Nalu
History, Legends, and Wisdom from 1,000 Years of Hawaiian Surfing
By Marie Alohalani Brown and Ian Lendler
A visually stunning and culturally rich exploration of surfing, the oldest sport in North America and an integral part of Hawaiian society that dates back more than 1,000 years.
Modern surfing culture has existed for only about 100 years. Even the word “surfing” was a Western invention created in the 1800s by early visitors to Hawaiʻi, who had no idea how to describe the sight of Hawaiians riding waves. Little did those Westerners know that Hawaiians already had a name for it: heʻe nalu, or wave-sliding.
For ancient Hawaiians, this indigenous pastime w…
Publication date: August 4, 2026