Lūʻau

What a lūʻau is

A lūʻau is a feast with entertainment attached, in the way that Hawaiians have long held large gatherings. Native Hawaiian dishes fill the table: poi, kālua puaʻa, poke, lomi salmon, lomi ʻōʻio, ʻopihi and haupia. Beer is often served too. Music belongs to the event, played in the informal kanikapila style, and hula dancers often perform. For people from Hawaiʻi the word and the idea of a party run together, so a lūʻau can be held for almost any happy occasion. The name is taken from one of the dishes on the table.

How the kapu ended

In old Hawaiʻi, men and women ate apart. The kapu, a body of religious rules that reached into every part of life, kept women and commoners away from foods that were rare or kept for special days. In 1819 King Kamehameha II ate with women, and the kapu came to an end. The period that followed is called the ʻAi Noa, the free eating. Messengers carried the news across the islands that people could eat as they wished. Feasts followed. Smaller dinners were called pāʻina and larger ones ʻahaʻaina. The modern word appears in print in 1856, describing a feast at the wedding of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma.

Food from the imu

The centre of a lūʻau is often kālua puaʻa, a whole pig cooked slowly in an imu, a pit oven dug into the ground. Poi comes from taro root, pounded and eaten by hand. Its thickness is counted in fingers: three-finger poi is thin, two-finger poi is like pudding, and one-finger poi is the thickest, pounded fresh and neither watered down nor fermented, and called paʻiʻai. The stew that gave the feast its name is lūʻau, young taro leaves cooked with octopus or chicken and coconut milk. The food was once laid on mats on the floor, with centrepieces of tī leaves, and no cutlery was used.

Garlands and music

Lei belong to the occasion: garlands of flowers, ferns, tī leaves or polished kukui shells, worn around the neck. At some gatherings guests are given the chance to string their own. Music comes from ukulele and guitar, and sometimes drums, played in the easy kanikapila manner where people join in as they please. Hula dancers often perform as well. The setting is usually outdoors, since a lūʻau needs open ground, and large tents are put up to shelter the tables and the guests.

Parties farther away

Outside Hawaiʻi, lūʻau-themed parties differ in how closely they follow Hawaiian practice. Some hosts have food sent from the islands. Others hold something much nearer a pool party, with Mai Tais and garlands that were bought rather than made. According to the article, Donn Beach is often credited with the spread of the lūʻau into the continental United States and with turning it into a commercial entertainment. A 1946 issue of Life magazine showed one of his lūʻaus in Encino, California, and in a 1986 interview he described bringing singers such as Alfred Apaka into events that had once been small gatherings at home.

How Lūʻau is kept

Guests come for a meal that is also a celebration. The pig is steamed in an earth oven before it is lifted out and carved, and the other dishes are ready when people arrive. Everyone eats outdoors, usually under tents, around long tables. Plates and bowls are passed and shared, and in the older manner the food is taken by hand. Lei are worn, and sometimes made on the spot. Music starts up in kanikapila fashion with ukulele and guitar, and hula dancers perform. The occasion is a family or community milestone rather than a date in a calendar.

When and where

A lūʻau has no fixed date. It is arranged around an occasion, most often a wedding, a birthday, a graduation or the arrival of a baby. The first feasts of this kind followed the end of the kapu in 1819, and the name has been recorded in print since 1856.

The lūʻau belongs to Hawaiʻi and is kept by Native Hawaiians and other people of the islands. It is held on open ground, often a backyard, with large tents for the guests. Lūʻau-themed versions are also staged across the continental United States; one well-known example took place in Encino, California.

What Lūʻau means

Sharing food carries the memory of the moment when the kapu was lifted. Until then women and commoners were kept from certain dishes; afterwards everyone could eat together. So a lūʻau stands for gathering without rank or separation, and for plenty laid out for guests. The earth oven and the bowl of poi tie the meal to the land and to the taro root it comes from. To hold a lūʻau for a family is to mark a change in life with food that all share.

Questions people ask about Lūʻau

See also

MaracatuA set of Afro-Brazilian performance traditions from Pernambuco and Ceará featuring drumming, dance, and royal pageantry.Talking stickA carved staff that shows who may speak at a Northwest Coast gatheringSaint David's DayThe national feast day of Wales, marked with parades, poetry contests and daffodilsTwelfth NightThe closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassail

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Lūʻau on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.