Paniolos

I spent the past week on the Big Island of Hawaii, a place I’ve been to many many times in my life, but this time was different.

My dad passed away in March, and we were bringing him home for one last celebration of his life, among his family and with many of his friends and classmates from his youth. It was a lovely little ceremony (more of a party, really) with lots of stories being swapped and the usual assortment of local foods put together by my relatives (a massive shoutout to them, for none of this would have been possible without their generous help). We were scheduled to take him out and scatter his ashes at sea, where my grandparents and many many other locals have been laid to rest. However, an unfortunately timed wildfire cut off access to the docks we were set to launch from (and some evacuations even used the venue we hosted the celebration at mere hours before as a temporary shelter). Alas, it wasn’t to be, on this trip.

When we returned to my aunt’s house in Honoka’a, I could hear a faint but distinct sound coming from the bottom of the hill the house was on. I knew there was a rodeo arena down the street, a short 2 or 3 minute walk from the front porch, but had never actually seen anything going on there… it always had the feel of having been abandoned, ever since I was a child. So, despite the rain that had been constantly falling and the fact I was still wearing my “nice” clothes from the celebration, I grabbed my camera bag and headed down the hill.

What greeted me was a full blown rodeo, full of muddy enclosures and cowboy hats and bleachers of cheering spectators. There was a fundraiser going on for a fellow Paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboy, who had had cancer. I made a few pictures, spoke with this fine gentleman (who it turns out knows my family… small town, after all). After about an hour, I trekked back up the hill in mud-covered rubber slippers, hosed off, and joined the rest of the family for dinner.

It surprises a lot of people that there are so many cows and cowboys in Hawaii, but believe it or not Hawaii actually has one of the longest traditions of ranching in all of North America, and one of the largest private ranches in the US. Hopefully you learned something new today!

Thanks for reading.

-Brandon