The Hawaiian Community in Albuquerque

Overview and Brief History:
Hawai`i is a chain of islands which are the protruding tips of a mountain ridge produced by a 1600 mile fissure along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Eight islands – Ni`ihau, Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Maui, Lana`i, Hawai`i, and the uninhabited Kaho`olawe, make up the main group. Because of strong similarities in plant life, language, and culture, Hawai`i's first human residents are believed to have been Polynesians, who traveled the Pacific by canoe. Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Society Islands and the Marquesas Islands are all candidates for the origin of Hawai`i's first permanent human population. The exact date of their arrival is unknown, although one temple has been dated to around 500 AD. Little is known about the culture of these original Hawaiians.

A major cultural shift occurred around 1200 AD when Tahitian sailors found their way to Hawai`i, formed settlements, and subjugated the islands' earlier residents. The Tahitians brought with them the kahua nui, or high priest line and created a ruling lineage for each island. Hawaiian society was divided into four classes - chiefs, or Ali`i, who became chiefs based partly upon lineage and partly upon leadership potential, and who were believed to be descended from gods. Kahuna were the specialists: priests who performed ceremonies, skilled craftspeople, and headmen who oversaw daily activities. Makaainana were the common people. They planted, grew, harvested, stored, and prepared the food. They built houses and canoes and carried out all of the occupations necessary to keep the society functioning. Finally, the Kauwa were those who had been cast out of general society. The Kapu, or taboo system, brought by the Tahitians outlined proper and improper behavior for each of these groups, and ensured that resources were fairly regulated.

There were between 300,000 and 1,000,000 people in Hawai`i, living almost completely isolated from the rest of the world, when Captain James Cook landed on Kaua`i in January of 1778. Initially, the people of Hawai`i believed him to be the reincarnation of Lono, their god of peace and agriculture; but that soon proved not to be the case. Cook stayed on Kaua`i until March of that year. He returned to the Big Island of Hawai`i the following year, and was killed there on February 13th. Cook called Hawai`i the Sandwich Islands, in honor of his benefactor, the Earl of Sandwich, and that name persisted until the end of the 19th century.

In 1782 King Kamehameha I became ruler of the Big Island of Hawai`i. In 1792 he took his rule to many of the other islands, conquering Maui, Lana`i, Moloka`i and O`ahu. The king was following a prophecy that he was to unite the islands under one rule, and by 1810 had negotiated peacefully with the island of Kaua`i to form a unified Kingdom of Hawai`i. Kamehameha I used Western weapons to seize power, promoted trade with Europe, and had European members of his royal court, including a Portuguese personal physician and a German foreign minister.

During the rule of Kamehameha I the first Europeans began settling in Hawai`i. Sailors and traders left their ships and stayed on the islands. Whaling and sandalwood industries began to grow. The arrival of these new residents changed Hawaiian culture greatly. Kamehameha I struggled to carry out rule of the united Hawai`i using the Kapu system; but Hawaiians saw that the Europeans did not abide by the Kapu rules and were not punished by the gods.

Kamehameha I was succeeded by Kamehameha II in 1819 and he ordered the destruction of all temples, and put an end to the Kapu system. Coincidentally, as the Kapu system was being dismantled, Christian missionaries began arriving in Hawai`i. The missionaries both converted many islanders to Christianity, and introduced the Western educational system. Hawaiians had no written language cultural information was passed on through a very strong oral tradition. The missionaries created a Hawaiian alphabet so that bibles and other religious writings could be translated into the local language. In less than 20 years the missionaries had developed a school system that reflected the ways and values of Western society and Hawai`i quickly became one of the most highly literate countries in the world.

Hawaiian culture also had no concept of land ownership. As industry began to be developed, Hawaii’s European residents pressured the monarchy to allow for private ownership of land, and Kamehameha III, who assumed rule in 1824, finally gave in in1845. Foreigners were given the right to buy land, and pineapple and sugar plantations were rapidly created. By 1893, most of the lands had been sold off to foreigners, who then controlled nearly 90% of Hawaiian land.

Europeans brought with them contagious diseases to which the islanders had never been previously exposed and by 1850 these diseases reduced the population by 90%. Because of this sharp decline in the Native population there was a shortage of labor available to work in the newly established cane and pineapple plantations. With consent of the Hawaiian monarchy, foreign labor was brought in. Chinese laborers began arriving in 1852 followed by the Japanese in 1868 and the Portuguese in 1879. After the turn of the 20th century workers from Korea and the Philippines also began to arrive. By the 1920's, more than 250,000 foreign laborers had been brought to Hawai`i.

King David Kalakaua who reigned from 1874 until his death in 1891 was known as the Merry Monarch. He is credited with reviving many of Hawai`i's cultural traditions. His younger sister Liliuokalani took the thrown after his death. She attempted to restore to the crown some of the power that had been signed away by previous monarchs, but she was deposed in a U.S. backed coup on January 17th, 1893 before she could succeed. The United States had already begun making moves toward annexation shortly after its recognition of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1842 and as soon as Queen Liliuokalani was ousted the US began annexation proceedings which were completed in 1898. Hawai`i remained a territory until it was approved for statehood in 1959.

Immigration to the United States and Albuquerque:
Although Hawai`i's immigration history is much more heavily weighted toward immigration to Hawai`i, rather than out of Hawai`i, 2000 census data shows more Native Hawaiians now living on the mainland than live in Hawai`i. There are also Hawaiian communities in British Colombia, Mexico, and Europe.

Hawaiians began emigrating to the US as early as the late 17th century. Young Hawaiian males left Hawai`i on whaling ships, some ventured to the Northwest to work the fur trade, and some set up a California Gold Rush community called Kanaka Village. However, the largest wave of Hawaiian emigration to the mainland started in the 1950's.

World War II drastically changed the Hawaiian economy as focus shifted to tourism and military defense. During the war much of the remaining open land was taken over by the military giving Native Hawaiians even less access to their homelands. The plantation economy had dissolved and it became increasingly difficult to find jobs or to secure land for a homestead. Many Hawaiian men (double the national average) joined the military and many of these men chose to stay on the mainland. The most recent wave of Hawaiian immigration to the mainland during the 1990's was caused by the soaring cost of living in Hawai`i, limited jobs, and the increasing price of homes.

Most Hawaiians in Albuquerque have come here for one of three reasons: the military, for education, or for employment opportunities. A few also came because of the local Native American Indian communities here, to learn more about "Native sovereignty and land rights." Many in the local community say they stayed because they felt comfortable here and felt as if they could make this home. Current census data shows 431 Hawaiians living in the Albuquerque area

Cultural Traditions:
All of Hawai`i's immigrant cultures have had profound influences on the Hawaiian culture as a whole. The concept of what it is to be Native Hawaiian is obviously quite complex. Today there are less than 8,000 "pure" Hawaiians, and the number could be as low as 5,000. There are, however, as many as 275,000 "Native" Hawaiians. Officially, a Native Hawaiian is someone who has at least 50% Hawaiian blood. But, as it is said, it is enough to have even one drop of "pure" Hawaiian blood and, more importantly, a commitment to the Hawaiian concepts of relationship to family, community, and land.

The ‘olelo Hawai`i, or Hawaiian language, belongs to the family of languages from central and eastern Polynesia, which includes Hawaiian, Tahitian, Maori, Rarotongan, and Tumotuan. Prior to contact with Europeans the ‘olelo Hawai`i had no written tradition. Missionaries, who had only limited sensitivity to the language, constructed an alphabet of 12 letters and the ‘okina symbol, which looks like a backward apostrophe. The alphabet consisted of the five vowels and the consonants h - k - l - m - n - p and w. Words with an r sound became words with an l instead, and the b sound was collapsed into the p sound. This changed the Hawaiian language forever. The missionaries were, however, successful and by the mid-1800's the written language was being taught in the newly created school system, and quickly became the language used in government and business.

The predominantly white provisional government put in place after the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893 prohibited the speaking or teaching of the ‘olelo Hawai`i in any public school. This suppression lasted through most of the 20th century. Although the language did not die speakers dwindled to a few thousand. A renaissance of Hawaiian culture, and the ‘olelo Hawai`i, occurred in the 1970's. In 1978, the ‘olelo Hawai`i was reestablished as an official language of the State of Hawai`i, English being the other. In 1987 schools were again allowed to teach the language, and immersion programs began to teach language, history, and culture holistically.

For many in Albuquerque's Hawaiian community, even with the renaissance of the ‘olelo Hawaii, their parents' or grandparents' generation was the last in the family to be fluent. Many here know at least some words, and there is a great deal of interest in learning. One Albuquerque woman is fluent in the language and there are hopes that she will one day offer classes in the language. One community member has been learning Hawaiian from a book, and there are also Hawaiian language videos available, and lessons over the internet.

Many Hawaiians here grew up speaking Pidgin. A pidgin language is a language that is simplified to facilitate communication between groups of people who speak different languages. Hawai`i's Pidgin is an amalgamation between Hawaiian, English, Portuguese and the pidgin English of China and the Pacific that were brought to Hawai`i through trading industries. By the 1920's Pidgin was the first language of the majority of Hawai`i's people.

Food is one of the primary bonds that holds Albuquerque's Hawaiian community together. Potluck dinners, in which all foods prepared must be familiar foods from Hawai`i, are held regularly. In Hawai`i, the concept of sharing everything is a strong cultural tradition, and coming together over shared food is a good way to exercise this tradition. The opening of more Asian markets over the recent years has made it easier to find the ingredients needed to prepare traditional dishes. At one time, it was not possible to find the short grain rice that is a diet staple.

The Hawaiian luau is a feast made in celebration of accomplishments, victories, a bountiful harvest, the birth of a child, to honor ancestors or a god, or to commemorate a great event. Ancient luaus were generally very large, and sometimes lasted for several days. The feast was originally referred to as ‘aha'aina, which translates as gathering for a meal, and was first called a luau in the mid-19th century. The word luau in the ‘olelo Hawai`i refers to the young, edible leaves of the taro plant, which were often used to wrap foods for cooking in the imu, or underground oven in which pua'a kalua, the traditional slow-cooked pork dish, is cooked. A pig, wrapped in taro, banana, or ti, leaves is placed in the center of the pit. Bundles of side dishes are added surrounding the pig and the all of these were covered with layers of ti and ginger leaves and a final coating of earth. In Albuquerque, a slow oven is typically used instead of an imu.

Another food present at any traditional luau is poi. Poi is the glutinous paste made from pounding taro root. Taro is traditionally the staple starch of the Hawaiian Islands. It is very nutritious. Poi also has spiritual significance, as it represents haloa (aumakua?), or ancestors. Great reverence is given when poi is present. There should never be quarreling or negative feelings of any kind when poi in on the table. Frozen poi is sometimes available in Albuquerque; but it is now even hard to get in Hawai`i. Less and less is grown, and so what is available has gotten very expensive. If anyone brings poi to the luau, everyone gets just a spoonful.

Other traditional foods that are generally present at the Albuquerque luau are Haupia, a pudding-like dessert made from boiled coconut milk and Hawaiian arrowroot, Manapua, steamed dumplings filled with sweet and sour pork or chicken, Lomilomi Salmon. The word lomilomi means to massage, and in this dish the salmon is massaged, or broken up into little pieces and mixed with tomatoes and onions. This way of preparing fish was introduced by early Western sailors, and is similar to ceviche. Chicken Long Rice, meat marinated in teriyaki sauce, macaroni salad, and SPAM musubi are also staples of the Albuquerque luau. During World War II meat was rationed and most that was available went to the troops. Canned meat, such as SPAM, canned corned beef, and sardines, took the place of fresh at most Hawaiian tables. SPAM remained a tradition even after the war. SPAM musubi is fried SPAM on rice, wrapped in seaweed.

Hawai`i's cultural diversity can be seen in its cuisine. Along with the Japanese Teriyaki, Korean kimchi is a frequent dish on Hawaiian tables, and vin d'alhos, a Portuguese dish of meat marinated in wine, garlic, red chile pepper and salt is a common Christmas dish. This is traditionally eaten after the Midnight Mass to break the Lenten fast.

Some of Hawai`i's strongest cultural traditions are the beliefs that guide Hawaiians through their daily lives. The concept of Aloha is the foundation on which all cultural behavior is built. Alo means to share, and ha means breath. Aloha, literally, means to share breath, or, to share the breath of life. What exudes from the person and is manifested through word and action should be filled with aloha, the breath of life. The word is used in greeting and farewell, or as a salutation, but it is much more than that. Aloha is the sincere expression of kindness, unity, humility, patience and perseverance. Aloha is the expressed recognition of the underlying spirit that cannot be seen or heard, talked about, or even fully known. The spirit, or breath, of God is in all things animate or inanimate. The breath of God is Aloha. Albuquerque's Hawaiians spread Aloha to other Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike.

Aloha aina is another expression of Aloha. Aina means food and, used in this way, refers to the love of the source of all sustenance. Aloha aina means love of the land. In Hawaii, Hawaiians are taught protection of the land and water. Hawaiians in New Mexico teach their children to respect and protect this new homeland.

‘Ohana is family. The word can be used to describe family, in which people are related by blood, or to describe, more broadly, family is which people are related by their feeling for and commitment to each other. The concept of ‘ohana is based on the notion of sharing everything – land, food, responsibility for children, and even status. In Hawaii, family is the most basic unit of society and it is see as the best form of human expression. For Hawaiians in Albuquerque, the community is ‘ohana. Many members say they came to Albuquerque for education or employment, but stayed for the ‘ohana.

There are many outward expressions of the concept of ‘ohana. Something is always brought along to share or leave when visiting. Children call adult members of the community "Auntie" and "Uncle," as a sign of respect and as a manifestation of their connection. Members of the community kiss each other hello and goodbye. And, as is practiced in many non-Anglo cultures, Hawaiian elders stay with family as they age rather than being put into nursing homes. This makes the household often multi-generational, containing up to four generations at one time.

A Hawaiian family tradition practiced in Albuquerque is that of giving each child a Hawaiian name. Sometimes this name is listed on the birth certificate, and sometimes not. The name is generally bestowed by the grandmother or the auntie, and is often chosen before birth.

Old Hawaiian stories have also been transported to the mainland with Albuquerque's Hawaiian residents. One Hawaiian legend is that of the menehune, the Night Walkers. Menehune are small, ranging in height from six inches to two feet, and have very long, straight hair. They roam the forests at night playing "eerie" music on nose flutes, and wearing tapa, or bark cloth, clothing. Menehune can be harmless and, at times, generous, but they can also be malicious. It is advised to avoid menehune unless one has a need for a special favor. Menehune are expert builders and craftsmen. They will sometimes step in, bidden or unbidden, to complete a project, such as a wedding feast, in the night, while humans are sleeping. The grandfather of one of Albuquerque's Hawaiians was once told of a secret cave. In the cave was a canoe that had been filled by menehune with important cultural artifacts. They had been saved and preserved in that cave by the menehune. The grandfather told stories of the cave to his children and grandchildren, but never divulged its whereabouts.

Finally, certain Hawaiian means of keeping a peaceful environment are employed here in Albuquerque. Ti leaves, when available, ward off evil, as does Hawaiian salt. A home can be protected by placing blessed bamboo straight upward. Bamboo is also taken on journeys as protection. When you enter a place, you only take what you need, and you always give something back. There are stories of people who have taken things, such as lava rocks, from Hawai`i without leaving something in return, who have become ill. U.S. culture is seen as teaching its people to take, but not to give. Hawaiians teach their children the Hawaiian way and their children are able to see the contrast in their daily lives here.

Many of these things that make up what it means to the members of this community to be Hawaiian are more vivid here in Albuquerque than they were at home. Many members were unaware of all that they had in their Hawaiian culture before they left it. This has made it actually easier to pass on to their children, because it has become clearer how much there is to pass on.

Artistic Traditions:
Several of Hawai`i's artistic traditions are being upheld in the Albuquerque area. The most public of these is the hula, which combines Hawaiian movement, music, and language. Hula is both a form of worship and a form of entertainment. It is the outward expression of aloha. Hula originated when Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, commanded her younger sister Laka to dance. Temples and halau, or houses of hula instruction, were dedicated in Laka's name. Dancers lived at the halau, which was often on temple grounds, and had their own strict form of kapu, to which they adhered until graduation.

In the early 19th century, missionaries who came to Hawai`i to convert its people to Christianity thought hula to be a pagan practice, and convinced the Hawaiian monarch to have it banned. For fifty years hula existed only underground until the reign of King David Kalakaua.

Stringed instruments, brought to Hawai`i by European immigrants, were transformed and new music was created for accompanying the hula. Words began to be sung rather than chanted. Public performances took place throughout the 1880's and 1890's and into the twentieth century. The use of hula as public entertainment coincided with the advent of Hawai`i's tourism industry, and with the advent of the motion picture, Hollywood further distorted this new image of the Hawaiian hula. The older style of hula was not revived until the 1970's.

Two kinds of hula exist today, hula kahiko, or ancient hula, and hula ‘`auana, or modern hula. Hula is a combination of pictorial hand and arm gestures, and rhythmic lower body movements. However, there are many differences between ancient hula and the hula of today. Hula kahiko, danced primarily by men, was accompanied by multiple voices, chanting in unison, and percussive instruments such as the ipu, or gourd drum. The movement style is more vigorous than today's hula. Dancers were adorned with lei, made from many different materials, including seeds, shell, or bone, wore pa`u, which is a skirt made of tapa, and kupe`e, which are anklets made of dog teeth or whale bone. In the hula kahiko the vocal chants conveyed the old stories and recited lineages. This is one way that ancient Hawaiians passed on the history of their people to the next generations.

Hula ‘`auana is danced to music, mainly stringed instruments, and may or may not have a vocal accompaniment. The movements in hula ‘`auana are much more fluid, and a variety of costumes are worn. In hula, every movement and hand gesture has a specific meaning. In hula kahiko, the words of the chant are used to convey much of the meaning. In hula ‘`auana, more emphasis is on containing the meaning in the movements. All movements, even the movement of an ipu or other implement, are done carefully and with precision.

The hula is a form of communication, and to be able to dance the hula each dancer must know the meaning of the song they are dancing. Because there are multiple meanings in Hawaiian texts, there must be someone who has good knowledge of the ‘olelo Hawai`i to translate. In Albuquerque's hula community most people have at least some knowledge of the ‘olelo Hawai`i, and one person speaks fluently. Translations are also often available online.

Albuquerque's hula troupe makes all of its own costumes. A recent upswing in the popularity of Hawaiian style clothing has made material more readily available here. In New Mexico, Hawaiian dancers have been asked to dance at Native American functions. Exchanges have been organized between the two groups. Hawaiian dancers performed at the Gathering of Nations. A Hawaiian kumu hula (hula master) and her dancers and musicians were brought to New Mexico to perform at pueblos and at UNM. These were the only non-Indian dancers allowed to dance in the plazas of these pueblos. In 2000, the Board of Directors of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe voted to allow photos of Native Hawaiian Temple sites in the Museum in an exhibit entitled, “Pana O`ahu”. Dancers flown in from Hawaii performed `oli kahiko (ancient chants) and hula kahiko. The Albuquerque hula halau performed hula `auana and prepared authentic Hawaiian food for visitors to sample.

Hawaiian music is played in Albuquerque both as accompaniment to hula and on its own. One well-known local Hawaiian musician played for many years at the New Chinatown Restaurant Polynesian Lounge. There are Hawaiian drum makers and jewelry makers here in Albuquerque but, as of this writing, they are working primarily in Native American styles.

Stringed instruments were first introduced in their original form by European immigrants. One stringed instrument that came to Hawai`i with Portuguese immigrant laborers was the little four stringed braguinha, or cavaquinho, that came to be known as theukulele, or jumping flea, because of the fast movement of fingers on the frets. King David Kalakaua, the Merry Monarch, popularized the instrument when he and several members of his family learned to play it.

Hawai`i's guitar music is said to have originated with the paniolos, or cowboys, who came from Mexico and Spain and who worked for King Kamehameha III in the early 19th century. Guitars also came in with Portuguese immigrants, just as the ukulele had. The steel guitar, an offshoot from these earlier instruments, was invented in Hawai`i. One story maintains that a young Hawaiian schoolboy, Joseph Kekuku, walking along some railroad tracks, picked up a bolt and ran it along the strings of his Portuguese guitar. He developed the sound using, first, the back of a knife blade, and later a steel bar that he made himself. Further developments came with amplification in the 1930's, when the electric steel guitar, and then the solid-bodied lap steel guitar were developed. The lap steel guitar had no one standard tuning, and instruments were often made with more than one neck to accommodate multiple tunings.

Lei making is the Hawaiian art in which flowers or other materials, such as seeds, shells, or feathers, are strung together into single or multiple strands and worn around the neck, head, wrist, or ankle. The lei is associated with Hi'iaka, another of the goddess Pele's younger sisters. Hi'iaka is the goddess of mercy and protection. The lei symbolizes these qualities. In old Hawai`i the presence of lei meant villagers were gathering together for some collective effort. The lei symbolized sharing. Lei were also worn for special ceremonies and celebrations. Many kinds of lei were made, using different flowers as well as different stringing techniques, and each one had a specific meaning. Jasmine, or pikake, flowers are used for marriage. Pua kika lei are made of hundreds of tubular red-orange flowers, and strung in a spiral. Today flower lei are made to honor birthdays, graduations, and the birth of a child, as well as many other special occasions. May 1st, May Day, is Lei Day in Hawai`i. Lei making is another expression of Aloha.

In Albuquerque it is harder to get fresh flowers, and also much more expensive, so flower lei are made only for very special occasions and when there is enough supply. Lei are made with ribbons and other materials now, both here and in Hawai`i. On special occasions such as a graduation, or as a person is leaving for the mainland, the lei may be piled so high on the neck that they go all the way to the receiver’s eyes and more lei are draped on his/her arms. Special needles are needed for making many kinds of lei and many members of the Albuquerque community have them.

Another tradition of adornment that is being carried on in Albuquerque's Hawaiian community is that of Hawaiian heirloom jewelry. This usually takes the form of a gold, ornately etched bracelet. The bracelet also often has the person's Hawaiian name on it. These bracelets are given to children when they are as young as two years old. Hawaiians use these bracelets as a way to be able to identify each other here on the mainland.

Annual Events and Celebrations:
The Hawaiian community of Albuquerque holds an annual luau. The annual luau is, at the time of this writing, held at a local middle school. The principal of the school is Hawaiian. The luau begins with prayers in both Hawaiian and English. A buffet potluck meal is served. The meal brings together many Hawaiian foods including kalua pua'a, pork cooked in a slow oven, lomilomi salmon, SPAM musubi, and haupia, the traditional coconut dessert. Kimchee, from Hawai`i's Korean community, and a variety of other dishes, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian, are also served. Aloha greetings, Hawaiian clothing and lei, some floral, many ribbon, can be seen throughout the room.

The event is filled with food, and with music and hula. Both hula kahiko and hula ‘auana are danced by a group of men, women and children. The hula kahiko is accompanied by a chanter, with the dancers returning the kahea, or call, of the chanter, and by the ipu (gourd drum). The hula ‘auana is accompanied by a band of Hawaiian musicians and by recordings. The hula adornments include the traditional greenery of the maile and ferns worn as lei, kupe`e (wrist and anklets) and lei po`o (on the head), as well as plumeria, kukui nut, and seashells. The hula regalia includes colorful traditional pa`u (skirt), kikepa (sarong wrapped under one arm and draped over the opposite shoulder), and holomu (long dress). The dancers use the pu`ili (split bamboos), ipu (gourd drum), and `uli `uli (feather gourds) as percussion accompaniment to their dances.

After the formal program, the stage is opened to anyone who wishes to perform. This is called kanikapila. At this time new dances can be tried and aspiring dancers, both young and old, can try their hands at public performance. Hawaiian musicians can play music from other traditions, including rock and roll, and resident haoles (non-Hawaiians) who play Hawaiian music can play for a Hawaiian audience.

Conclusions:
The Hawaiian community of Albuquerque is young and vibrant. While it is still a small community, it has made itself known through its music and dance. Summerfest was mentioned by many members of the community as a way for smaller communities such as this one to share their culture with the wider community. More international presence at the State Fair is another way that was mentioned that the city could help its cultural communities thrive. The Hawaiian community is not interested at this time in any kind of formal organization, preferring instead to stay together as ‘ohana.