Polynesian Culture

 If a Hawaiian tells you he/she does not eat pineapple, it's because it's usually because the person still associates it with the evils of colonialism. For can you believe that Dole, the company that basically symbolizes pineapples, was one of  13 American companies led by Caucasians, which organized the coup against the Hawaiian Royal Family  led by Queen Liliuokalani, in 1893. 

And can you believe that once the Americans colonized the island, for over a hundred years, the teaching or practicing of Hawaiian Culture and language were not allowed!

I missed my trip to the Polynesian Cultural Village today  (https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-maximum-disappointment.html?m=1) and took a Hawaiian cultural cruise instead. 

Thankfully, we learnt a lot about Polynesian culture there.

This was aboard the Kamoauli, a catamaran on which interesting, educational excursions are held to teach young people about their culture. 

On board, they explain and demonstrate cultural traditions, poi pounding, food preparation, their musical instruments, teach you the hula, how to make the lei and go in depth about the real meaning and origin of the now touristy word, aloha.

Really good stuff and enjoyable too. We even  saw Diamond Head crater from a different angle and caught a beautiful sunset on the way back.

The Kamoauli

A typical Hawaiian dish

When we got back to shore, we took in a fireworks display on Wakaki beach which hotels put on to draw visitors to see craft items made by local people.

The household staff at the Hilton Hawaiian hotel has been on strike for weeks and some attended the fireworks event  with their bullhorns,  to draw attention to their cause.

Hope had an impact.

These chopsticks not for me😬

                        Michelle made me a lei.❤️

Honolulu musings: the old and the new

Today was a less intense pace than yesterday when we took on Diamond Head Museum.

The plan had been to just use the hop on hop off trolley to see Honolulu in general and take in some history with a visit to the Palace and national museum.

Take this warning seriously though, whenever you visit Honolulu, check if cruise ships are in Port. For boy, 8 were in today and it was lines and crowds galore.

When we first came, the beach was relatively empty in comparison to today when there are cruise passengers all over the place.

So of course, when we went to the museum which is located in what had been the Polynesian Royal Palace, it was sold out.

However, they have a mini museum in what had been the kitchen of the Palace. Luckily a lot of the royal jewellery was displayed there, so I drolled.🙂

Then we took that in and spent some time enjoying the grounds.

All this is in the Administrative district downtown, where the architecture between the days when the Polynesians ran their own country and after the colonizers took over, is very distinctive.

The last Polynesian Queen

The royal emblem on the gate

The last King and Queen 

A cute sculpture of Momma Bear and her babies❤️

Front of the Palace

The Judicial building with the famous statue in front.

The gate of the Palace with the royal emblem

On the way downtown, the driver pointed to a bridge over the canal, behind which 

 he claims both Obama and Bruno Mars spent their childhood.  Of course the neighborhood looks nothing like when it was when they roamed, he was quick to add. For high rises prolifirate all over Honolulu these days.

It's beyond the bridge that he said Obama and Mars roamed as kids.

Because of the cruise ship influx, we waited for what seemed forever, for one of the hop on shuttles to return and because none came, had to end up taking an Uber back in order not to die from starvation.😡

That's when I learned that Chinese restaurants close between 2-5pm daily, in Honolulu.

It was a pleasant afternoon though as we simply idled at the hotel and rested our weary legs.