In 1907 George Freeth was brought to California from Hawaii to demonstrate surfboard riding as a publicity stunt to promote the opening of the Los Angeles-Redondo-Huntington railroad owned by Henry Huntington, who gave his name to Huntington Beach. Some ancient sites still popular today include Kahaluu Bay and Holualoa Bay. These upper class Hawaiians gained respect through their enduring ability to master the waves and this art the Hawaiians referred to as surfing. Aside from the preparatory stages prior to entering the water, the most skilled surfers were often of the upper class including chiefs and warriors that surfed amongst the best waves on the island. The alaia board is around 9 foot long and requires great skill to ride and master. The kiko okina o ranges in length from 12-18 foot and requires great skill to maneuver. The okina olo is thick in the middle and gradually gets thinner towards the edges. There were three primary shapes: the okina olo, kiko okina o, and the Alaia. Selected craftsman of the community were then hired to shape, stain, and prepare the board for the surfer. Once selected, the surfer would dig the tree out and place fish in the hole as an offering to the gods. The trees included the koa, okina ulu and wiliwili trees. Hawaiians would carefully select one of three types of trees. Prior to entering the ocean, the priest would also aid the surfers (mainly of the upper class) in undertaking the spiritual ceremony of constructing a surfboard. If the ocean was tamed, frustrated surfers would call upon the kahuna (priest), who would aid them in a surfing prayer asking the gods to deliver great surf. They referred to this art as he okina e nalu which translates into English as “wave sliding.” The art began before entering the mysterious ocean as the Hawaiians prayed to the gods for protection and strength to undertake the powerful mystifying ocean. Rather, the Hawaiian people integrated surfing into their culture and made surfing more of an art than anything else. In Ancient Hawaii, people did not consider surfing a mere recreational activity, hobby, extreme sport, or career as it is viewed today.
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Only a small number of Hawaiians continued to practice the sport and the art of making surfboards. By the 20th century, surfing, along with other traditional practices, had all but disappeared.
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When the missionaries from Scotland and Germany arrived in 1821, they forbade or discouraged many Polynesian traditions and cultural practices, including, on Hawaii, leisure sports such as surfing and holua sledding. According to oral tradition, surfing was also practiced in Tonga, where the late king, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV was the foremost Tongan surfer of his time. Samoans referred to surf riding as fa'ase'e or se'egalu.
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The sport was also recorded in print by Augustin Kramer and other European residents and visitors who wrote about and photographed Samoans surfing on planks and single canoe hulls. The ruling class had the best beaches and the best boards, and the commoners were not allowed on the same beaches, but they could gain prestige by their ability to ride the surf on their extremely heavy boards. The chief (Kahuna) was the most skilled wave rider in the community with the best board made from the best tree. Surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture and predates European contact. The art of surfing, called he'enalu in the Hawaiian language, was first observed by Captain Cook and the crew of the Dolphin in Hawaii in 1767. Considered the first surf craft, the Caballito de Totora is an ancient type of boat built in the north of Peru with a special plant called Totora.