Hawaiian Culture

The culture of Hawai'i people, along with that of the rest of the Polynesians is unique primarily due to isolation of the islands.

A scholar once wrote that the Hawaiian culture disappeared before it could be properly recorded. The only written glimpse of these islands was given to us by Captain Cook and his officers.

More recently the Bishop Museum in Honolulu have pieced together the data of the Polynesian people to give us a fairly clear vision of the early Hawaiians.

Life centered around the kapu, a complex set of rules. For instance women were not allowed to eat certain foods like pork and bananas.

There were many Gods and the Hawaiians were once labeled the "noble savages", a label given not totally based in fact. Early Hawaiians were given to human sacrifices, cannibalism and they constantly fought amongst themselves. But they were not savages either as they developed a rich cultural heritage.

They also practiced a conservation that is in some respects should be  envied by the West. Food was plentiful as the Hawaiians practiced closed fishing seasons and managed their natural resources. They lived simply and generally in harmony with nature.

Choose the topics on the left to learn specifics of the Hawaiian Culture.