Lūʻau

A lūʻau (Hawaiian: lūʻau, also anglicized as "luau") is a traditional Hawaiian party or feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment. It often features Native Hawaiian cuisine with foods such as poi, kālua puaʻa (kālua pig), poke, lomi salmon, lomi oio, ʻopihi, and haupia, and is often accompanied with beer and entertainment such as traditional Hawaiian music, kanikapila, and hula.

Among people from Hawaiʻi, the concepts of "lūʻau" and "party" are often blended, resulting in graduation lūʻau, wedding lūʻau, baby lūʻau, and birthday lūʻau.

History

In ancient Hawaiʻi, men and women ate meals separately because of special rules called kapu. These rules governed many parts of daily life for Native Hawaiians. But in 1819, King Kamehameha II changed things by eating with women, ending the kapu. This began a new time called ʻAi Noa, where everyone could eat together freely. This is when parties called lūʻau started, which were either small dinners named pāʻina or bigger feasts called ʻahaʻaina.

The word "lūʻau" was used as early as 1856. It described a celebration for the wedding of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, where a special feast was prepared for the people.

Food

The modern name for a lūʻau comes from a special stew called lūʻau stew. This stew uses young taro leaves and is often made with octopus or chicken, along with coconut milk. But the star of many lūʻau meals is kālua puaʻa, a whole pig cooked slowly in an imu, which is an earth oven. Another popular dish is poi, made from the roots of taro.

Traditionally, these foods were eaten by hand, often sitting on mats decorated with large centerpieces made of tī leaves (Cordyline fruticosa). Some common foods you might find at a lūʻau include:

• Chicken long rice
• Haupia
• ʻUala
• Hawaiian rolls
• Kālua puaʻa (Hawaiian roast pig)
• Kōʻelepālau
• Kūlolo
• Laulau
• Lūʻau stew
• Lomi ʻōʻio
• Lomi salmon
• Pepeieʻe
• Piele
• Poi
• Poke
• Tropical fruits

Lūʻau-themed parties

Lūʻau-themed parties can be very different depending on how much they follow Hawaiian traditions. Some parties might use special food from the islands, while others might just have artificial lei, Mai Tais, and a fun pool area.

To have a lūʻau-themed party, you need an open space like a backyard, since lūʻau are usually held outdoors under large tents. A lei is a common part of these parties. A lei is a necklace made from flowers, ferns, ti leaves, or kukui nuts, which are polished candlenut shells. Guests can often make their own lei to wear. Live music and entertainment, like kanikapila style with ukulele and guitar, are also popular. Sometimes there are even hula dancers.

Some people say Donn Beach helped make lūʻau popular in the United States. A Life article from 1946 showed one of his famous lūʻau in Encino, California. In a 1986 interview, Beach talked about how he helped change small home lūʻau into bigger public events with singers like Alfred Apaka.