Hawaiian Culture

Hawaiian culture stories published by Maui No Ka Oi Magazine.

Hula o Na Keiki

Hula O Na Keiki

Two-dozen students, representing halau from Maui, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Island and Japan, will compete at this year’s Hula O Na Keiki event.
native Hawaiians

What Does a Hawaiian Look Like?

Through their portraits, handprints and signatures, Jordan Murph is helping native Hawaiians create an indelible legacy.
Hawaiian canoe carver

A Carver of Canoes

Using ancient navigation techniques as a guide, master woodworker Keola Sequeira breathes new life into the ancient art of canoe building right here on Maui.
hawaiian culture

Bringing Hawaiian Culture To Light

The Four Seasons in Wailea has a brilliant new art collection—“the first of its kind anywhere,”--courtesy of modern Hawaiian artists.
Hawaiian pau riders

Pa‘u Riders

Hawaiian pa'u riders carry on an exuberant tradition, bedecking both horse and rider with flowers and fine fabrics.
lessons from the past

Lessons from the Past

What can the ancient Hawaiians teach us about preserving today's resources for tomorrow?

Hawaii Ponoʻi

Get the translation of Hawai'i Pono'i.
Hawaiian sweat lodge

A Healthy Sweat

Explore the sacred space of a Hawaiian sweat lodge.
hala weaver in Hawaii

The Weave of History

In the plaited leaves of the pandanus tree, a lauhala master passes along an ancient tradition.
Hawaiian cultural leaders in Maui

The Thousand-year-old Gift

Hawaiian culture evolved over millennia, then almost disappeared after Western contact. Maui's cultural advisors are committed to bringing it back.
Honokowai Valley

A Valley Back in Time

Dedicated volunteers are restoring the remains of a once-thriving Native Hawaiian village in Honokowai Valley—from the sticks to the stones.
Hawaiian tatoo

Marked

More than skin deep, traditional tattoos link modern Hawaiians to their ancestors.
Hawaiian Kapuna

Who Are Na Kupuna?

Like the rest of us, Hawaiian mature, age and die. And there the similarity ends.
Hawaiian weapons

The Weapon Maker’s Art

Wood and cordage, tooth and bone are used to recreate the ancient Hawaiian instruments of war. A modern weapons maker finds connection to a culture.
Alala Hawaiian Crow

The Call of the ‘Alala

Ancient Hawaiian Chanters used the unique sounds of the Alala, Hawaiian crow, to broadcast messages in battle. Currently they are extinct in the wild.
voyaging canoe maui

Birth of a Canoe

After nearly two decades in dry dock, the first oceangoing traditional voyaging canoe, Mo‘okiha o Pi‘ilani, embarked on its maiden voyage from Mala Wharf in Lahaina on July 11.
Hawaiian names

Defining Identity

When your name includes twelve syllables and nearly as many letters as the alphabet, you often have some explaining to do.
hawaiian moon calendar

Planting by the Moon

Finding the science behind an ancient, indigenous practice.
taro farming

An Appetite for Culture + VIDEO

How Maui farmers are cultivating ancient wisdom to feed a population—and a hunger for culture.
taro festival

Pua Kalo

The annual East Maui Taro Festival in Hana is the perfect opportunity to learn about—and taste—this delicacy.
pueo

Hawaii’s Spirit Guardians

Animal, plant, elemental force, even the substance of dreams-in their different forms, ancestral guides helped to shape the Islands' first culture.
Kings Highway - Daniel Sullivan Photography

On the King’s Trail (VIDEOS)

A writer and a photographer explore the remains of the King's Trail on Maui, where dozens of archaeological sites spring up from the side of the trail.
Hawaiian plants

Grounded in Culture

The culture of ancient Hawaiʻi was deeply rooted in nature. It still is—thanks to places like Maui Nui Botanical Gardens.
Hawaiian healing

Healing Across Generations

Following the ancient practices of our ancestors has restored a missing piece—healing across generations.
Hawaiian kapa

Kapa: More to Learn

See all eleven kapa Pua Van Dorpe created to honor ancient Maui chiefs, and read their stories.
hawaiian fisherman nets

The Fisherman’s Net

From ancient times, Hawaiians have used this handwoven tool to gather an ocean harvest. For one Maui fisherman, it still holds a way of life and a sense of identity.
Polynesian explorers

Wayfinders

Polynesians navigate Earth's largest ocean by celestial bodies and seabirds, winds and ocean swells.