It was originally in this tiny little studio apartment because I used to manage properties in Waikiki. “When I first started Wang Chung’s 13 years ago, I didn’t even think it would be a gay bar. We have a specific word in the Hawaiian language that was just always part of the normal framework of society it wasn’t created, it was just simple-there’s man, woman, and Mahu.” We’re trying to create something based around Kapaemahu so that visitors that come for Pride have a better understanding of the multiple cultures here in Hawaii and how maybe we don’t always identify as queer or as gay or as a lesbian. Sometimes they say they were wizards, but they were all definitely Mahu, which means they were two-spirited. These stones represent those four healers, who were indeed Mahu.
It would have been five or 10 miles away. These stones were brought down from Kaimuki, and it was at that time quite a feat to bring these stones down. Kanaka Maoli wanted to give great significance to that event, so they placed these four stones in Waikiki right at the water’s edge. “Four Mahu healers came from Tahiti, and they landed and departed from that spot. The pride parade passes these four stones, and a lot of people-mostly visitors-don’t know the significance of Kapaemahu,” explains Sami Akuna, an artist, and entertainer who sometimes performs as drag queen Cocoa Chandelier. One of the reasons that I joined the board is to initiate more programming based around Kanaka world points of view. “A very specific historical marker for queer people-or for all Kanaka Maoli or for Mahu-is Kapaemahu, the four stones situated on Waikiki Beach. Here, we talked to a number of out and proud Hawaiians about their favorite LGBTQ+ friendly beaches, hotels, restaurants, and stores on the island. While there aren’t as many queer-specific spaces in Hawaii as in, say, West Hollywood, many of the state’s businesses are queer-friendly, and more are popping up every day.
Two hundred years later, Indigenous Hawaiian people are shining a light on the island’s LGBTQ+ friendly past, and “the rainbow state” is increasingly becoming a hot spot for LGBTQ+ travel, buoyed by the islands’ two annual pride events. Mahu culture went underground, and Aikane ceased to exist. Mahu were also traditionally the keepers of local history and genealogy, giving them a sacred place in the community.Īll of this changed in 1820 when Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii to impose their strict evangelical views on what they saw as the hell-bound islanders. In Polynesian culture, Mahu embodies the ideal of spiritual duality and is viewed as a special and revered third sex. When Captain James Cook arrived in Hawaii in the late 18th century, he wrote detailed journal entries about the Aikane and the Mahu, or transgender members of the community. The Hawaiian language doesn’t even have gender pronouns like “he” or “she,” and, in the past, same-sex (Aikane) relationships between High Chiefs and talented men were not just common but revered. Ancient islanders understood that people were made up of both male and female qualities and didn’t assign a gender binary to anyone. Hawaiian culture has always had a deep appreciation of the fluidity of gender and sexuality. LGBTQ+ locals share their favorite spots off the beaten path.