Hawaiian Native Life (1940)

far to the south and west of the United States at the crossroads of the Pacific lie of the Hawaiian Islands the group consists of eight fairly large and numerous smaller islands the entire group having been built up from the sea bottom by geologically recent volcanic activity from huge craters such as that of Mauna LOA's shown here streams of lava flow out from time to time thus some of the islands are still in process of formation many portions have no soil but are wastes of broken lava on the other hand there are thousands of acres of land which today are planted in sugar cane as we see here but the white man's modern agricultural machines manned by laborers of many different nationalities in Hawaii the white man's mass production methods including vast irrigation projects have resulted in crops of pineapple and sugarcane more valuable per acre than in any comparable area throughout the world due largely to climate and scientific production techniques a wide variety of nationalities is represented in the workers immigrants from many lands to oversee who plant and harvest the Hawaiian crops more than half a dozen types of immigrants sweat in the cane breaks under the subtropical sun cutting seed cane others burn off the fields before harvesting still others operate modern machines whose huge claws do the work of hundreds of human hand Japanese Chinese and other Orientals have become a part of the new industries on the volcanic slopes of these sunny Pacific Islands the white man has built railroads to gratify his desire for mass production on vast pineapple plantation than in broad Canebrake he has devised long shoots down which streams of water carry came from a planned field two cars that move it to the crushing mills of the vast sugar plants the Native Hawaiian has been little affected by the white men's long trains that carry hundreds of tons of sugarcane to the refineries every day or by the fact that some of the largest sugar operations in the world are carried on in great modern plants filled with strange squeals and belts and other complex objects of a machine age let the huge claws tear the cane stalks out from railroad cars to give to the factory machines to make sugar and the strange thing called money for the white man let the white man cities grow up around convenient Bay's cities like Honolulu where vast commercial houses have sprung up where ships come in from the wide seas to rest and to take on new cargoes from the white lands plantations along other quiet palm fringed shores of the islands the Native Hawaiians live much as their ancestors have lived for centuries under the smilin sky goes to the broad see that furnishes them much of their food much of their pleasure this morning Lani Kailua plays idly among the rolling breakers after a vigorous swim in the surf and now breakfast calls he pauses for a moment for a drink at the rain barrel the only source of fresh water for the household mother Kailua raps in broad leaves the last of the store of fish in the lean-to that suffice as well for a kitchen she tells Lani that he must catch more fish with his surf net fish is a main article of Hawaiian diet Lonnie's uncle is grating the fresh meat of coconuts which abound along the palm fringe sores although like most other plants coconut trees are not native to the islands which are too young to have developed many of their own peculiar trees Lonnie's younger brother Paulie too is on his way to breakfast back with a load of firewood he has gathered in a grove of koa trees eagerly Paulie gives up the rain to Sister Moana to join his older brother skillfully Lani casts a net upon an incoming surge of water in which maybe more another very colored fish as the net settles deeper they beat the water to drive the fish into the trap nets for fishing have been used from time immemorial and the Hawaiian fisherman cling to this method in the lava bordered Pacific surf meanwhile sister Moana is putting the shredded coconut meat into a cloth the rich oily juice is squeezed out to make a kind of salad dressing to enrich the flavor of vegetable dishes now Lonnie's and paulie's contribution to the breakfast brightly marked Mohini entangled in they're certain that these will be ready but the time the fish now prepared have been eaten reflecting the influence of Christian missionaries mother Kailua says a silent race on this morning Kamiya Lonnie's father is forgoing breakfast he is the head canoe builder of hona on and he is directing workmen who put finishing touches to a sport canoe ordered by white men from a nearby plantation they have come to inspect and to try out the craft every detail has been hand wrought with traditional care and skill riding the donkey to school is fun for Pauly and for mana as Lani leads the way out through the palm and koa trees at the schoolchildren of Oriental Occidental and native ancestry pledge allegiance to the flag a game of football underway on the boys playground is a further reflection of America's impact on modern Hawaiian life this oriental lad is picking up points of the game in play as well as in agriculture Hawaii this becomes a melting pot of nationalities shy girls of the oriental world mingle in playground games such as basketball with daughters of Native Hawaiians and show that all find a meeting round of interest in the games at school back in the village a year's careful work become Maya and his helpers is now to be crowned with the launching of the sport canoe it is taken to the water's edge where it is blessed by a Kahuna a priest of the old Hawaii in a brief ceremony then on into the quiet sea for a trial spin the men who have had it built will use it in an Hawaiian sport that has been adopted by the white men of the islands steadied by a stalwart outrigger under the impetus of flashing blades of broad paddles stroked with enthusiasm by buyers and builders it begins its maiden voyage completion of the canoe is the occasion for a feast here men of the village are pounding pie from taro root nearby village women carefully wrapped fish in long stemmed leaves of tropical plants fish and POI almost ever present dishes at meals of Native Hawaiians for the feast however roasts young pig will be the important dish pigs and other domestic animals like most Hawaiian fruits have been brought in from other lands lays a plumeria flowers meanwhile are being prepared to adorn the feast use a canoe launching is a rare event in a land where occurrences of even slight importance call for celebration the roast pig done to a turn on the hot rocks reappears from its swaddling of green leaves it is carried in triumph to the banquet scene set among coconut palms the ground covered with leaves of banana on all sides now the banqueters begin eating the yams the baked bananas breadfruit and drinking the sweet coconut milk fragrant spices are sprinkled over the roast pig whites and Polynesians alike join happily together in the simple carefree manner of the Islanders in eating hands and fingers play prominent parts the native way of eating poi is quickly learned a spirit of contentment pervades the banquet scene now a caressed by the sinking Sun and the dying sea breeze under the palms of Hawaii's Kona Coast and at last Aloha [Music] you [Music]