Hawaii did not invent surfing

Yeah, I said it!

Wow, I know. Im not sure how everyone will take this. Since we all have probably been to Hawaii as surfers. We all love the place. The waves. The people...

But I think it is about time, as surfers and as people that we stop allowing Hawaii to claim the sport of surfing as their own. Yes, they are responsible for spreading surfing throughout the world. And yes, they were most commonly seen surfing by europrean sailors etc hundreds of years ago....

So, Hawaiians who are all agro about the waves and protecting the sport and idea that they "invented" is BS. They are doing the same thing to protect their waves that guys in CA are doing. Guys in AUS are doing and guys in the midatlantic do. They are protecting their turf........ BUT LONG before any hawaiians were surfing, or even inhabiting that island chain... surfing was happening...

but lets get the facts straight once and for all....

Modern scientific archaeology indicates, as many Peruvians have long claimed, that surfing was invented on their north Pacific coast by pre-Columbian cultures using reed boats to surf the waves. These boats are similar in shape to surfboards but are made from the reeds of a plant. Pottery from as early as 1000b.c. unearthed in Peru shows people wave riding. For those who think surfing was invented in Hawaii keep in mind no one lived on the Hawaiian Islands until 300-750AD or at least 1500 years and possibly 2000 years after surfing has been confirmed in Peru. To be certain, Peru has the oldest archaeological and cultural evidence in existance. Additionally, it is clear that the lineage in Peru originates in the Pre-Incan past 3000 years ago. It continues to the present in both the ancient and modern forms. As proven by archeologists this tradition can be traced back to 1000bc. Surfing is depicted on ceremonial vessels of the Viru Culture, an antiquity of 3000 years, where you can clearly see a man standing aboard a little reed craft, surfing.
It is known that Polynesians surfed. This was witnessed to be very similar to its modern form by European sources, such a Captain Cook, during his explorations less than 300 years ago. Because it was so deeply rooted in their culture, it is safe to assume that it had been taking place before then, however, we cannot be sure as there is absolutely no physical evidence in Polynesia like that found in Peru.
This means that the earliest surfing in the world, with actual physical evidence, took place in Peru. There is no anthropological or archaeological evidence for a Polynesian origin of surfing before the mid 1700s.




Lets talk about it... Im not trying to start an argument. I am just simply stating facts. And I figured that a surfing forum is the perfect place to light up this conversation....

 

Agreed. I could care less. Im just saying. This was a post from another thread, i just figured I would throw it out there...

I just say the difference is that HI is a beautiful surf mecca, but is not the origin of surfing. No point really. Just putting it out there. Cause I have never met a surfer, or a hawaiian who did NOT think surfing was INVENTED by polynesians.

A guy made a joke in another thread saying that if you dont have polynesian bloodlines, then you arent linked to surfing etc... I was just pointing out that polynesians had nothing to do with it. They made the sport popular, yes... But that is all.

Just food for thought more than anything.

 

definitely not me =)

But I really had no point to the thread. This comment came from another topic about hating on SUP surfing. They were saying that none of us should hate on SUPing cause unless we have Polynesian roots, we have no right to dictate surfing etc.... I was just saying. Hawaii did not invent surfing or anything. No point other than that.

 

Yeah, I love hawaii. I dont really care. I was just saying. Hawaiians originally surfed "vessels" the same as the peruvians did. But the south americans were also stand up surfing on small vessels with paddles (Like SUP) etc... So although Hawaiians "popularized" the sport of surfing as we know it, I was just pointing out that people were standing on boards and riding waves on those boards and with their humans bodies hundreds and hundreds of years before Hawaii was populated...

Just an interesting look at history. Thats all. Hawaiians were on the forefront of modern surfing. But everyone wants to protect their land. HI, CA, NJ... HI has great waves, but so do a lot of places. I am sure the Aussies argue that they had a lot more to do with modern surfing in the past 50-60- years than hawaiians did. And a lot of people in CA feel that way too. People have been riding waves everywhere for a long time. Thats pretty cool.

 

And to the other comments, I feel you on the imperialistic outlook at americans and outsiders... But one thing that Hawaiians need to remember is that we saved them from speaking Japanese and we also saved their land, their ecosystem, their whales and their waves. If the US did not take control of that land during wartimes, Hawaii would have been ruined.

So everyones turf gets stepped on. Deal with it. Puerto Rico. etc. We have territoties all over the world. And hawaii still protects itself from the US. We cant buy land there. We are not really welcome there... Its kind of wack. I am just saying. I love their waves and their culture, but they did not invent surfing. There are better waves elsewhere in the world, and it probably keeps their poverty levels higher than normal by not allowing normal american real estate and commerce out there....

Good for them. Good for the surfers. Its a shame we cant just shut Real Estate in OC MD for anyone who doesnt have a maryland birth certificate. Ya know?