Hawaii
Beliefs
They have many beliefs in spells and supernatural things. For example rain is meant as a charm of good luck. Especially if it rains on weddings. If you were to take pork over the pali highway it would cause bad luck or in their terms “anger the gods”.
There religion consists with worship of every part of nature. For every major part to life it has its own personal god. The four main gods are: Kane which to them is the god of life, fresh water, and sunshine. Lono which is the god of rain, peace, agriculture, and the forest, Ku which is the god of war and medicine, and Kanaloa which they consider the god of the ocean and ocean winds.
They also believed that all of these gods come in different forms. The god kane could appear as bamboo, lightning, or sugar cane. The god ku would appear as coconut or breadfruit. The god lonu was commonly found in rain clouds, sweet potatoes, or gourds. There was many other gods also such as gods for volcanoes, dances, and women.
People are told not to park under "Morgans corner" known as a place between lots of trees. It is said to be haunted and some paranormal things have occured to people there.
Here is an example: "Many years ago, a young, local couple drove to this place one night and parked under the tree. When the car wouldn’t start, the man went out for help while his girlfriend waited inside the car. As she waited for hours in the dark for him to return, she heard dripping and scratching sounds coming from the roof of the car. Afraid to go see what it was, she forced herself to close her eyes and fall asleep. She later awoke to the sound of police officers knocking on the car windows, asking her to step out. When she did, she saw her boyfriend tied upside down on the tree. The dripping sounds she had heard through the night had come from the blood of her boyfriend’s severed throat. The scratching sounds had come from his fingernails dragging along the roof. " Other places where supernatural things are said to occur in Hawaii is the Black Point “crybabies”, The Dole Cannery Signature, Manoa Chinese Cemetery, Mililani Cemetery, The State Capitol, and the Pali Highway.
Traditions
Early Polynesian voyagers found Hawaii all the way from Tahiti. They followed stars there. This began the tradition of lei and it was used as something to get visitors to return. The leis were originally created from shells, flowers, nuts, leaves, seeds, feathers and bone and teeth of many animals. Hawaiians wore these to make themselves stand out. A lei that was used for peace treaty’s was called the Maile lei. The chief would twist the vine and as soon as that happened it caused peace between the groups. Leis are also very common in weddings. In traditional weddings the groom and the bride each wear a lei to resemble their love and switch each other’s at the beginning. So after, the groom would be wearing the brides, and the bride would be wearing the grooms lei.
The Hula dance was used as a way to speak to the "gods." This dance is now commonly used for ceremonies, rituals, or just entertainment. When the individual is dancing they may be imitating palm trees, war, plants and even animals sometimes or anything they want to. When the individual is dancing they are transforming into what they see mentally...
Food
Some common foods in big meals are...
Poi this is found at almost every traditional Hawaii meal, This is purple-colored and made from taro root. Poi is considered spiritual, as it represents Haloa, which are the spirits of the chief's ancestors and the native Hawaiian people. It is considered so sacred that the native people believed that it was unacceptable to have an argument at a table where poi was being served.
Pig were only eaten by royalty before, while the public ate forms of protein such as dog, fish and birds. The luau is where pigs are commonly eaten In Hawaii.. Luaus, or community feasts, are centered on an imu, which is a shallow pit they dig up lined with hot stones to cook. The traditional way to cook a pig is whole and wrapped in layers of banana leaves and ginger leaves before placing it into the pit.
Poke, is a raw fish salad. Usually, the poke is made from ahi tuna, and is traditionally dressed with seaweed, nuts, and soy sauce.
Population
There is not a big group of people that are all the same race in Hawaii. It consists of about:
Caucasians (34%)
Japanese American (32%)
Filipino American (16%)
Chinese American (5%)
And other races.
Right now there is over a 1.4 million population.
Interesting facts!
Hawaii is the only state in the nation that grows coffee, has tropical rainforests, and is made completely of islands.
The only land snake to be found in the wild in Hawaii is the tiny Hawaiian blind snake, which is thought to have arrived in plant soil brought from the Philippines in 1929 to landscape the Kamehameha School grounds
Only two types of mammals are native to Hawaii: the hoary bat and the monk seal
Ancient Hawaiians believed that the heavier a woman, especially a chieftess, the more beautiful she was
Hawaiians considered the shark a god and treated it with great respect
flutes were played by nose a lot
In 1790, a volcano Kilauea erupted on the Big Island of Hawaii, killing over 5,000 people and making it the most deadly volcanic eruption in the United States. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world
Author: Winslow Eliot
She is the author of The Bright Face of Danger, The Wine-Dark Sea, Painted Secrets,Red Sky At Night, A Distant Light, and Roman Candles. Her books have been translated all in eleven different languages and published in twenty countries so far. Winslow began writing because when she was a child and on a trip she started writing and grew a passion for it. She wrote her first romance novel for her first editor she met at a party. Winslow fell in love with it and kept writing more and more books.
Her first published book was called "The Bright Face Of Danger."
"A thrilling novel of passion and revenge in the tradition of Sidney Sheldon. After witnessing a murder, Penny wakes up in the hospital, her face bashed in and totally unrecognizable. Since her attacker is a congressman, Penny decides to flee, but after receiving plastic surgery and a new identity, she comes back for revenge." The tone is bitter/ cold. I think the theme is to stand up for yourself and show how strong you are no matter what someone may do to you. This book does not have to do with Hawaii because it has to do with someone seeking revenge from an hospital. I think this piece is effective because it teaches a lesson about people hurting others and seeking revenge.