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Luau: Myth vs. Reality

When you think of a luau, you think of a beach party.  You think of a pig roasting on a spit over an open fire and served steaming hot with an apple in its mouth. You think of traditional Hawaiian dances, of well-toned men and women in leis and grass skirts shaking, shimming, and stomping their feet.  You think of soft sands and cool breezes passing over the ocean and through the leaves.  In short, you think of a postcard image of Hawaii.

But the luau is a much more complicated, much more labor-intensive event with a rich history.  Here, we debunk four myths about this ancient feast and celebration.

1)   MYTH: A luau involves roasting a pig on a spit over an open fire.

REALITY: A traditional Hawaiian luau involves cooking a pig overnight in an earth oven called an imu.

2)   MYTH: Luaus only happen at hotel-resorts.

REALITY: Private luaus are so common in Hawaii that fire departments maintain a hotline for people to call before they hold a luau. Why? So they can warn the department that the smoke billowing from their home isn’t a fire but a pig cooking in an imu.

3)   MYTH: Luaus are easy.

REALITY: Luaus are anything but easy. They involve a lot of work, from digging the imu to wrapping the pig (usually in burlap and banana and ti leaves) to roasting the pig overnight.

4)   MYTH: Luaus were invented to entertain tourists.

REALITY: Luaus have a rich history and are deep in symbolic meaning. Here, from the Polynesian Cultural Center website, is a brief summary of the luau:

Before contact with the western world, Hawaiians called their important feasts an ‘aha’aina (‘aha – gathering and ‘aina – meal). These feasts marked special occasions — such as reaching a significant life milestone, victory at war, the launching of a new canoe or a great endeavor. They believed in celebrating these occasions with their friends and families.

While the luau has evolved over the centuries, one thing remains the same: it is a joyous occasion meant to bring people together over a good meal.