Hawaiian Wedding Celebration

How did the ancient Hawaiians celebrate the marriage of a high-born maiden? By celebrating non-stop for four days and nights.

In the celebration, guests indulged in pork, cooked puppies, poi, awa (kava), and sugar cane. The drum man would beat on his two drums made of hollowed sections of coconut trees, and would shout “Hoao na lii e!” (The chiefs are married!). Guests played sports–surfing, racing, arrow shooting, dancing, swimming, discus throwing, and wrestling.

Read more about the traditional native Hawaiian wedding in “Before the White Man Came.”