Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Interesting stories pour in
on the shaka sign’s originAs expected, our March 31 column on how the "shaka" sign originated elicited some interesting responses, including two that have sharks playing a role in the development of the unique local gesture.
In our search for its origins, we found that the prevailing local lore -- among a variety of stories speculating on the birth of "shaka" -- credited the gesture to Kalili Hamana of Laie, who lost the three middle fingers of his right hand while working at the Kahuku Sugar Mill years ago. Hamana was then shifted to guarding the sugar train, and his all-clear wave of thumb and pinkie is said to have evolved over the years into the "shaka."
Roy Shigemura sent us a copy of a MidWeek story with a variation on that story, while also mentioning Hamana. According to that account, Bobby Rath, son of Palama Settlement founder James Rath, attributed the "shaka" to a foreman for the Dole Pineapple Cannery who also lost his three middle fingers on the job.
Dr. Maxwell Urata says he recalls the "shaka" sign used in his boyhood neighborhood of Kunawai Lane in the Liliha area as stemming from "the loss of the three-fingers version," although a childhood friend remembers it had to do with marble playing.
"If one shoots the 'kini,' depending on your technique, your fingers can end up sort of like a shaka sign," Urata recalled about marble shooting. "'Shaka' also meant to us 'sharp' or 'accurate,' and it fits. However, I stand by my version, at least in our neighborhood."
Former Honolulu resident Christi Moore of Mesa, Ariz., e-mailed us with yet another colorful version, attributing it to an old family friend, Randy Borges of Kaneohe.
Borges, now deceased, explained "that it was originally 'shark eye,' the 'r' and the 'ye' getting dropped somewhere along the way," Moore recalled. "Holding the hand with the pinkie and thumb extended represented the shark head, with the thumb and fingers being the eyes."
Moore said to say "shaka" (or "shark eye") to someone and flash the "shark eye" hand "was considered a compliment of sorts, like calling someone an eagle eye here on the mainland. Since sharks and eagles are both highly revered creatures by their respective native human cultures, this seems a highly plausible explanation."
As time passed, the original meaning got lost, Moore said, "but because the word and gesture always got used in a positive sense as 'hello' or 'goodbye,' it came to be associated with the current meanings of 'hang loose,' 'right on,' 'take it easy,' etc."
Meanwhile, Louis Trigg of Pearl City also chipped in with a shark version of the tale, recalling that years ago, a small placard placed in the window of Iida's store at Ala Moana Center explained that "shaka" originated with a surfer.
"It seems that there was a surfboarder who had a cat who enjoyed riding the surfboard. Somehow the cat had become proficient in recognizing sharks and alerting his master to their presence by some sort of body language. His master would alert his friends by holding up his index and little fingers, representing the cat's ears and shouting 'shaka' to indicate shark. His friends were thus made aware that the cat had sighted a shark and could react accordingly. I do not remember that a source was given for this version of the origin of the sign," Trigg said, "but it is, I think, a good story."
We may never know for sure how the "shaka" originated, but like Trigg's story, many good tales abound about how this sign of the islands might have started.
More on renaming of Harano Tunnels
The daughter of the late Gov. John Burns, in whose honor the H-3 tunnels recently were renamed, says she was shocked, mortified and saddened when she accidentally discovered what had happened. In the April 2 "Kokua Line," two people asked why the H-3 freeway tunnels, named in 1994 for longtime state highways administrator Tetsuo Harano, were quietly renamed in honor of Burns by Gov. Ben Cayetano last month.Cayetano's spokeswoman said it was to acknowledge Burns' efforts in getting the freeway built: "Without Burns' approval the state would not have moved forward." Harano himself expressed sadness at the name change, saying he did not agree to it when told about the plan by transportation officials.
Sheenagh Burns, in an e-mail to "Kokua Line," said she was driving over the H-3 recently when she suddenly saw the large sign bearing her father's name.
"My shock at this abrupt discovery quickly turned into mortification, bewilderment, deep disappointment and sadness," she wrote. "I know that Pop was a prime mover in the tunnels' development, but that is irrelevant to me. At the time of Pop's death in 1975, numerous proposals were offered to name things after him. It is my understanding that the UH medical school was the single entity chosen by the family to bear his name because of its great promise toward fulfilling the overwhelming health needs of the people in our Pacific islands, particularly in Hawaii."
Burns remembered her father as a humble man and said, although the thought obviously was well meant, "I do not view it as fitting to his memory to keep naming things after him. In this particular instance, the tunnels already had a name to be proud of, and it must have felt like a slap in the face to the previous honoree to have the name changed, no matter who was chosen as a replacement. I cannot imagine that Pop would be pleased to be a part of that."
She offered her apologies to Harano "for the disrespect shown to him. I wish it had not happened."
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