiian lifestyle, as the help of foreign advisors and weapons allowed a Hawaiian warrior Kamehameha to succeed in conquering all the major Hawaiian Islands. This led to a singular rule over HAWAII until 1893, the kingdom then overthrown by a coup led by supporters of the Reform Party of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A Provisional Government was set up, and later a Republic. In 1898, HAWAII was annexed to the United States of America, then attaining statehood in 1959.
HAWAI’I has become a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities over the last 200 years, combining to create a contemporary culture unique to its Polynesian, Asian, Caucasian and American population. Much of the native Hawaiian culture was replaced after the influence of the vast numbers of immigrants. However, recently these old traditions have seen a revival thanks to the 1978 HAWAI’I State Constitutional Convention, where the HAWAI’I state government committed itself to a progressive study and preservation of the native Hawaiian culture, history and language. This enabled a comprehensive Hawaiian culture curriculum to be introduced into public school teaching, with emphasis on Hawaiian art, geography, history, hula and Hawaiian language vocabulary. Many of the differing cultural groups within the islands have kept vestiges of their native cultures alive by including or modifying them within artistic areas, such as music and dance.
