Olo board

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For other uses, see OLO.
Olo
Hawaiian people
RelatedAlaia, paipo board, durfboard
Prime Minister Kalanimoku standing in the doorway of one of his houses in the company of his wife Likelike, shown with her right arm raised and about to strike a sheet of kapa. In the foreground is an Olo board, the largest of the Hawaiian wood surfboards. Reserved for royalty, they ranged in size from 1.8 to 8 meters.
Illustration of native Hawaiians surf-riding (surfing) from an article entitled "Our Neighbors of the Sandwich Islands" in Hutchings' California Magazine, November 30, 1858.

The Olo, Olo board or Olo surfboard (pronounced: IPA:

longboard, measuring up to 5.18 metres (17.0 ft) long, 16.5 inches wide and nearly 6 inches thick. The board was more than 76.20 kilograms (168.0 lb)[2] and was used for surfing large waves and even tsunamis
, the boards were strictly meant for Hawaiian Chieftains and Kings.

Origins

Main article: History of surfing

The Olo (also called O'lo) was the largest type of surfboard, it was considered a prized possession and an important object for Hawaiian noblemen. The board was typically 16 to 20 feet long

European explorers described the surfboards that were used by the average Hawaiian surfers but also the eye catching ginormous O'lo boards used by Hawaiian chieftains. European explorers that described them such as Samuel Wallis and Joseph Banks, may have observed surfing in Polynesia. Lieutenant James King (Royal Navy officer) was the first to write about surfing on Hawaii, after Captain James Cook death in 1779. Herman Melville 1849 novel Mardi describes the "Rare Sport at Ohonoo" as requiring a surf-board, which was five feet in length, convex on both sides, highly polished, and rounded at the ends. Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866 and observed a large group of naked natives enjoying the sport. References to surf riding on planks and single canoe hulls are also found in pre-contact Samoa and Tonga
, far pre-dating the practice of surfing by Hawaiians and eastern Polynesians by over a thousand years.

Materials

Olo boards were primarily made from

Koa wood, Ulu wood or Wiliwili.[4]
Olo boards required a strong, hard, durable and very dense type of wood for the use of riding it on larger ocean waves, they also required stronger wood since they were long and heavy which could cause cracks or huge splits if weak types of wood were used.

Waikiki beach carries one of the last Alaia surf board. The surfer was Charles Kauha. Frank Davey photographed Charles Kauha in 1898 in numerous poses, but none are of Kauha surfing.[5]

Modern uses

Today the Olo board is considered as a relic, most authentic pre-20th century olo boards are on display in museums around the world, mostly in Hawaii, the remaining boards are kept as heirlooms and prized possessions. Olo boards were expensive to build and required a lot of skill, they required very high quality materials to make. Some avid and professional surfers in the present may prefer and use traditional and old types of Hawaiian surfboards that are antiques or those made recently from traditional techniques and materials. The olo board is no longer popular, but it is an important part of Hawaiian surfing.

See also

References

  1. ^ Wegener, Tom (2018-11-01). "Ancient Hawaiian Olo". Tom Wegener Master Shaper. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  2. ^ Warshaw, Matt. "olo board". eos.surf. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  3. ^ "The Boards". The history of surfing. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  4. ^ a b "The Olo and the Alaia~Part One". Surf Connection. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  5. ISBN 978-0-7385-7488-2
    .
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