The story of Hawaii's Shaka

Shaka ＼m／

As you all know, it's a gesture unique to Hawaii that conveys meanings like Thanks, Hang loose, Take it easy, etc. Surfers on the US mainland often do it too, right?

While living in Hawaii, I became curious about its origin, so I looked into it.

So the origin seems to be from the sugarcane fields in the 1900s. The beginning is said to be a person named Hamana Kalili. The story begins when this person lost three middle fingers in a roller while working in the sugarcane fields in a place called Kahuku.

Unable to continue his work of feeding sugarcane into the rollers, he was appointed as a security guard for the sugarcane train. His main job at the time was to "scold" local children who would playfully jump onto the train. When he waved his hand, the children noticed he was missing fingers and started imitating it, which is how the gesture became popular.

After that, it was used in political campaigns and popularized through TV commercials (in the 60s), and while its meaning changed, the Shaka came to convey meanings like friendship and gratitude.

I love researching origins... It's interesting!
Just for your reference for your next trip to Hawaii!!!

”SHAKA BRA!!”
(Picture below: By the way, CHOKE is Hawaiian English for "a lot". Example: Choke Fish - lots of fish.)