Hawaiian Island Geography

The Hawaiian Islands formed through volcanic and tectonic activity. Tectonic plates shifted down into the Earth and went to magma level. This would allow for a volcano to pop through to the surface and create islands around themselves. The islands may have started as just one island, but over time more formed more (8). There are currently six Hawaiian Islands, Hawai’i, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai (1). The Hawaiian Islands lie in the Central Pacific Ocean, 2,390 miles from California and 3,850 miles from Japan (7). Knowing the geography of the islands sets the stage for settlement of them. In two waves, the Polynesian people settled in Hawaii. Between 300 and 500 A.D., they began to arrive in Hawaii via canoes. The Polynesians brought
Mele, or chant was used to remember myths. The two types of mele are mele oli and mele hula. Mele oli is a solo chant performed at events like birth, death, or a departure of a chief, as well as keeping track of history, myths, and stories. Unlike mele oli, dance moves and instruments, like the pahu, or wooden drum, accompany mele hula (3). The pahu is one of the main instruments used in traditional Hawaiian hula, but instruments like the guitar and ukulele have been incorporated (6). Training for hula occurred at the Halau (1). Hula students were seen as kapu, or taboo and were not allowed any contact with others. Hula dancer trainees had to avoid sweets, sexual contact, corpses, and maintain personal cleanliness. Amongst the hula students, there were two groups, the ‘olapa and the ho’opa’a. The ‘olapa were the younger, more agile students, who danced and the ho’opa’a knelt and played instruments or chanted (5). Hula is a very integral part of Hawaiian culture because it records the past of
Kahunas were the priests and masters of various arts and skills. Kahunas were highly respected and their opinions were taken seriously. Kahunas also gave tattoos and determined whether or not someone was to receive a tattoo or not. Geometric patterns were commonly seen in Polynesian tattoos and each line had significance to it, and told the story of the person with the tattoo (4). Kahunas were also the medical gurus of Hawaiian society. Kahunas as well as the general population were very skilled with herbal medicines. Medical kahunas also used massages, manipulation, bone setting, and heat or hydrotherapy to give ailments to disease. In addition to these practices, the healing process involved many prayers and chants. Religion also ties in with Hawaiian culture due to the presence of different types of temples. Heiau were built for the Hawaiians to worship major gods. There were two types of heiau, the Mapele and the luakani. The Mapele heiau was used for ceremonies that involved blessings for successful crops, where pigs were usually sacrificed. The luakani heiau was used as a war temple, where human sacrifices occurred. The instillation of kahunas and temples furthered the something of culture in Hawaiian society