A hukilau is a way of

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

invented by the ancient

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

ans. The word comes from ''huki'', meaning pull, and ''lau'', meaning leaves. A large number of people, usually family and friends, would work together in casting the

net Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

from shore and then pulling it back. The net was lined with ti leaves, which would help scare the fish into the center of the ne

Consistent with the Hawaiian

subsistence economy A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...

, anybody who helped could share in the catch. Hukilau Beach, in Lā'ie, is named after the technique, which has been used there for centuries. A festive beach gathering is also known to local Hawaiians as a hukilau, and there is a traditional song and dance known as the hukilau, a scattered

line dance A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight, ...

Dress and wear

Men wear a ''malo'', similar to a loincloth, or a ie lavalava'', which is a piece of Kapa cloth wrapped around the waist. Women wear a ''pa'u'', made from Kapa cloth. Many garments in modern times can also be made of fabric cloth.

Dance

The hukilau, a scattered line dance created in 1948 by Jack Owens. It consists of basic hula steps and arm movements to represent the fishing aspect of the dance.

Dress and wear

Dance

See also