Hawaiian Culture

Pua Van Dorpe has spent a lifetime pursuing her passion—reclaiming this ancient and lost Hawaiian art

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.

An ancient art, as delicate as it is beautiful, has outlived the kings who once claimed it as their own.

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

What is it like to live next to a volcano?

Magic happens when the Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce meets on the beach in Wailea.

One hundred seventy-four years ago, Maui's first print shop published the first Hawaiian-language newspaper...and launched a small revolution.

This West Maui valley witnessed some of the island's most turbulent history. Now it's helping to redeem the past.

By reviving ancient Hawaiian practices, modern conservationists hope to save the forests and the seas of the future.

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

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

Lānaʻi Waiaʻōpae fishpond once helped feed the island's people. Today it's feeding a hunger for culture.

A race of Polynesian seafarers in double-hulled canoes managed to carry with them food for the rest of their lives in Hawai‘i, along with their medicine, clothing, handicrafts, and the essence of their religion.

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

Ancient Hawaiian mythology tells of the sacred shapeshifting dragons, or moo, which holds supernatural powers. Their presence is still felt by many.

As it turns out, one breadfruit can feed a family, and one variety a people. Packed in coconut-husk fiber and dry leaves, ‘ulu accompanied the Polynesian voyagers in their canoes bound for Hawai‘i.

Get the translation of Hawai'i Pono'i.

The Lobelia Grayana is an endangered lavender flower that grows in Waikamoi Preserve on Maui. Ancient Hawaiians called this plant opelu.

Seventeen years in the making, the Hawaiian modern day voyaging canoe Mo‘okiha O Piilani will set sail on December 21 during the winter solstice.

Turmeric is prized around the world for its yellow color, bold flavor, and medicinal properties. When Polynesian voyagers first sailed to Hawai‘i, they brought the pungent herb with them.

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

More than any other Polynesian people, Hawaiians excelled in the use of color, coaxing incredible hues from the natural world around them.

Among Polynesians, the Hawaiians of old excelled in the making of kapa. Their distant daughters have begun to reclaim this once-lost ancient art.

Each year, as the rains came and the Makali‘i, or Pleiades, appeared in the night sky, Hawaiians of old set aside time to rest, feast and play.

See what happens when ancient Hawaiian culture meets modern art techniques at Maui's annual Celebration of Hawaii exhibit at Viewpoints Gallery in Makawao.

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

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