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Hawaii- A Brief History of Culture

The fall of King Kamehameha ushered in the beginning of a kingdom in Hawaii in 1809. To better control the trades, the new king moved to Honolulu. Honolulu was the perfect place because it was centrally located. When sugar plantations were established in the 1830s, Honolulu became a booming city with brothels and bars aplenty. In 1845 Honolulu officially replaced Maui as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The increasingly western influence led to Hawaii officially becoming a US territory in 1898, particularly Pearl Harbor. Political red tape that included failed bills and numerous arguments kept Hawaii from being declared a US state.

The gateway to allowing Hawaii to become an official state was tourism. In 1936, the first passenger flights from the mainland US to Hawaii was pioneered by Pan American Airlines. This resulted in a tourism boom. After the Pearl Harbor attacks and the Korean War, it became imperative for Hawaii to become an official state. Hawaii was declared the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

Follow up:

In the 1970's the Hawaiian culture had a resurgence of pride and heritage awareness. The ancient Hawaiian language had all but disappeared and a huge westernization had spread across the state. In the seventies the original Hawaiian language was reintroduced back into preschools and became an important part of the heritage again. Disney's Lilo and Stitch introduced us to 'ohana', meaning family. Today, the University of Hawaii offers intensive study of the language.

The luau is also another important part of Hawaiian culture. For hundreds of years, luaus have dominated the culture. The word luau really just means a party or a celebration. This is how special occasions are honored between family and friends. Currently, Luaus come in two types. The first is like the original way, just a gathering of family and friends, and is the only authentic type. They are private, and unless you have local connections, it is unlikely that tourists would be invited to such an event. The second type of Luau is commercial. It's the type that we tourists would frequent. They are heavily choreographed and can be quite entertaining. The luau usually has a buffet of some sort of roasted pig as the entr e accompanied by rice and of course pineapple. Dancers also figure in these luaus hula dancers for the men, Polynesian dancers for the women. Throw in an open bar to the mix, and indeed there's plenty of fun to go around.

In 1971, the merry monarch festival was founded. It is the world's largest hula festival. It features thousands of dancers and honors the long time Hawaiian tradition of hula dancing. The festival takes place in March or April and draws huge crowds. It is located in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii and is a week-long cultural event.