Talk:Shaka sign

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[edit] POV check

I've added the POV check as there seems to be competing shaka origin theories floating around, and only one is included in the present article. --Viriditas | Talk 11:49, 31 July 2005 (UTC)

And a big mahalo for adding it too, because I grew up in the Islands and this is the very first time I've ever heard this story. "Chee, missionary guys like cockaroach everyteeng—Mormons dem makeeng like dey own da culture awreddy—even shaka sign suppoze stay Mormon now." I'm shaka'ed, I tell you, shaka'ed... <g> --IslandGyrl 20:17, 18 August 2005 (UTC)


edit - this site may help http://starbulletin.com/2002/03/31/news/kokualine.html

One reason to accept this version is that it's the only one which points to a verifiable person and time, not just some unknown rumor and "always been." Anyone have an example of the shaka sign being used before the 1940s? --WindwardWoody 04:06, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Removed LDS POV

I edited the article to make it clear that the hukilau theory is only a theory. Other theories could be added. I also removed all the gratuitous references to the LDS, Brigham Young, etc. Zora 00:24, 14 January 2006 (UTC)


So, what you're saying is that you have no other theory to offer, but you don't like this one so you will cut this one to the bare bones, rather than explain why people would emulate Kalili in the first place? Keith 7 February 2006

This is not the place to proselytize for the LDS. The theory is only a theory and until we have some kind of proof, we don't emphasize one theory over another, or give it more space. Zora 05:09, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Question

Which way should the Shaka sign be oriented - with knuckles facing the recipient, or with palm facing them? Is doing it backwards considered rude or merely silly? Does it not matter which direction it's facing? This isn't clear in the article and someone who knows the answer should add it. -Kasreyn 06:00, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I've always seen it with the palm out. That's what comes naturally. But people tend to sorta rotate the wrist back and forth to emphasize the sign. Zora 06:25, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
Thanks Zora! Should we add to the article that it's unimportant which way the sign is facing, or that it should be palm-out? I'm sure I'm not the first who's been confused by that. -Kasreyn 23:22, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
Oops, never mind. It's already in the article. *blush* -Kasreyn 23:24, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
No need to blush. After your question, I added it to the article. Zora 23:30, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I spent a couple years living on Hawaii and I always saw it the other way around. I removed the line from the article. zellin t / c 01:44, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Um, I've lived in Hawai'i 30 years. I think you're wrong. Zora 03:08, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
Thinking about it, I think it goes either way, depending on where the signer and signee are standing. If I'm giving the sign with my right hand to someone on either side of me, I hold it thumb towards me, so someone on the left of me gets "palm out" and someone on my right will get "palm in". To someone directly in front, like I said, I usually see palm in, but I guess it could be either. zellin t / c 05:57, 9 April 2006 (UTC)


[edit] The Picture

Why is the picture of a white hand giving the shaka? a little condescending no? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 192.198.151.129 (talk • contribs) .

No. Anybody can give a shaka. We come in all colors in Hawai'i and we don't care much about color. Zora 04:39, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
I'll shaka that! Maikel (talk) 13:23, 20 December 2007 (UTC)
I will have to think about the philosophical or political question of whether racial profiling is appropriate on Wikipedia. But following this lead, you can click on the image, and it is posted as something like "gesture with thumb and forefingers extended" by someone who lives in San Jose and has posted Honolulu "tourist photos". Technically an "authentic Hawaiian" (whatever the race) might (or might not) make some tiny detail about the gesture differently than someone less familiar with the culture, and therefore, regardless of its provenance, this is a hint suggesting that the gesture photo could be updated. I personally have no standing to say whether the update matters, but I bring this up to actualize the philosophical issue. 70.15.116.59 (talk) 23:46, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Question and possible additional origins

-- Isn't the finger supposed to point to the east coast and the thumb point to the west? that's what i've always been told?

oh and I've got an additional version of the origins of the shaka and it makes quite a bit of sense; it's that it was the position the hand would take when British soldiers would drink from their uniquely horn shaped flagons, with the thumb holding the flagon near the mouth and the finger following to it's end point. Supposedly the Shaka started as a mocking imitation of this and then spread to being the wave that we all know and love. =) ...I still prefer the dynamite fishing one though...

--

Never heard east-west thing. As for British soldiers -- WHAT British soldiers? What flagons? British marines here with Lord George Paulet did not endear themselves to anyone, and they were here briefly. Brits don't drink from flagons. Zora 03:57, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
The Brits' influence was neither positive nor long-lived (the only identifiable remnant is in the flag). However, there was that question above, if anyone saw shaka before the 1940s, which is long after the Brits left. 68.178.65.194 02:52, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brazil

Ronaldinho, who has been awarded FIFA World Footballer of the year, European Player of the year, among other awards, also adopted the "shaka" and would often use it as a gesture towards his fans.

This statement is rather funny. Brazilians have using the shaka sign for a while and it’s very common. I seriously doubt this is particular to Ronaldinho. --moyogo 15:27, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hamana Kalili

The name is actually Hamana Kalili, not Kalili Hamana. Even the paper wrote it correctly. It just needs to be in reverse. Also, it was Libby Espina who had a show "Shocker Theater" back in the 70s or so and he would do that sign as his call sign and said it with a pidgin accent, hence the term - shaka came out of it. He later used it in his dealership. Also, a lot of Brazilians use the shaka sign now and the sign has spread all over thanks to the surfing culture and the media. And both ways (front/back) are used in the islands. Mamoahina 02:35, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Famous people who use the "Shaka"

I have realized seven time Formula One World Champion, Michael Schumacher likes to use this sign very often too. Latest example: http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo.php/id/91534 But I have seen him doing it several times before as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.92.38.39 (talk) 12:01, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] EEE?

Why would the sign also be called EEE, as claimed in the article? Maikel (talk) 13:24, 20 December 2007 (UTC)