surfing

surfing origin culture

Origin

Surfing at Ormond Beach in Oxnard, California, in 1975

See also: History of surfing

For centuries surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture. Surfing might have been observed first at Tahiti in Spring 1767 by Samuel Wallis and the crew members of the Dolphin^[1]who quickly visited the island on 17 June 1767. Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks^[2]being part of the First voyage of James Cook on the HMS Endeavour, who arrived on 10 April 1769 on Tahiti. Lieutenant James King was the first one who wrote about the art of surfing on Hawaii^[3]when completing the journals of Captain James Cook upon Cook's death in 1779.

When Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866 he wrote,

"In one place we came upon a large company of naked natives, of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing."^[4]

References to surf riding on planks and single canoe hulls are also verified for pre-contact Samoa, where surfing was called fa'ase'e or se'egalu (see Kramer, Samoa Islands) and Tonga.

Surfers and surf culture

Main article: Surf culture

The Shaka sign.

Surfers represent a diverse culture based on riding the waves. Some people practice surfing as arecreational activity while others make it the central focus of their lives. Within the United States, surfing culture is most dominant in California, Florida and Hawaii. Some historical markers of the culture included the woodie, the station wagon used to carry surfers' boards, as well asboardshorts, the long swim shorts typically worn while surfing. In Hawaii it is a bad idea to drop in and cut off the local Hawaiians while catching waves. Doing so will be followed by a swift "haole beatdown" in which the locals will chase the white surfer out of the water and jump him on the beach thus beating him to a pulp.

The sport of surfing now represents a multi-billion dollar industry especially in clothing and fashionmarkets. Some people make a radical career out of surfing by receiving corporate sponsorships.

When the waves were flat, surfers persevered with sidewalk surfing, which is now called skateboarding. Sidewalk surfing has a similar feel to surfing and requires only a paved road or sidewalk. To create the feel of the wave, surfers even sneak into empty backyard swimming pools to ride in, known as pool skating.