According to Hawaiian legend, there was once a king named Lono. One day he quarreled with his wife and in an uncontrollable fit of anger, he killed her. Mad with grief and sorrow, he wandered throughout the islands of Hawai'i challenging anyone he met in boxing and wrestling matches. He then set out in his canoe for foreign lands and never did return again. His people later deified him and in his honor the annual games were held in the season of Makahiki, or harvest.
Every year, the Hawaiian world paused.
For four months every year, the world paused.
The Makahiki festival ran from October through January, dedicated to Lono. During this season, all conflict ceased, temple services were suspended, and personal hostilities were forbidden during this period. The people brought in the harvest from land, sea, and sky, paid what was owed to their chiefs and kings in the form of handcrafts and garden products, and when that obligation was met, they were free to play and dance.