1.
11 out of 13 climate zones can be
found on the Big Island of Hawaii, the highest number per geographical size
found anywhere.
2.
Ancient Hawaiians enjoyed surfing on
water and land. One land track built into the mountainside rose and fell to
mimic the motion of the waves.
3.
Only two types of mammals are native
to Hawaii: the hoary bat and the monk seal.a
4.
The Hawaiian language uses only 12
letters and a symbol (‘).
5.
Historically, Hawaiians gave leis to
their local alii, or chief, as a sign of affection. Warring chiefs
who wanted to make peace sat down to weave leis together.a
6.
The hula was
originally a form of worship performed by highly trained men.
7.
Temples in Hawaii were raised
rectangular platforms. They were perfectly aligned to the sun’s position on
specific days of the year.
8.
Ancient Hawaiians believed that the
heavier a woman was, the more beautiful she was.
9.
The Place of Refuge on the big
island was a sanctuary where villagers could stay safe during wars, and where
they could find forgiveness from their sins.
10.
The islands were named Hawaii (homeland)
by King Kamehameha in 1819.
11.
In the 1960s, astronauts trained to
walk on the moon by navigating Mauna Loa’s hardened lava fields.
12.
Chiefs were thought to be related to
the gods. The closer they were, the more mana they had. Because mana was
inherited from both sides, knowing your birth parents was important to the
royals. That is why a man could have many wives, but a woman (even if she had
the most mana on the island) could only have one husband.
13.
Most of Hawaii’s vibrant, colorful
plants were imported from other places.
14.
Pele
was a rash god whose jealousy was said to have created two different island plants,
the white-flowered Naupaka plant and the red-flowered, Lehua plant.
15.
Kapu rules guided daily life. They
said what to do and when to do it. For example, you couldn’t hunt out of
season, or eat with a member of the opposite sex. The punishment for breaking one
of those laws was often death.
16.
The big island was divided into
districts that resembled wagon spokes so that each section could access things
from the sea and the mountains.
17.
While most people play flutes with
their mouths, ancient Hawaiians often played flutes (Ohe hano ihn)with
the nose. Perhaps the preference for a nose flute stems from the Hawaiian
belief that the nose was more innocent or pure than the mouth, which could say
many things.a
18.
Park rangers at Hawaii National Park
receive packages every year from tourists who have taken volcanic rocks from
Kilauea. The tourists claim that the rocks were bad luck from Pele, the goddess
of fire, lightening, dance, volcanoes, and violence.a
19.
Hawaii is the most isolated place on
earth, located 2,390 miles away from the nearest continent.
20.
Because their society was largely an
oral rather than a written culture, ancient Hawaiians would learn values and
history through trained storytellers. Because the stories were considered
sacred, listeners were not allowed to move once a story began.a
a RandomHistory.com, 50 Random Facts about...Hawaii.
Random History.com, http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/04/03_hawaii.html
April 3, 2009.
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