Roughly sixty percent of the million-plus modern Hawaiians were born
here. Around one-third are Caucasian (many of them US military personnel),
one-third Japanese and one-sixth Filipino, with 200,000 claiming at
least some Hawaiian ancestry. The traditional reliance on agriculture
seems to be in terminal decline, with sugar and pineapple plantations
closing one after the other, and the need to import virtually all the
basics of life has resulted in an extraordinarily high cost of living .
In particular, the cost of housing is so high that many islanders find
themselves either obliged to work at two jobs, or simply to sleep on the
beaches.
Visitors in search of the ancient Hawaii will find that few vestiges
remain. What is presented as "historic" usually postdates the missionary
impact. Although the ruins of temples ( heiaus ) to the old gods still
stand in some places - notably on the Big Island - and committed
campaigners work to revive traditional philosophies, the "old towns" are
pure nineteenth-century Americana, with false-front stores and raised
wooden boardwalks. The two biggest festivals are the Big Island's week-long
Merrie Monarch Festival , honoring King David Kalakaua (mid-April), and
the statewide King Kamehameha events (around June 11). Authentic hula
dancing is a powerful art form, but you're far more likely to encounter
it bastardized in a luau . Primarily tourist money-spinners, these "traditional
feasts" provide an opportunity to sample Hawaiian foods such as kalua
pig, baked underground, and local fish such as ono, ahi, mahi mahi and
lomi-lomi (raw salmon). Poi - a paste made from mashed taro root -
remains a staple of the diet, much as it was when one of Captain Cook's
men described it as "a disagreeable mess."
The Hawaiian language endures in place names and music. At first glance
it looks unpronounceable - especially as it is written using a mere
twelve letters (the five vowels, plus h, k, l, m, n, p and w ). Usually,
each letter is enunciated individually - glottal stops indicate a pause
for breath. Long words often break down into repeated sounds, such as "
meha-meha " in "Kamehameha." Hawaii itself is more correctly written (and
pronounced) Hawai'i , but for visual clarity we've omitted the glottal
stops in this guide.
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