A typical surfer.
No-one knows when or how surfing originated, but we all know it comes deep from Polynesian, Micronesian & Melanesian cultures (and perhaps other places too). Women and men throughout the pacific surfed; part spiritual practice, part pleasure, and often associated with social prestige. It was part of Mana. It showed athleticism, skill, bravery, and also deep & intimate knowledge of the ocean. This is where our love affair with the ocean originated- from Hawaii to Tonga, Samoa and Tahiti- these little islands adrift in Moana. In Hawaii it was called heʻe ʻana (the art of surfing) or heʻe nalu (wave sliding). In Aotearoa, it was called whakahekeheke, and used a whole variety of different boards, logs, canoes, or other floaty things. It declined when missionaries arrived.
The first written reports of surfing come from Tahiti on the HMS Endeavour’s voyage in the 1700’s. (In which Captain Cook also sailed to Australia and New Zealand) but oral tradition has told of surfing for much longer. Hawaii has always been most strongly associated with the art. It was a land rich in resources and food which enabled people to dedicate much of their time to joyous ...surfing. It is here that wave sliding was truly part of culture, and got its reputation as a pursuit of the utmost joy and pleasure. It was something everyone could participate in, regardless of social class, gender or skill.
Many of the most famous surf breaks are still found here in Oceania, in Hawaii, Fiji, Indonesia... so I’m constantly confused as to why the image of a white, tanned, muscular white dude is still the prevailing image of surfing. Why is the sport dominated by people that often don’t even live in the same country as the most famous waves and look nothing like the people who created surfing? Let’s start with the obvious.
Colonisation in the 19th century was incredibly destructive to the loss of traditional culture, lives and livelihoods throughout these lands. 80% of the indigenous population of Hawaii was gone by the mid 1800s. As well as cultural & religious oppression, the switch to a money-based society forced people to work in a commercialised system of time-for-money (still hated by surfers everywhere!). Instead of ‘wasting’ time on ‘pleasurable’ pursuits people had to now engage in … working? In this system, people didn’t have time to surf anymore, and their culture and traditions were repressed in an effort to ‘civilize’ them. That’s before we even begin talking about land dispossession throughout the Americas and beyond.
The revival of surfing in the and its adoption by the white man was hugely thanks to famous Hawaiian olympian swimmer Duke Kahanamoku. He introduced surfing as a sport to west-coast USA and Australia in his renowned surfing and swimming demonstrations in the early 1900’s. He even made it to New Zealand, visiting Muriwai, New Brighton and Wellington in 1915. While Duke campaigned proudly for surfing’s recognition as a sport and loved to share it with others, the trajectory of how surfing then became appropriated by westerners is a typical narrative of commercialisation and commodification. Some of his surf demonstrations in Californian were even paid for by developers to sell their beach-centred American dream. This land was cheap & empty because the indigenous population had previously been forced out by colonising forces and/ or wiped out by disease.
From here, in the 1950’s onwards surfing really caught on as a popular activity amongst westerners chasing the Californian dream of sunshine and beaches, and became ingrained as an important part of west-coast culture. So much so that California is often called the ‘birthplace of surf culture’, a moniker which completely ignores the long rich history and origin of surfing before this time. Popular music and hollywood during the 50s and 60s exported this dreamy beach lifestyle around the world, and with it, surfing. This is where that image of relaxed surfer dudes and blonde beach babes came from that still prevails today. While wahine like Kathy Kohner (the original Gidget) are icons that forged the path for womens’ surfing, the representation of women in the sport is still often frustratingly hyper-sexualised and not inclusive of many women wave riders.
Surfing is also a popular part of culture in many countries around the world for people of all different backgrounds- in Brazil, Japan, Indonesia, South Africa, for example- who are often ignored in the ‘typical’ surf narrative. Surfing continues to evolve in many different places around the world, each place bringing its own unique perspective and culture around the waves.
So when you think about what it means to be a surfer, or imagine a ‘typical’ surfer- keep all this in mind. Surfing has such a beautiful origin, and is an important part of identity and culture, no matter who you are or why your surf. But the history is complex. Colonisation devastated surfing, from the loss of culture, place and life that it brought, as well as disease, racism, capitalism and environmental destruction. Then it exported surfing back to many of the countries affected, with swaths of westerners pouring money into the very communities where surfing originated, often economically displacing locals again.
Nowadays, surfing continues to be commodified as a stereotype in advertising and media, and is also often narrowly defined as a ‘sport’. This view doesn’t reflect the rich culture surfing originates from, and how many ocean-goers engage with the activity. The idea of it as a competitor sport is recent- ‘Surfing New Zealand’ first surfing history entry is a competition in 1963, when we all know people were sufing much before that. Wave sliding is is a culture, a relationship, an art form, a social or communal act… it is a pursuit of many different meanings for everyone who engages in it. I hope we can all pay tribute to our love of surfing and Moana by understanding its heritage and work to make to surfing better in the future, for everyone. Aroha nui.
Explore: @blackgirlssurf | Rolemodels in Hawaii | Sea Together History project & Podcasts |