Hawaii (Big Island) Local Custom Tips by AKtravelers Top 5 Page for this destination

Write Words on Lava -- Beats Paint Graffiti! Lava Grafitti Review

The Big Island is Hawaii's place for Big Drives, so it's nice to be entertained by lava graffiti. Don't worry -- there is no paint involved. Rather, people gather up white coral stones on the beach and take them to roadside lava deposits where they write words and draw pictures. The white stands out well against the dark black lava, creating the worlds most eco-friendly vandalism (if you would call it that!).

Konane: Ancient Hawaiian Checkers

If you visit Puuhonua O Honaunau, you will see lots of game stones, where the ali'i of Hawaii would play an ancient hawaiian version of checkers known as konane. The concept is very similar, though only jumping is alllowed. Each player gets 32 pebbles (either white or black, amply available in the nearby sea rocks) that fill in all 64 indentations in the konane rock. One player picks up a white and black pebble and hids them in his hand. The other player picks a hand and gets to start withthat color. Players commence to jumping each other's pieces just like in checkers, except no direction-changing jumps are allowed. Double and triple jumps are allowed as long as there is a landing place between pieces jumped (like checkers). The game ends when no more jumps are possible -- the winner is the last person to have completed a jump. In the picture adjacent to this article, it's already clear that I'm going to win, isn't it?

Flip-Flops (Slippers) are Appropriate Footwear

Everywhere you go in Hawaii, you'll see people of all ages wearing flip-flops, known locally as slippers (or "slippas" if you want to try the local accent). You'll see children wearing them to school and adults wearing them to mid-scale restaurants. They're especially appropriate when visiting friends, as it is Hawaiian custom to take your shoes off when entering a home -- and slippas are easy to remove! I never liked them personally, hating that rubber between my toes. But I got used to it and now I wear them frequently around town.

Hawaiian Religion Centers on Pele

At Helama'uma'u on 20 August, there are native Hawaiian religious celebrations focused on the god Pele, who is rumored to live in the volcano (note, if you steal lava rocks from the National Park, Pele will curse you according to local custom). In recent years, as the Hawaiian cultural identity has surged, there has been a renewed interest in Hawaiian religion. we got to witness some of that in the parking lot, as you can see in the accompanying photos.

Independence for Hawaii?

About 20% of the state of Hawaii's population is made up of native Hawaiians and an important segment of that group advocates restoring Hawaii to its status as an independent nation. Another portion of this population is fighting for some lands to be returned as ancestral homelands, much like the arrangements Native Americans have on the mainland. Their arguments are based on the way Hawaii was coopted by American agricultural elites who toppled the monarchy and pestered the United States government into annexing the islands. Their current concern is the plight of today's Hawaiians, who are economically disadvantaged compared to other ethnic groups in the state. Of course, some of them may just want casinos -- after all, Hawaii is the only state in which no form of gambling is legal -- not even the lottery.
Anyway, one of the customs of Hawaiian nationalists is to fly the state flag upside down. If you see this, it is not a mistake.