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The plumeria scented sea breeze pumps in fresh air into your lungs, the crystal clear blue water of the ocean refreshes your senses, the dramatic beauty of the nature turns you into a poet….This is what Hawaii can do for you and even more. Among the one hundred and thirty seven islands, the six major Hawaiian Islands wait to offer you an exotic holiday experience replete with true aloha spirit.
It is the spirit of Aloha- the universal ideal of love and compassion- that distinguishes your Hawaiian vacation from holiday trips in any other parts of the world. The aloha-warmth is not only the work of the climate alone; it is the part of the Hawaiian culture as a whole. It is this warm and colorful culture that compels you to feel that there is no place on the earth like Hawaii.
Reflection of the Hawaiian Islands’ past
While you locate the Hawaiian Islands on the world map, you will not come to believe at first that the earliest Polynesian settlers came to this remote chain of islands in canoes. And in the absence of proper navigational instruments, the stars and the winds and the seagulls kept them company in their voyage through the untamed ocean. The first brush with the outside world was followed by the English navigator Captain Cook’s discovery of the land. He was amazed to find the flourish of a rich culture and organized governmental system complete with the defined hierarchy of King, priests and chieftains.
The following centuries witnessed a process of great cultural overlapping with native Hawaiians and the immigrants, and among immigrants themselves. The decline of pure Hawaiian population at a rapid pace speeded up this process of great cultural mélange. With the influence of such communities as English, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Philippines people, the 20th century Hawaii gave birth to a new kind of culture that incorporated into it the features of western world, yet strictly kept alive their traditional traits. The language also took a curious course that eventually gave birth to a new kind of people’s language---the Pidgin English.
On the economic side also the island underwent various phases of evolution. At one point of time, Hawaii became the major whaling center in the world; till the end of the previous century Hawaii used to occupy one of the most important places in the world sugar and pineapple plantation map. Today’s Hawaii boasts of its tourism industry backed up by one of the world’s best tourism infrastructures on the one hand and nature’s gifts in the form of scenic beauties on the other hand.
The Hawaii of the day
Today’s Hawaii depicts a curious demography; Pure Hawaiians form a small segment of Hawaiian society. According to certain estimates, today there could be a population of pure Hawaiians as low as 5000. But on the positive side, the population that claims Hawaiian ancestry in part is on a constant rise. In today’s multi ethnic Hawaii society no community claims to be a majority. Such a diverse culture can not be found in any part of the USA. Thus 21st century Hawaiian culture is characterized by a peaceful coexistence of traditional Hula performance and American pop music, the churches and the Japanese Shinto shrines and world’s best resorts with all modern amenities and vast expanse of wilderness in the remote islands.
It is again the under-current of aloha that keeps all the diverse elements strung together in solid unity.