Talking Story: Bangkok meets Waianae, Hawaii

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Ancient Hawaiians had a fully oral culture, passing down stories, songs, and traditions directly from generation to generation, and for a large part, maintain that oral tradition today.  One drawback to maintaining a largely oral culture is all that is lost due to the changing of time and the evolution of culture and introduction of new influences.  Since the arrival of Captain Cook in the Hawaiian Islands in the 1700s, much has changed.  Hawaiians are no longer predominantly an oral culture, and much of what was not preserved and documented after 1700 has been lost due to various factors such as the outlawing of religious practices and the practice of speaking English only prior to the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970s.

"Talking story" connects back to these Ancient Hawaiian cultural protocols and was the chosen method of sharing knowledge throughout the tribes;  primarily  passing values and beliefs, such as the importance of the 'āina (land) and kai (sea) and ohana (family).

Today we spent the day talking story with a local Thai mermaid off the coast of Waianae.  Thai mermaids are a rare (especially in Hawaiian waters), but incredibly photogenic subject.

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