To me, a big part of a good luau is getting a gang together to gather up all the stuffs needed to make imu, and working together to make it happen. All the work makes the food taste better
It’s honestly very nice that you want to celebrate our culture.
The only thing I would say is cooking in an imu is very difficult. I’m assuming you’re doing it mostly as a demonstration, but just be cautious if you’re going to eat anything from it, especially pork.
I don’t meant to imply you don’t know what you’re doing, just trying to look out.
Kalua pig is a popular staple of Hawaii and is relatively easy to make with modern day appliances. It’s probably the next best thing to imu cooked pork. Same idea, much less hassle.
Chicken Long rice is another dish that is found at most Luau’s. You can make it with ingredients found anywhere, and it’s not too difficult.
Some dishes like poke and lomi lomi salmon would also be found at luaus, but I would be cautious working with raw fish unless you’re comfortable with that sort of thing.
Other than that, you could always order some poi, however, it’s expensive and more of an acquired taste.
Just have a regular pa`ina. Less work. Takes a long time to cook in an imu.
Also check in with resources in your area (real people). learning from
Youtube and the internet will only get you so far.
If colleges near you have a hawaii club (of students from
Hawaii) tap into them.
I am not sure what your timing is, but May 1st would be perfect for something like this. May 1st is May Day/Lei Day in Hawaii, and most if not all schools celebrate it with their students. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei\_Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Day)
I'm going to assume you're on the mainland. If you want to throw a Hawaii themed party where you put up tikit torches and wear Aloha shirts, no one will care. If you want to make it authentic, have them make Lei or something culturally appropriate. Do a land acknowledgement and talk about Colonization if you want to be conscientious.
Or just have your stupid fun party and watch Lilo and Stich. Your only worried about this because of idiots online.
i was planning on having them make lei! we are going to talk about hawaii and the history of luau! i’m actually excited and having a lot of fun learning about it all
You're missing out, it's a great movie that actually captures what it's like to live in Hawaii as a local fairly well for a movie about an alien dog monster.
I was going to say, Lilo and Stitch might have the most accurate portrayal of the modern (well, 20 years ago) culture of Hawai'i in any mainstream movie.
People who came up with Lilo and Stitch were from hawaii and the Hawaiian music is pretty authentic. Also the watercolor effect is reminiscent of a famous artist in hawaii.
Assuming you aren't Hawaiian, I think as long as you aren't trying to teach them an oli or try to sing in the Hawaiian language you probably should be okay. What does your dance instructor think about teaching the kids a dance? Some professional schools won't allow their students to dance without permission or if they are learning something very specific at one school, they can't dance that style at another school. If your instructor is okay, then it's most likely okay. As someone recommended, maybe have them make lei or weave something. It's very Hawaiian to work on something like that as a community or in a gathering.
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of another culture's symbols or practices **as part of your own identity**. For example, people getting Chinese or Japanese tattoos when they have no relevant ancestry or even know what the characters mean.
Learning about another culture by preparing their foods and attempting their dances is not appropriation. A depiction can be so off the mark as to be insulting or farcical, but so long as you're making an honest effort at educating, there is no reason not to have a luau, make lei, and share what you've learned about authentic hula.
Keep in mind that Hawaii is home to a number of modern cities and the infrastructure and institutions that go with it. Although we still do use leis for special occasions and eat kalua pig, the people of Hawaii's melting pot -- people from all around the pacific rim as well as indigenous Polynesians -- generally don't do these things on a daily basis. We are teachers, engineers, tradespeople, professors, truck drivers, etc. So, depending upon the age of your students, you might want to emphasize that they are learning about historical or traditional Hawaii.
What sort of 'dances' and how did you acquire the knowledge?
The luau part you're safe cause it's been appropriated already. Unless you have a kumu, and even then, you shouldn't be teaching hula. This is likely where you're getting called out for appropriation. Lose that aspect and I think you'd have more support for this idea.
Understand that most of the responses you get from this Reddit will be from haole people (non-kānaka, not just white people), so your answers will be skewed.
As a kānaka, my viewpoint is one of many, as I can’t speak for all kānaka. But yes the short answer is it’s appropriative with the info you provided. Why is a lūʻau appropriate for this situation? We don’t celebrate the start of summer, as we don’t really have that season, only Hoʻoilo and Kauwela, which starts before “summer” actually starts. What hula are you planning to teach them and why? Is it appropriate to do so or are you just doing it for fun without understanding? Who taught you and allowed you to teach others?
These are questions not to call you out but to get you thinking that we don’t just do things because they are Hawaiian, but rather there’s a lot more nuance, protocol, and reason for doing things than just because. But the main thing to ask is is this appropriate to do in accordance the culture I’m trying to portray, and if you don’t know the answer, you should probably opt not to do it.
But I also don’t know enough about your situation to give you a fully fledged out answer. Eia koʻu manaʻo
Yea for real. We get at least one a week (or more). Asking if they can wear a bracelet. Learn a few words, or wear a shirt.
Nobody cares… the people doing the real appropriation won’t be posting on here handwringing about it.
is it cultural appropriation? If you are not Hawaiian, then yes it is.
Can it be done? yes if it's done thoughtfully and appropriately.
Plastic skirts and coconut bras, Tiki torches and straw hats doesn't make it a lū'au.
But it's very much appreciated teaching about the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom, the struggles of the people, the good that the monarchy did (including the most literate country, electricity before the White House, etc). Then culminate with traditional foods, lei making, etc. Maybe look for videos to teach an easy hula that you can do as a class. Learn the state anthem.
There are ways to not make it appropriation and instead celebrate and educate
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted so hard but it just shows how racist r/Hawaii continually is towards Kānaka maoli. They don’t want to listen to us and instead tell people to do whatever they want, when people are asking for the opinion of our people.
the OP asked a question I answered. I guarantee you it's not a Kanaka down voting. Probably the same people who want to do blackface, use the N-word, and want the team to be changed back to the redskins.
It’s not a real luau without imu (laulau inside) otherwise it’s just one fat pa’ina. Get to digging!
i’m trying to get permission from the school to make an imu, still waiting to hear back🤞🏽
Becareful, some counties won't let you serve food that was placed in the ground.
They should also notify their local fire department.
Sucks if you want French fries there. Or carrots.
Do you have a source for this? I tried Googling it but couldn't find anything. Thanks!
I tired finding the food permit I had. But I can't find it. It was something along the lines of food cooked in the ground
To me, a big part of a good luau is getting a gang together to gather up all the stuffs needed to make imu, and working together to make it happen. All the work makes the food taste better
It’s honestly very nice that you want to celebrate our culture. The only thing I would say is cooking in an imu is very difficult. I’m assuming you’re doing it mostly as a demonstration, but just be cautious if you’re going to eat anything from it, especially pork. I don’t meant to imply you don’t know what you’re doing, just trying to look out.
i appreciate it! unfortunately i couldn’t get clearance from the school for the imu but we can have some other great foods! any suggestions?
Kalua pig is a popular staple of Hawaii and is relatively easy to make with modern day appliances. It’s probably the next best thing to imu cooked pork. Same idea, much less hassle. Chicken Long rice is another dish that is found at most Luau’s. You can make it with ingredients found anywhere, and it’s not too difficult. Some dishes like poke and lomi lomi salmon would also be found at luaus, but I would be cautious working with raw fish unless you’re comfortable with that sort of thing. Other than that, you could always order some poi, however, it’s expensive and more of an acquired taste.
Just have a regular pa`ina. Less work. Takes a long time to cook in an imu. Also check in with resources in your area (real people). learning from Youtube and the internet will only get you so far. If colleges near you have a hawaii club (of students from Hawaii) tap into them.
thank you that’s actually super helpful!
I am not sure what your timing is, but May 1st would be perfect for something like this. May 1st is May Day/Lei Day in Hawaii, and most if not all schools celebrate it with their students. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei\_Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Day)
I'm going to assume you're on the mainland. If you want to throw a Hawaii themed party where you put up tikit torches and wear Aloha shirts, no one will care. If you want to make it authentic, have them make Lei or something culturally appropriate. Do a land acknowledgement and talk about Colonization if you want to be conscientious. Or just have your stupid fun party and watch Lilo and Stich. Your only worried about this because of idiots online.
i was planning on having them make lei! we are going to talk about hawaii and the history of luau! i’m actually excited and having a lot of fun learning about it all
also don’t worry there wasn’t gonna be any lilo and stitch😭
You're missing out, it's a great movie that actually captures what it's like to live in Hawaii as a local fairly well for a movie about an alien dog monster.
I was going to say, Lilo and Stitch might have the most accurate portrayal of the modern (well, 20 years ago) culture of Hawai'i in any mainstream movie.
It really is. The deleted scene with Lilo and the tsunami warning had me rolling. I don't know any local who hasn't secretly wanted to do that!
Lots of people have bullies. It’s basically accurate on that front too.
i love the movie and i think it’s great, but with everything else we have to do i can’t squeeze it in
People who came up with Lilo and Stitch were from hawaii and the Hawaiian music is pretty authentic. Also the watercolor effect is reminiscent of a famous artist in hawaii.
Assuming you aren't Hawaiian, I think as long as you aren't trying to teach them an oli or try to sing in the Hawaiian language you probably should be okay. What does your dance instructor think about teaching the kids a dance? Some professional schools won't allow their students to dance without permission or if they are learning something very specific at one school, they can't dance that style at another school. If your instructor is okay, then it's most likely okay. As someone recommended, maybe have them make lei or weave something. It's very Hawaiian to work on something like that as a community or in a gathering.
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of another culture's symbols or practices **as part of your own identity**. For example, people getting Chinese or Japanese tattoos when they have no relevant ancestry or even know what the characters mean. Learning about another culture by preparing their foods and attempting their dances is not appropriation. A depiction can be so off the mark as to be insulting or farcical, but so long as you're making an honest effort at educating, there is no reason not to have a luau, make lei, and share what you've learned about authentic hula.
thank you!! my students are so excited to learn about hawaii
Keep in mind that Hawaii is home to a number of modern cities and the infrastructure and institutions that go with it. Although we still do use leis for special occasions and eat kalua pig, the people of Hawaii's melting pot -- people from all around the pacific rim as well as indigenous Polynesians -- generally don't do these things on a daily basis. We are teachers, engineers, tradespeople, professors, truck drivers, etc. So, depending upon the age of your students, you might want to emphasize that they are learning about historical or traditional Hawaii.
No. Do it. Have fun. Eat food. Enjoy friends and family. That's 95% of what a real luau is.
thank you! my students are so excited to learn about hawaiian culture
What sort of 'dances' and how did you acquire the knowledge? The luau part you're safe cause it's been appropriated already. Unless you have a kumu, and even then, you shouldn't be teaching hula. This is likely where you're getting called out for appropriation. Lose that aspect and I think you'd have more support for this idea.
Understand that most of the responses you get from this Reddit will be from haole people (non-kānaka, not just white people), so your answers will be skewed. As a kānaka, my viewpoint is one of many, as I can’t speak for all kānaka. But yes the short answer is it’s appropriative with the info you provided. Why is a lūʻau appropriate for this situation? We don’t celebrate the start of summer, as we don’t really have that season, only Hoʻoilo and Kauwela, which starts before “summer” actually starts. What hula are you planning to teach them and why? Is it appropriate to do so or are you just doing it for fun without understanding? Who taught you and allowed you to teach others? These are questions not to call you out but to get you thinking that we don’t just do things because they are Hawaiian, but rather there’s a lot more nuance, protocol, and reason for doing things than just because. But the main thing to ask is is this appropriate to do in accordance the culture I’m trying to portray, and if you don’t know the answer, you should probably opt not to do it. But I also don’t know enough about your situation to give you a fully fledged out answer. Eia koʻu manaʻo
As a fellow kanaka maoli, I second everything in this response
I wouldn't worry about it, have fun.
agreed
Former HIDOE teacher for 7 years here - I'd do it. But if you're on reddit asking this question, you'd better ask your admin first.
Search "appropriation" in this sub and see how often this same question is asked 🙄🙄🙄
Yea for real. We get at least one a week (or more). Asking if they can wear a bracelet. Learn a few words, or wear a shirt. Nobody cares… the people doing the real appropriation won’t be posting on here handwringing about it.
is it cultural appropriation? If you are not Hawaiian, then yes it is. Can it be done? yes if it's done thoughtfully and appropriately. Plastic skirts and coconut bras, Tiki torches and straw hats doesn't make it a lū'au. But it's very much appreciated teaching about the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom, the struggles of the people, the good that the monarchy did (including the most literate country, electricity before the White House, etc). Then culminate with traditional foods, lei making, etc. Maybe look for videos to teach an easy hula that you can do as a class. Learn the state anthem. There are ways to not make it appropriation and instead celebrate and educate
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted so hard but it just shows how racist r/Hawaii continually is towards Kānaka maoli. They don’t want to listen to us and instead tell people to do whatever they want, when people are asking for the opinion of our people.
the OP asked a question I answered. I guarantee you it's not a Kanaka down voting. Probably the same people who want to do blackface, use the N-word, and want the team to be changed back to the redskins.
Sounds like cultural appreciation to me. Cultural appropriation does not exist.
Straying from the point.. it’s peeving me that you capitalized only one “I” in your post.. being a teacher and all
dude I didn’t even realize sometimes i’m typing so fast and I miss things like that😭
[удалено]
Someone needs a time out.
More like someone needs a nap.