Surf culture

Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish and evolve in the early 20th century, with its popularity peaking during the 1950s and 1960s. It has affected music, fashion, literature, film, art, and youth jargon in popular culture. The number of surfers throughout the world continues to increase as the culture spreads.
Surfers' desire for the best possible waves to ride with their surfboards make them dependent on conditions that may change rapidly, given the unpredictable nature of weather events and their effect on the surface of the ocean. Because surfing was limited by the geographical necessity of an ocean coastline with beaches, the culture of beach life often influenced surfers and vice versa. Surfer Magazine was founded in the 1960s when surfing had gained popularity and was the initial voice for surf culture which included environmental activism. The staff used to say that if they were hard at work and someone yelled "Surf's up!" the office would suddenly empty. Localism or territorialism is a part of the development of surf culture in which individuals or groups of surfers claim certain key surfing spots as their own.
Aspects of 1960s surf culture in Southern California, where it was first popularized, include the woodie, bikinis and other beach wear, such as boardshorts or baggies, and surf music. Surfers developed the skateboard to be able to "surf" on land, as well as developing a number of other boardsports.

History

The prevailing narrative of surfing history places its origins in the South Pacific, where the practice became ritualized over the course of centuries. The consensus among anthropologists and historians is that surfing was practiced throughout Polynesia and elsewhere in the Pacific in premodern times, and that surfing has been culturally significant in Hawaii for at least 1,500 years.
Surfing culture in Hawaii is very different now to what it was in 1778 when Captain James Cook ventured into the island realm. Hawaiian royalty had ruled the ocean domain for hundreds of years, although the islands were not unified until Kamehameha I established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. Traditional Hawaiian society was organized by a system of prohibitions called kapu that determined all aspects of the islander's lives—political, social, and religious. It dictated everything from which foods to eat to the manner of making a surfboard. Consequently, society was divided into two social classes, the royal class and the commoner class. The best surfing spots were reserved for royalty, while commoners were relegated to locations with smaller, less well-formed breaks. The code of kapu assigned the proper length of boards to be used, according to the status of the rider. Commoners rode boards 12 to 14 feet long, while royalty rode boards 16 to 24 feet long.
Although white historiography has emphasized the demise of surf culture in Hawaii that began with the arrival in 1820 of American missionaries, who disapproved of the customary nudity, gambling, and casual sexuality associated with surfing, Native Hawaiian scholars are reassessing their own history and assert that contrary to the prevailing narrative, Native Hawaiians have exercised agency and resisted colonial encroachment in the realm of the po ina nalu.
In the early 1900s, Alexander Hume Ford and Jack London actively tried to marginalize Native Hawaiians in their own cultural sphere and exploit surfing as a means to attract tourists. Although George Freeth and other Hawaiians had taught Ford and London how to surf, they went on to found the segregated Outrigger Canoe Club, and proclaimed it "an organization for the haole". In response, Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku started the multiracial Hui Nalu Club at Waikīkī Beach to assert control of their status in the surf zone and preserve the ocean as a Hawaiian realm, defending it from the Western colonization that had taken their land.
The worldwide diffusion of surfing from Hawaii also began in the early 20th century, when Freeth and Kahanamoku gave demonstrations in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Freeth and Kahanamoku were the original ambassadors of surfing; Freeth moved to southern California in 1907, where he demonstrated the sport at many beaches, including Venice and Redondo. Beginning in the 1960s, surfing was spread further by devoted surfers, mostly from California and Australia, searching for new wave breaks in far-flung places.

Spirituality

Surfing was of profound religious importance to the ancient Hawaiians. The study of waves was called ka nalu and the memory of notable surfing feats was preserved in chants and songs passed down since the 15th century. Many chiefs had a personal surf chant that celebrated their surfing prowess; this could be performed only by a professional chanter, one of which every chief maintained in his retinue. Despite claims by some historians that surfing was reserved strictly for the alii or Hawaiian hereditary rulers, Hawaiians of all classes and sexes, young or old, practiced the art.
After King Kamehameha's death in 1819, his son, crown prince Liholiho, abolished the kapu system that regulated the islanders' lives at the urging of Kamehameha's favorite wife, Kaahumanu, who had declared herself regent. As a consequence of this action, temples and the resident images of the gods were destroyed; although many idols were hidden away when the kapu was broken, they were later sought out and burned, often at the instigation of Congregationalist American missionaries. Liholiho's cousin Kekuaokalani had been charged by his uncle Kamehameha I with responsibility for defending the gods, their temples, and their worship. Kekuaokalani challenged the overthrow of the old order, and assumed leadership of the priests, courtiers, and territorial chiefs who opposed the abolition of the kapu. He met Liholiho on the field of battle at Kuamo'o on the island of Hawaii, where the king's forces, led by Kalanimoku, defeated the last upholders of the ancient religion. Belief in the power of the gods was undermined when those who opposed them suffered no divine punishment.
Since ancient times among the Native Hawaiians, the appointed kahuna laid an offering of fish, said prayers, and performed other religious rites by a tree before it was felled to make a surfboard. The ancient Hawaiians believed that the trees they made their surfboards from had souls, and used the trunks of koa trees to build them. Their pae poo as well as kikoo and alaia surfboards were made from koa; however, olo, the longest and heaviest surfboards, were made from the lighter and more buoyant wood of the wiliwili, and were used exclusively by the nobility.
Heiaus are Hawaiian places of worship where sacrifices were offered, they include actual temples as well as natural objects or features of the landscape. Every activity in Hawaiian culture was associated with a cult devoted to a deity or the activity itself, such as surfing. When the ocean was calm and there were no waves to surf, the kahuna lashed the surface of the sea with long strands of beach morning glory vines and chanted, in unison with the surfers:

Hawaiian	English
Ku mai! Ku mai! Ka nalu nui mai Kahiki mai, Alo po i pu! Ku mai ka pohuehue, Hu! Kai koo loa.	Arise, arise you great surfs from Kahiki, The powerful, curling waves, arise with the pohuehue, Well up, long raging surf.

The chant itself was called pohuehue, after the morning glory vines.
At Kahaluu Bay on the Kona coast there stands a fairly well-preserved surfing heiau called Kuemanu Heiau, a large structure built of black lava rock. Here the local ancient Hawaiians prayed for good surf.
Many surfers today combine their love of the sport with their own religious or spiritual beliefs. In Huntington Beach, California for example, a local Christian non-denominational church occasionally meets on the beach for Sunday early-morning services. After the closing prayer, the minister and congregation paddle out for a morning session.
Various surfing communities organize and take part in "paddle outs", i.e., memorial services for fallen surfers, sometimes on the anniversary of passing such as the Eddie Aikau memorial service held annually at Waimea Bay, Hawaii. Participants in the memorial service paddle out to a suitable location with flower leis around their necks or with loose flowers. The participants then get into a circular formation, hold hands, and silently pray. Sometimes they will raise their clasped hands skyward before tossing their flowers or leis into the center of the ring. Afterward, they paddle back toward the beach to begin their surf session. Often these services take place at sunrise or sunset. In locations with a pier, such as Huntington Beach, Orange County, California, the service can take place near the end of the pier so that any non-surfers, such as elderly relatives, can watch and participate. Often the participants on the pier will throw down bouquets of flowers into the center of the ring.

Women in surfing

Like men, women surfed in ancient Polynesia. This was especially documented in the waters around Hawaii, where children, women, and men surfed. Queen Kaahumanu, the most powerful wife of Kamehameha, favored a surf break known today as Castles, an outer reef at Waikiki on the south shore of Oahu that was forbidden to everyone except royalty. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing over three hundred pounds, Ka'ahumanu had the physical strength and the skill to paddle an olo board and catch the large waves that break at Castles on a south swell and ride them. Until the 1830s women were still actively engaged in Hawaiian surfing, but this changed after American missionaries had come to the islands and taught the Hawaiians that it was improper for women to surf. Women did not begin surfing around the Hawaiian islands again until the late 1800s. By the end of World War II surfing would have a major revival that increased its popularity and participating membership. Women were encouraged to take up surfing by early water sports innovators Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Blake. Blake suggested that surfing would help women to keep their feminine figures.
File:Surfing on the North Shore - near Sunset Beach.jpg|thumb|Hawaiian surfer on the North Shore near Sunset Beach
There would be another rise in the popularity of women's surfing just a decade later as women increasingly played roles in surfing films. Examples of this were the Gidget movie trilogy and TV series based on the book of the same title. In spite of this new popularity, the underlying theme of these works was that women should be viewers of surfing rather than participants in it.
Due to the negative reactions women received because of their involvement in surfing, being labeled as 'masculine' or 'tomboys', women began to take ownership of their participation. This is seen in their working together to organize surfing competitions for women. There had been competitions for women held in the 1950s and 1960s but these were amateur events. The 1970s and 1980s saw a shift in this state of affairs as women entered into the world of professional surf competitions. This caused a positive change in the style with which women surfed at the time by focusing more on their power and speed as athletes rather than being aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. Today, professional female surfers continue to have a difficult time being recognized as athletes, and must deal with continued objectification and sexualization by the surf media.
Professional female surfers have also noted that they face pay inequality when compared to their male counterparts—women do not win prize monies equal to those won by men in contests. These women have also indicated that the issue of pay equality arises when it comes to corporate sponsorships by surf brands. Brands prioritize hiring women surfers who appear more conventionally attractive rather than those more talented.
There is currently a push from some surfing groups to include women of color more prominently in the overall culture of surfing. One of these organizations is "Textured Waves", a surfing collective dedicated to women of color. Their goal is to improve the accessibility of the sport and the acceptance of individuals who do not necessarily fit the "traditional" image of what a surfer looks like.