Are there any Hawaiian customs or superstitions that I should be aware of so as not to insult the locals?

-- Val Morim (beryloflaffs@hahahah.net), January 23, 1999

Answers

Number one is to remember to remove yours shoes or slippers if going to somebody's house. Nobody walks in with their shoes on except someone from the mainland.

-- Roy Inouye (roy@bothi.com), January 23, 1999.

Definitely another must. When going to visit a relative or old friend you haven't seen in a while, you usually take somethng to eat. Also, when going to a party, at someones home, you always take something--- no matter if the host says s/he doesn't need anything.

-- Roy Inouye (roy@bothi.com), January 24, 1999.

The "Pali" refers to the highway that crosses the Koolau mountain range from Honolulu to Windward Oahu. The Pali lookout is the place where King Kamehameha threw his enemies off the cliffs to their death. The superstition is that a person was not supposed to take raw pork over the Pali after midnight. If they did, then Pele would come to visit them.

-- Roy Inouye (roy@bothi.com), October 04, 2000.

Don't stare at people. Just smile and look on.

-- Steven Helton (shelt@lava.net), January 24, 1999.

Are there any special customs when visiting someone? - I tend to bring a dessert or something to a home I am visiting.

-- Anne Higgins (rhiggins@wilmington.net), January 24, 1999.

Don't ever take pork over the Pali, and don't ever remove rocks from the volcanos.

-- Mokihana White (HawaiianGirl@compuserve.com), January 27, 1999.

What's a Pali?

-- Eddie Montoya (indigomonty@aol.com), October 04, 2000.