ABSTRACT
Both the original image of the surfer, and the founding story of the surf subculture, come from Hawaii, where surfi ng is thought to have originated.2 Just about every book and documentary on surfi ng begins with the story of a leisurely, surf-centered ancient Hawaiian culture.3 According to this surfer translation of Hawaiian legend4 (which had already, of course been decontextualized and reframed by colonial anthropologists), for thousands of years, surfi ng and surf contests were an absolutely central part of the island culture. Although complex ritual prescriptions governed who could surf on what kinds of boards and at which beach breaks, everyone surfed-royals, commoners, men, women, children. References to surfi ng are identifi ed in song, in myth, in courtship rituals, and in ritual prayer (for good waves). And during the winter months, when the waves were biggest, a long festival called the Malahiki-sort of a mega-luau-honored the god Lono and consisted of surfi ng, feasting, dancing, and talking story on the beach. The upshot of the discussion about surfi ng’s place in ancient Hawaii in the surfi ng literature is the idea that unlike in contemporary society, surfing was not relegated to the margins of the ancient culture, to a realm of “leisure” that can happen only after work is completed. The story of surfi ng’s fi rst home provides a myth of an origin in which-as in the memory of childhood-play was the defi ning activity of life. Much as in our imagination of other pre-capitalist cultures, work was done only when it was unavoidable. Otherwise, spontaneity, pleasure, and freedom defi ned the people’s lifestyle.
