2,000 miles away from home, the culture and history of Hawaii stands strong here at UO. The UO Hawaii Club celebrated its 50th annual Lū’ua and Hō’ike on May 3. It was their biggest show yet, with 817 tickets sold.

This year’s theme was I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope, which means the “future is in the past,” or in other words, “to honor and emphasize the importance of learning from our history and ancestors and the experiences and knowledge they passed down from generations,” Naliko Cabanilla, one of the Lū’ua coordinators, said.

The event featured a number of dances from all kinds of Pacific Islander cultures, such as dances from Sāmoa, Tahiti and Hawaii — just in time to honor Pacific Islander heritage month. Attendees enjoyed a 3-hour-long show with dances, a silent auction, live music from a Tahitian band and traditional Hawaiian food from EDKH.

The show started with a traditional Hawaiian dance called Wahine Kahiko and concluded with the club’s tradition of its senior Auana dance.

Dance is an important aspect of Hawaiian culture as it tells stories through its music, dance, costumes and most importantly, brings communities together. In Hawaiian, a Lū’ua is a large feast with live music and dance.

“One of the dances I was a part of talked about a significant place,” Penina Vaimaona, a member of the club and a dancer at the Lū’ua, said. “That’s something you hear a lot with hula. Every single song talks about a different story; it’s a great form of passing on culture.” Hula is one of the most common Hawaiian dances that involves an undulating movement of the hips and synchronized hand gestures.

Hawaii is a popular destination spot with almost a quarter million of visitors from the U.S. just in this past March. Isolated in a tropical paradise of its own, its culture and history are what make it so unique.

“A lot of us are raised from a smaller group of islands. So coming to the mainland and coming to somewhere where it’s a total culture shock – it’s hard to make that transition,” Vaimaona said. The Hawaii club serves as a declaration of preserving Hawaiian culture here on the ‘mainland.’
But you don’t just have to be Hawaiian to join. In fact, non-Hawaiian students are encouraged to join to “give them the opportunity to understand what it’s like to be from Hawaii and give them the opportunity to understand what it’s like for us,” Vaimaona said.

“Being so far from home, it’s nice to connect with people from the same place as you and who share the same culture and experiences,” Cabanilla said.

Next year, the club hopes to expand its annual Lū’ua with more dances, more seats and more tickets sold. “In Hawaii, our community is very tight, so being able to keep those practices up and to be with people who understand what it’s like to be from Hawaii is really helpful,” Vaimaona said.