What exactly is…Hawaiian?
I received an email from the WSL’s PR wing this
morning, or late last night, that began,
“Three-time world surfing champion and Honolulu native Carissa
Moore was honored at Ala Moana Beach Park today by Honolulu Mayor
Kirk Caldwell, who officially proclaimed January 4 as Carissa Moore
Day in Hawaii.”
Absolutely lovely. Carissa Moore’s just great, amazing surfer,
future legend. Good for her.
Of course, it’s not exactly true. Caldwell’s not the king of
Hawaii, just Mayor of Honolulu County. The state of Hawaii is
comprised of four (technically five) counties. Honolulu (duh),
Kauai (which includes the island of Ni’ihau), Maui (which includes
most of Molokai, Lanai, and Kaho’olawe), and Hawaii (Big Island).
The technical fifth is Kalawao County, which consists of a small
portion of the Molokai coast, the reasons for which are kind of
interesting, but totally inconsequential in the
context of governance.
So January 4th is only Carissa Moore Day on Oahu, at
least until one or more mayors from other islands jump on the
bandwagon. Which isn’t very likely.
It’s a simple mistake on the WSL’s part, people forget that
there’s a lot more to the Hawaiian Islands than Oahu. Which suits
most of us just fine.
And, anyway, it’s just simpler to call Honolulu “Hawaii.”
Does it bother a few touchy souls on other islands? A bit.
People from Kauai certainly care about the fact that it was never
conquered by the Kamehameha dynasty, even though it kind of
was.
Anyway, these minor distinctions don’t mean shit outside our
borders, and I really don’t expect the majority of the world to
care. But it does give me an excellent opportunity to segue into
another kind of important if you live here, but confusing to
visitors, topic.
Hawaiian means you’ve got Hawaiian blood. The amount
doesn’t really matter, unless you’re fighting
over potential federal dollars. We’ve got “toenail” Hawaiians, with
blonde hair and blue eyes, a few pure-blooded Hawaiians, people who
discovered their ancestry moved out in their late twenties and
affected an accent. But the term pertains to bloodlines, not
residence.
Which is racial identity in Hawaii.
You hear it all the time during the WSL webcasts, even from Ross
Williams, who certainly knows better. “Hawaiian” surfer John John
Florence, “Hawaiian” surfer Sebastian Zietz. And, yeah, they grew
here, didn’t flew here, but Hawaiian they are not.
Hawaiian means you’ve got Hawaiian blood. The amount doesn’t
really matter, unless you’re fighting over potential
federal dollars. We’ve got “toenail” Hawaiians, with blonde hair
and blue eyes, a few pure-blooded Hawaiians, people who discovered
their ancestry moved out in their late twenties and affected an
accent. But the term pertains to bloodlines, not residence.
Born and raised in Hawaii, but spring from different stock? No
worries, you’re local. Not to be confused with how the word
is used in surfing.
White guy who moved out with your girlfriend at 28 and decided
to stay? That’s me, that’s haole, and that’s fine. Sure,
plenty of assholes bitch and moan about the term, compare it to
nigger, get all up in arms.
But it’s just a word, and, like all words, the meaning heavily
depends on context.
“The nice haole couple who live next door,” isn’t the same as
“that fucking haole who cut me off on Nimitz this morning.”
In any case, it’s kinder than kotonk, an
onomatopoeia that refers to Japanese born on the mainland and is
derived from the sound of an empty coconut hitting the ground.