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GUke
Lokahi
188 Posts |
 Posted - 02/24/2007 : 10:10:54 PM
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Okay, so Saturday night I'm supporting a local SF Bay Area halau (sp?) and sitting with two O'ahu wahines I am informed of the proper protocol when using that shaka hand sign. Just curious if anyone in the patch knows the correct way. I won't say now 'cause I want to see if others are in agreement with what I was told.
Genaro
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Genaro
Should I? Itʻs only $, and where Iʻm going itʻll burn or melt. |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 05:56:43 AM
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Genaro, I have seen shaka used in various ways and been told about why it was used that way. There is no single true way.
...Reid |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 06:48:22 AM
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My observation:
When throwing the shaka, I think just 1-2 wiggles (small kine!) is about right.
Jesse Tinsley |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 07:57:39 AM
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Funny, but embarrassing thing:
Sarah and I were driving to Hana a long time ago and slowly (about 20mph) passed a fruit stand. The guy gave the Shaka, and I wanted to reply in a friendly way, but we were moving past him. So, I quickly tried to form it, but my Italian training (the New Haven area is about 60% Italian) automatically took over and I use one wrong finger - the index, forming the corni, the "horns". I hope the fellow didn't notice - at least he smiled at us as we moved on. I do it correctly now :-)
...Reid |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 1:57:25 PM
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quote:
So, I quickly tried to form it, but my Italian training (the New Haven area is about 60% Italian) automatically took over and I use one wrong finger - the index, forming the corni, the "horns".
Too funny.
I've been guilty of accidentally throwing the ASL sign for "I love you" -- that's where you add the shaka and the "hook 'em horns" together: thumb, index and pinky all extended.
At least the sentiment is right on.
Mark |
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Julie H
Ha`aha`a
USA
1206 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 6:31:15 PM
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Gotta watch it with those finger signs, gentlemen.....
Julie |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2007 : 8:32:46 PM
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| ...and have the fingers curl in towards yourself, NOT like the ones you sometimes see on the end of the TV newscast on the NBC station in Honolulu. Knuckles out, pinky down, one shake (says the Alpha Female From Kane`ohe) - she calls that the Bla-lah Shaka! |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2007 : 07:12:47 AM
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Also, right around belly button level is most desirable.
Jesse |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2007 : 08:53:04 AM
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Here's how  |
Dusty |
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Pua Kai
Ha`aha`a
USA
1007 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2007 : 09:47:08 AM
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Nice picture Dusty.
But make sure the receiver knows what you mean. Most here by the beach use it regularly, but one day I said thanks that way to some folks who'd let me into traffic and by the shocked look on her face, it was clear the woman thought I'd given them a gang sign, much more common inland a few miles than here..... |
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Auntie Maria
Ha`aha`a
USA
1918 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2007 : 12:45:28 PM
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Both of the "here's how it started" stories, indicate that the shaka originated palm-forward. One version is that it was the wave of a passing train engineer, whose two middle fingers were gone as a result of an accident.
Through the years, it somehow has become ok to do just about any version you want (witness how Led is doing it in the photo), but doing it below the waist does -- in some areas of some of our islands -- pass along an expletive.
Just a word to the wise... |
Auntie Maria
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2007 : 1:18:16 PM
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This article came from the Honolulu Star Bulletin some time back.
Wherever it came from,
shaka sign part of Hawaii
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Question: Some visitors from the mainland recently asked me where and when the "shaka" sign originated and what it meant. I couldn't answer that question. However, a friend asked an elderly Hawaiian couple and they immediately replied that during World War II there was a Hawaiian man who lived in Punaluu who was missing the three middle fingers on one hand. As he greeted people he would wave at them, but of course only the thumb and little finger could be seen. This couple also said that "shaka" was a Hawaiian word meaning be happy or have a good time. But "sh" is not part of the Hawaiian language so far as I know. My daughter asked a Hawaiian friend, who said the sign had to do with a guy who lived in the country in the 60s and 70s. Because of an industrial accident, he lost his three middle fingers and when he waved at his friends as he walked on the side of the road, you could only see the thumb and small finger. Everyone in the countryside knew him and when former Mayor Frank Fasi was campaigning back then, he assumed that guy's wave and it soon caught on. Could you or any of your readers positively confirm this and if so, does anyone know the gentleman's name? It seems he should have an award or monument of some type, recognizing his distinct contribution to our Hawaiian culture.
Answer: It's probably easier to pinpoint the origins of the gesture than the term, with the latter apparently coming along much later. But "shaka" most definitely is not a Hawaiian word.
We discovered different and fascinating accounts of how the "shaka" sign -- denoting everything from "right on" and "thank you" to "howzit" and "hang loose" -- originated, mainly variations of someone losing the three fingers of one hand in an accident, including trying to catch fish by throwing a stick of dynamite into the ocean. A few also swear it originated with California surfers.
What's not in dispute is that former used car pitchman and TV personality David "Lippy" Espinda popularized the words and gesture, signing off his commercials with "shaka, brah!" Espinda, who died in 1975, reportedly once explained that his signature sign-off dated back to his marble-playing boyhood.
Meanwhile, Frank Fasi further ingrained the gesture into local culture, using it to symbolize his political campaigns beginning in 1976.
But as to its origins, the prevailing local lore is that it originated with Hamana Kalili of Laie, who lost the middle three fingers on his right hand during an accident at the old Kahuku Sugar Mill.
Kalili's grandnephew Vonn Logan, who works for Brigham Young University-Hawaii's Department of Continuing Education, explained that Kalili's job was to feed sugar cane into the rollers, which would squeeze out the juice. He lost his fingers when his hand got caught in the rollers, Logan said. Because he could no longer work in the mill, he became a security guard on the sugar train that used to travel between Sunset Beach and Kaaawa.
"One of his jobs was to keep all the kids off the train," Logan said. "All the kids would try to jump the train to ride from town to town. So they started signaling each other. Since (Kalili) lost his fingers, the perfect signal was what we have now as the 'shaka sign.' That's how you signaled the way was clear."
Logan can't remember when Kalili died, but said it was "a long time ago." He also said Kalili's accident occurred probably in the early 1940s, although "I'm not even real sure about that."
What he does know is that "Tutu Hamana was a community leader and also the choir director at the Mormon Church in Laie. That was another place that people saw (the gesture) -- he directed the choir that way and was famous for that."
Kalili was also the "mo'i (king) of the festivities" at the famed hukilau that was held annually in Laie as a fund-raiser for the Mormon Church, Logan recalled. The hukilau ended in the 1970s, but in its heyday, he said, it was a big community event, "like a May Day show," with the gathering of fish, a big luau and show. Photos of Kalili from back then had him waving and "when he waved, the wave was of his shaka," Logan said.
But when asked if the term "shaka" was associated with his grand-uncle as well, Logan said he doubted that. "We don't have any of that in our family history," he said.
"The sign came from here, but I'm not sure when the word 'shaka' became attached to it. As far as I can see, Lippy Espinda was the one who popularized it with his TV show," he said.
However, in a 1999 Star-Bulletin interview, Fasi credited the late Bill Pacheco with using the sign and saying "shaka brother."
"I think he meant shake it up, buddy. How's it going? Aloha. Have a good day. All those good meanings. It just meant a world of goodness," Fasi said.
If any reader has a different version of the origins of "shaka," write or e-mail us and we'll have a follow-up.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 02/28/2007 : 05:20:25 AM
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The shaka sign with the palm forward is the sign of Aachen, Germany, so I've been told. Hawaiian style is palm toward body.
It's great long distance communcation at concerts and events. |
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GUke
Lokahi
188 Posts |
Posted - 03/01/2007 : 3:57:28 PM
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So what I was told by the two wahaines -- my sister-in-law and confirmed by her girlfriend (college professor at Cal East Bay) -- was the shaka sign was originally given right hand, palm-forward and something guys did.
I myself have been amidextrous with it, and usually per Retro "Blah-lah Shake.
Thanks to all for their info.
Genaro |
Genaro
Should I? Itʻs only $, and where Iʻm going itʻll burn or melt. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2007 : 3:33:48 PM
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Found this interesting tidbit today at:
http://www.honolulumagazine.com/articles.aspx?id=3308&q=&m=1&y=2006&bid=1
I guess some O7 officer doesn't have anything better to do than make some stupid rule instead of working on some strategic plans as he is paid to do. Rule by intimidation. No place for aloha in the army.
ALOHA UNDER FIRE
Use of the shaka by Hawai'i National Guard soldiers in Iraq was restricted in August after a general took offense when he received one at a guarded checkpoint at Camp Victory. A total ban on the friendly hand signal was later relaxed to allow soldiers to shaka each other, as long as they weren't on duty, and as long as the shaka wasn't directed at a senior officer.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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