Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [30]
Universally beloved is the ukulele, derived from the braguinha, a Portuguese stringed instrument introduced to Hawaii in the late 19th century. Ukulele means ‘jumping flea’ in Hawaiian, referring to the way players’ deft fingers swiftly ‘jump’ around the strings. The ukulele is currently enjoying a revival as a young generation of ukulele virtuosos, such as Jake Shimabukuro and David Kamakahi, emerges.
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An artful, beautiful blend of botany and culture, Na Lei Makamae: The Treasured Lei (2003) by Marie McDonald and Paul Weissich surveys Hawaiian flowers traditionally used in leis, their meaning and mythology.
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Today the most famous and commercially successful Hawaiian genre is slack key guitar (ki ho’alu, which means ‘loosen the key’), a fingerstyle method in which the strings are slacked from their standard tuning. Traditionally, slack key tunings were closely guarded family secrets.
Among the most influential steel and slack key guitarists was Gabby Pahinui (1921–80). When they emerged in the 1970s, Gabby and his legendary band the Sons of Hawai’i embraced the traditional Hawaiian sound, and they spurred a renaissance in Hawaiian music that continues to this day. The list of slack key masters is long and ever growing, including Dennis Kamakahi, Keola Beamer, Ledward Ka’apana, Ray Kane, Sonny Chillingsworth, Ozzie Kotani, Martin and Cyril Pahanui and more.
Today, Hawaiian singer-songwriters have also made a name for themselves – most famously Jack Johnson – and ‘Jawaiian,’ an infectious blend of Hawaiian and reggae, is all over the radio. For recommended albums and artists, see the boxed texts Modern Mele, Click here, and Island Sounds, Click here.
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HAWAIIAN ARTS & CRAFTS
The 1970s Hawaiian renaissance sparked renewed interest in traditional Hawaiian arts and crafts. Today, these are wildly popular and inspire a flood of cheap imports (many from the Philippines), so shop carefully.
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HAWAII’S FIERY GODDESS: PELE
In the pantheon of Polynesian gods, Pele was by all accounts a latecomer. Like her people, she voyaged from the South Pacific sometime in the 12th century and was, according to King Kalakaua, a real woman whose only supernatural attribute was her exceptional beauty. Eventually, Pele and her extended family (including three siblings) settled on the Big Island, near Kilauea.
Events took a fateful turn when Pele was romantically pursued by the brutish O’ahu chief Kamapua’a. Pele haughtily rebuffed him, and Kamapua’a threatened to kidnap her. So Pele and her family escaped and hid in a lava cave. But Kamapua’a found them and began digging his way in when a volcanic eruption forced him to flee – and buried everyone inside.
Afterward, it was said Pele herself commanded the lava flow to chase Kamapua’a away, and in death she and her family were reborn as gods, her life expanding into legend. As the ruler of volcanoes, Pele was given five brothers and eight sisters who, among other things, controlled all aspects of eruptions, such as creating steam, explosions and thunder, hurling lava and breaking canoes.
Hi’iaka, Pele’s favorite sister, became a goddess and patroness of hula, along with Pele herself and another sister, Laka. Kamapua’a became a boarlike demigod associated with rain and forests, and their epic romance captured Hawaii’s violent symbiosis of fire and fertility. Meanwhile, Pele’s competitions with her greatest rival, the snow goddess Poliahu (who lives atop Mauna Kea), became a metaphorically accurate account of island geology.
In this way, Pele became a truly Hawaiian goddess, with the fulsome dualities of her myths embodying the complexities and soul-shaking experience of these volcanic islands. Peek into her house – Halema’uma’u Crater (Click here)