Canoes paddle far out to sea, some holding close to shore to watch and judge, before turning back for land. A dead heat is called when two canoes touch the beach together; otherwise, the first ashore is named the victor. The canoes themselves are dugouts, deep and narrow, fitted with outrigger spars and sometimes a kapa sail, built in a size and shape passed down largely unchanged since the days of Kamehameha the Great.
Hei Hei Wa'a
Andrews defines hei hei wa'a as "a race between two or more canoes; practiced much in former times."
The canoe. Whitney describes the Hawaiian canoe as the same type used in the days of Kamehameha the Great, unaltered in model, well suited to Hawaiʻi's open waterways. It is a dugout, fairly deep and narrow, with bow and stern outriggers about five feet long, each fitted at the outward end with a round, buoyant spar about six inches in diameter and three-quarters the length of the canoe. Culin mentions that the canoes were propelled with kapa sails. Malo states that a canoe called kioloa was a sharp and narrow canoe made for racing, its size dictating the number of paddlers it carried.
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Types of races. Malo records the method: the racing canoes paddled far out to sea, some staying close in to the land to act as judges or spectators, and then pulled for land. If they touched the beach at the same time, it was a dead heat; if a canoe reached the shore first, it was the victor. "And great would be the exultation of the men who won, and the sorrow of those who lost their property." Culin mentions another method: a course of a mile or mile and a half usually out to sea and around a flag buoy and back.
Canoe surfing. Whitney describes canoe-surfing: it required at least a couple of strong paddlers and a helmsman experienced and skilled in surf riding, or the canoe would be swamped at once. The canoe was taken well out before turning to wait for a wave large enough to carry it to shore; several waves were let pass before a big one was sighted three hundred yards away, and then, "Hoi! Hoi!" (Paddle! Paddle!) cried the helmsman, and desperate, quick strokes sent the canoe forward until the wave overtook it. If the canoe lacked pace, the wave swamped it and rolled on toward shore, capsizing the party; but if not overwhelmed, the wave lifted the canoe without shock and carried it forward at great speed. The steersman had to stay alert for the incoming wave's eccentricities, restoring desperate paddling at times to avoid capsizing, keeping the canoe on the face of the wave or risk being quickly overwhelmed.
In 1952, as part of the Aloha Week festivities, the first Molokaʻi-to-Oʻahu canoe race was held. The distance was 38 miles of paddling through rough sea. Nine outriggers with six paddlers started the race from Kawakiu Beach, Molokaʻi, and raced across the channel. A Hawaiian blessing launched the competition after an all-night beach vigil was kept by well-wishers and friends. The tired paddlers completed the strenuous contest on the beach of Waikīkī, and were welcomed by the King and Queen of the Aloha Week, their entire court, and many friends, natives, and tourists. An evening of singing in the Hawaiian language completed the canoe competition and dramatically started the Aloha Week festivities of Hawaiʻi.
Racing canoes paddled far out to sea and then pulled for land, and the first canoe to reach the shore was the victor. If you're gathering a group and want traditional Hawaiian games to teach them, Hide and Guess is a printable bundle of four Hawaiian hiding games.
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Sources
Andrews, Lorrin. A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language. Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1974. (155)
Whitney, Caspar. Hawaiian America. New York-London: Harper & Brothers, 1899. (144, 227-228)
Culin, Stewart. "Hawaiian Games," American Anthropologist. Volume 1, Number 2, (April, 1899), pp. 201-247. (211)
Malo, David. Hawaiian Antiquities. 2nd Edition. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bernice P. Bishop Museum, 1898. (222)
Zajac, Stanley R. "Hawaii Aqua-Sports Paradise," Paradise of the Pacific. Volume 72, Number 1, 1960. (10)
Navalta, Santiago Wilfred. The Sports and Games of the Makahiki Festival: A History and a Unit of Instruction. Doctoral Dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1978. (147-151)