Cruise Report

Sept.5th

Hawaiian culture and history – Tak Wada (President of Wai Wai Tours, Hawaiian Tourist Bureau specialist)

Today’s guest educator lecture was courtesy of Tak Wada, a “Hawaii Specialist” at the Hawaiian Tourism Authority, who speaks about Hawaiian culture, and the history of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, areas most people are typically unaware of. Today in particular focused on Hawaii’s volcanoes, how they have shaped the land, the legends associated with them, and some of the creatures only found on the Hawaiian islands. Tak opened his lecture with a warm “Aloha”, and soon started playing the Hawaiian nose flute, ohe hanu ihu. According to Tak “the breath from your mouth can be used to tell lies or mistaken things, but in Hawaiian belief the breath from your nose is the purest, which is why the nose flute is played with breath from your nose.” Tak introduced a number of other different aspects of Hawaiian culture, including the origins and history of the Hawaiian state flag, the history of the islands, and information useful for our upcoming visit to the islands.