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The
People of Hawaii
Humans have been in Hawaii for less than two thousand years. Its original Polynesian settlers finally forged a united Hawaiian kingdom just two hundred years ago, as the first Europeans arrived to destroy it. Only since 1898 has Hawaii
belonged to the US, and it became the fiftieth state as recently as 1959. Of its 1.2 million people, almost 900,000 live on Oahu, site of the state capital Honolulu and its resort annex of Waikiki. The largest island, Hawaii - more commonly known as the Big Island in a vain attempt to avoid confusion, and formerly the most powerful island of all - holds barely 140,000. The two other major islands are Maui, which has a population of 115,000, and Kauai with just over 50,000. Lesser Molokai has around 7000, and Lanai not even 3000, while Niihau is home to a mere 250 citizens.
Thanks to massive immigration, Hawaii
has the most ethnically diverse population on earth. Roughly equal proportions - something over twenty percent each - are of Caucasian, Japanese, and Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian descent, while around ten percent are Filipino, and the remainder includes citizens of Chinese, Korean, and Portuguese ancestry. Over half of all marriages are classified as inter-racial, so such statistics grow ever more meaningless. Almost everyone speaks English, and as a rule the Hawaiian language is only encountered in the few words - such as aloha or "love", the all-purpose island greeting - that have passed into general local usage.
Congress defines "Native Hawaiian" as "any individual who is a descendant of the aboriginal people who, prior to 1778, occupied and exercised sovereignty in the area that now constitutes the State of Hawaii."
However, Native Hawaiians are so much more. They define themselves by their relationships to each other, their ancestors and their land. Without these bonds of interconnectedness, they would be incomplete. Being Hawaiian involves nurturing and honoring these ties. In the Hawaiian society, one is expected to know and understand what it means to be a contributing member of the community. Everyone has a responsibility to use their talents to the benefit of the entire 'ohana (literally, family). By fulfilling their duties to the 'ohana and recognizing the accomplishments of others, Hawaiians increase their mana or spirituality.
Built upon the foundation of the 'ohana, the family, Hawaiian culture ensures the health of the community as a whole. The Western concept of "immediate family" is completely alien to indigenous Hawaiians. The Hawaiian 'ohana encompasses not only those related by blood, but all who share a common sense of aloha (love and compassion). It is common to hear Native Hawaiians who are meeting for the first time ask "Who is your family?" and then joke they must be related "because we are all related."
The ties that bind 'ohana together cannot be broken, even by death. As loved ones pass on, they continue to fulfill their obligations to the rest of the 'ohana from the next realm. Hawaiians cherish their ancestors, committing to memory generation upon generation of lineage and composing beautiful chants heralding their ancestors' abilities.
The most important ancestor
for all Hawaiians is the land itself. Legend names the first Hawaiian as the kalo (taro) plant. Therefore, as the Hawaiian progenitor, it is every Hawaiians obligation to care for the land.
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