Luau Theme

#1 SUMMER PARTY THEME! LUAU remains the favorite theme for summer parties. Find all you need for a successful tropical party with our large selection of luau decorations, scene setters, paper goods, hula skirts, silk flower leis and table accessories. Have a Luau Blast!

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Luau
Dancers and musicians at a commercial luauA luau (in Hawaiiann, lū‘au) is a Hawaiian feast. It may feature food, such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia, and beer; and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula. Among people from Hawaii, the concepts of "luau" and "party" are often blended, resulting in graduation luaus, wedding luaus, and birthday luaus. When a baby reaches 12 months of age, the occasion may be celebrated with a "baby luau".

Etymology and history
According to Pukui & Elbert (1986:214), the name "luau" goes back "at least to 1856, when so used by the Pacific Commercial Advertiser." Earlier, such a feast was called a "paina" (pā‘ina) or ahaaina (‘aha‘aina). The newer name comes from that of a food always served at a luau: young taro tops baked with coconut milk and chicken or octopus.

Common luau foods
Poi. "[T]he Hawaiian staff of life, made from cooked taro corms, or rarely breadfruit, pounded and thinned with water" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:337). It can be thick or thin, and can be new and sweet, or old and tangy (fermented). Hawaiians also had poi mai‘a "[m]ashed ripe bananas and water" before 1778, and thereafter, poi palaoa "[f]lour poi, made by stirring flour in hot water, eaten alone or mixed with taro poi". Breadfruit poi is called poi ‘ulu. Another of the various pois is poi ‘uala, or pa‘i ‘uala, "[c]ooked and compressed sweet potatoes allowed to ferment slightly and used as a substitute for poi when poi was scarce" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:303, 337). Mashing is a common characteristic of Hawaiian food preparation.
Poke. The traditional Hawaiian poke was raw fish, gutted and sliced across the backbone. The slices still had skin and bones, which were spit out after all the flesh had been eaten. Poke was eaten with condiments such as salt, seaweed, and crushed roasted kukui nuts (inamona). Modern poke is made with skinned, deboned, and carefully filleted fish, and takes a variety of dressings and condiments. Poke means "slice" in Hawaiian (Pukui & Elbert 1986:337).
Lomilomi salmon. Raw salmon "worked with the fingers and mixed with onions and seasoned" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:212). Lomi means "mash".
Laulau. "Packages of ti leaves or banana leaves containing pork, beef, salted fish, or taro tops, baked in the ground oven, steamed or broiled" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:196).
Kalua pig. Pork cooked in a pit oven (imu). A whole dressed pig (pua‘a) is salted, wrapped, lowered into the ground oven, and covered. Kālua is the earth-oven cooking method (Pukui & Elbert 1986:123).
Opihi (‘opihi). Raw limpet meat. Three species are called koele (kō‘ele), alinalina (‘ālinalina), and makaiauli (makaiauli) (Pukui & Elbert 1986:292).
Chicken long rice. Bean noodles, boiled and served hot with pieces of chicken.
Rice.
Haupia (haupia). Coconut-arrowroot pudding. Cornstarch is substituted for the arrowroot (Pukui & Elbert 1986:62).
Kulolo (kūlolo). Coconut-taro pudding (Pukui & Elbert 1986:181).
At modern luaus, drinks may include beer, soda, juice, etc. Many 19th century public luaus would have been "teetotal". At the lavish private luaus hosted by 19th century figures like the genial King Kalakaua, imported wine and hard liquor were prominent items on the menu.

Hawaiian feasts before 1778 would have featured pig, chicken, dog, seafood, bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, and taro. None of those, except seafood, were indigenous to the Hawaiian islands, but were introduced by Polynesian settlers. Many of the foods now considered "traditional" at luaus were introduced by Europeans, Americans, or Asians. Dog meat is no longer eaten (legally) in the islands.

Before the breaking of the kapus in 1819 (the ‘Ai Noa), Hawaiian men and women ate separately, and certain foods, such as pig and most species of bananas, were forbidden to women.

Luau-themed parties
Luau-themed or Hawaiian-themed parties can be differentiated from authentic luaus by a lack of traditional food and techniques as described above. These parties range dramatically in their range of dedication to Hawaiian traditions. For example, some extravagant affairs go so far as to ship food from the islands, while others settle for artificial leis, maitais, and a poolside atmosphere. None of these are considered Luaus by purists.

References
Pukui, Mary Kawena; Samuel H. Elbert (1986). Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. ISBN 0-8248-0703-0.

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