Roughly sixty percent of the
million-plus modern Hawaiians
were born here. Around one-third
are Caucasian (many of them US
military personnel), one-third
Japanese and one-sixth Filipino,
with 200,000 claiming at least
some Hawaiian ancestry. The
traditional reliance on
agriculture seems to be in
terminal decline, with sugar and
pineapple plantations closing
one after the other, and the
need to import virtually all the
basics of life has resulted in
an extraordinarily high
cost
of living . In particular,
the cost of housing is so high
that many islanders find
themselves either obliged to
work at two jobs, or simply to
sleep on the beaches.
Visitors in search of the ancient
Hawaii will find that few
vestiges remain. What is
presented as
"historic" usually
postdates the missionary impact.
Although the ruins of temples ( heiaus
) to the old gods still stand in
some places - notably on the Big
Island - and committed
campaigners work to revive
traditional philosophies, the
"old towns" are pure
nineteenth-century Americana,
with false-front stores and
raised wooden boardwalks. The
two biggest festivals are
the Big Island's week-long Merrie
Monarch Festival , honoring
King David Kalakaua (mid-April),
and the statewide King
Kamehameha events (around
June 11). Authentic hula
dancing is a powerful art form,
but you're far more likely to
encounter it bastardized in a luau
. Primarily tourist
money-spinners, these
"traditional feasts"
provide an opportunity to sample
Hawaiian foods such as kalua
pig, baked underground, and
local fish such as ono, ahi,
mahi mahi and lomi-lomi
(raw salmon). Poi - a
paste made from mashed taro root
- remains a staple of the diet,
much as it was when one of
Captain Cook's men described it
as "a disagreeable
mess."
The Hawaiian language
endures in place names and
music. At first glance it looks
unpronounceable - especially as
it is written using a mere
twelve letters (the five vowels,
plus h, k, l, m, n, p and
w ). Usually, each letter
is enunciated individually -
glottal stops indicate a pause
for breath. Long words often
break down into repeated sounds,
such as " meha-meha
" in "Kamehameha."
Hawaii itself is more correctly
written (and pronounced) Hawai'i
, but for visual clarity we've
omitted the glottal stops in
this guide.
