Two hundred years later, Indigenous Hawaiian people are shining a light on the island’s LGBTQ+ friendly past, and “the rainbow state” is increasingly becoming a hot spot for LGBTQ+ travel, buoyed by the islands’ two annual pride events. Mahu culture went underground, and Aikane ceased to exist. Mahu were also traditionally the keepers of local history and genealogy, giving them a sacred place in the community.Īll of this changed in 1820 when Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii to impose their strict evangelical views on what they saw as the hell-bound islanders. In Polynesian culture, Mahu embodies the ideal of spiritual duality and is viewed as a special and revered third sex. When Captain James Cook arrived in Hawaii in the late 18th century, he wrote detailed journal entries about the Aikane and the Mahu, or transgender members of the community. The Hawaiian language doesn’t even have gender pronouns like “he” or “she,” and, in the past, same-sex (Aikane) relationships between High Chiefs and talented men were not just common but revered. Ancient islanders understood that people were made up of both male and female qualities and didn’t assign a gender binary to anyone. Hawaiian culture has always had a deep appreciation of the fluidity of gender and sexuality. LGBTQ+ locals share their favorite spots off the beaten path.
