Today's weddings use many traditions from ancient Hawaiian weddings.
Many of the elements of modern Hawaiian weddings still include customs and symbols from Hawaii’s ancient past such as flower leis, hula dancing, food and ceremonial rituals. Like many other cultures, the Hawaiian wedding ceremony includes traditions that signify respect for the bride and groom, their families and the history of the Hawaiian people.
Flower Lei
In Hawaiian culture, the lei is a traditional arrangement of flowers typically worn around the neck or head and given to someone in celebration of a special occasion or to symbolize their affection. In a traditional Hawaiian wedding ceremony, the groom wears a lei that typically consists of maile leaves interwoven with pikake (white jasmine) or tuberose flowers, while the bride wears a three-strand white pikake lei, a tuberose lei or white ginger lei. Both leis can use other flowers, including orchids, plumeria, rosebuds and ti leaves.
Ceremonial Symbols
The opening of the wedding event begins with the blowing of the pu (conch shell) to the east, north, west and south, which signifies a call to the divine presence. The bride and groom exchange leis at the beginning of the ceremony to signify their love and commitment. A kahuna pule (religious man) officiates the wedding nuptials and uses a maile leaf to bind the hands of the bride and groom to symbolize the sacred union.
Length of Ceremony
In ancient times, only the chiefly Hawaiian class followed the Hawaiian wedding ritual of the Ho’ao. Ho’ao means to "stay until daylight." The ceremony would take place on the Huna (eleventh night of the month). After the wedding nuptials took place, the festivities began and continued until the next day.
Hula
The Hawaiian hula is an ancient and sacred form of dance that takes place during various types of rituals and ceremonies, as well as to express feelings or to convey a story. In traditional Hawaiian wedding ceremonies, the chosen type of hula would tell a meaningful story of the couple through song and dance. By contrast, many modern Hawaiian weddings include hula dancing as a form of entertainment.
Food
After the wedding ceremony, a luau (Hawaiian feast) takes place. The luau typically includes a banquet of traditional Hawaiian foods such as kalua pig (a whole pig slow roasted in an underground oven), poi (a taro root paste), kulolo (a coconut and taro pudding), lau lau (salted pork, beef or fish wrapped in ti leaves), poke (seasoned raw fish mixed with seaweed), tropical fruit and other meat, poultry or seafood dishes.
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