Hawaii is a state in the Western United States, about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the U.S. mainland in the Pacific Ocean. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state in the tropics.
Niʻihau, anglicized as Niihau, is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is 17.5 miles (28.2 km) southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is 69.5 square miles (180 km2). Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian coot, the Hawaiian stilt, and the Hawaiian duck. The island is designated as critical habitat for Brighamia insignis, an endemic and endangered species of Hawaiian lobelioid. The United States Census Bureau defines Niʻihau and the neighboring island and State Seabird Sanctuary of Lehua as Census Tract 410 of Kauai County, Hawaii. Its 2000 census population was 160, most of whom are native Hawaiians; its 2010 census population was 170. At the 2020 census, the population had fallen to 84.
Haole is a Hawaiian term for individuals who are not Native Hawaiian, and is applied to people primarily of European ancestry.
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part of Hollywood soundtracks. Hawaii also made a contribution to country music with the introduction of the steel guitar. In addition, the music which began to be played by Puerto Ricans in Hawaii in the early 1900s is called cachi cachi music, on the islands of Hawaii.
Kanakas were workers from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Queensland (Australia) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They also worked in California and Chile.
Hawaiian Pidgin is an English-based creole language spoken in Hawaiʻi. An estimated 600,000 residents of Hawaiʻi speak Hawaiian Pidgin natively and 400,000 speak it as a second language. Although English and Hawaiian are the two official languages of the state of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian Pidgin is spoken by many Hawaiian residents in everyday conversation and is often used in advertising targeted toward locals in Hawaiʻi. In the Hawaiian language, it is called ʻōlelo paʻi ʻai – "hard taro language". Hawaiian Pidgin was first recognized as a language by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015. However, Hawaiian Pidgin is still thought of as lower status than the Hawaiian and English languages.
Hapa is a Hawaiian word for someone of multiracial ancestry. In Hawaii, the word refers to any person of mixed ethnic heritage, regardless of the specific mixture. The term is used for any multiracial person of partial East Asian, Southeast Asian, or Pacific Islander mixture in California. In what can be characterized as trans-cultural diffusion or the wave model, this latter usage has also spread to Massachusetts, Ohio, and Oregon.
Native Hawaiians are the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Loanwords from the Japanese language in Hawaiʻi appear in various parts of the culture. Many loanwords in Hawaiian Pidgin derive from the Japanese language. The linguistic influences of the Japanese in Hawaii began with the first immigrants from Japan in 1868 and continues with the large Japanese American population in Hawaiʻi today.
The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was dedicated on October 12, 1963, and occupies 42 acres of land belonging to nearby Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU-Hawaii).
The cuisine of Hawaii incorporates five distinct styles of food, reflecting the diverse food history of settlement and immigration in the Hawaiian Islands.
Pidgin to Da Max is a humorous illustrated dictionary of Hawaiian Pidgin words and phrases, published in December 1981, by Douglas Simonson, Pat Sasaki, and Ken Sakata. With the definitions of most of the words and phrases also given in Pidgin, the book is not clearly intended to be used as a Pidgin-English dictionary, although a reader unfamiliar with the dialect would likely understand most of the entries from context and the illustrations. Rather, the book is intended to be a humorous introspective for Hawaii residents about the language many of them speak on a day-to-day basis. As such, it is a relatively popular book in Hawaii, and sold 25,000 copies in its first month in print.
The Hawaiian Renaissance was the Hawaiian resurgence of a distinct cultural identity that draws upon traditional kānaka maoli culture, with a significant divergence from the tourism-based culture which Hawaiʻi was previously known for worldwide. The Hawaiian Renaissance has been pointed to as a global model for biocultural restoration and sustainability.
A pu pu platter is a tray of American Chinese or Hawaiian food consisting of an assortment of small meat and seafood appetizers. The Thrillist called the pu-pu platter "an amalgam of Americanized Chinese food, Hawaiian tradition and bar food."
Oswald Andrew Bushnell was a microbiologist, historian, novelist, and professor at the University of Hawaiʻi.
"My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi", written by Tommy Harrison, Bill Cogswell, and Johnny Noble in Hawaii in 1933, is a Hawaiian song in the Hawaiian musical style known as hapa haole. One of the earliest recordings by Ted Fio Rito and his orchestra reached number one on the charts in 1934. Honolulu magazine listed it as number 41 in a 2007 article, "50 Greatest Songs of Hawaii". It has been heard in many movies and television shows and has been covered dozens of times. The title is sometimes shortened to "My Little Grass Shack" or "Little Grass Shack".
James Kealoha (4-mile) Beach Park is a swimming and snorkeling beach located in the Hilo district on the Island of Hawai'i. It is known locally as '4-mile' beach, as its location is exactly 4 miles from the Hilo town post-office. Showers and restrooms are located there, as is a lifeguard tower
Lei Day is a statewide celebration in Hawaii. The celebration begins in the morning of May first every year and continues into the next day. Lei day was established as a holiday in 1929. Each Hawaiian island has a different type of lei for its people to wear in the celebration. The festivities have consistently grown each year and the state of Hawaii has changed the location of the event. Lei day was first held in the Courts and Town Halls but has since been moved to Kapi'olani park.
Lūʻau, known alternatively as Poulet fafa in French Polynesia, Rourou in Fiji and Rukau in the Cook Islands is a traditional Polynesian stew. The name of this dish in Hawaii and other parts of the pacific is derived from its main ingredient, Taro leaves, which are cooked down and coconut milk added. Variations of this dish differ between islands. In Hawaii, octopus is added to this dish alongside onion and garlic, the dish being referred to as Squid Lū'au.
