Simply stated, I love living in Hawaii. There are countless reasons for my affection for the islands and one of those is the abundance of cultural activities that can be enjoyed without having to leave the little rock that I call home.

To me, summers in Hawaii mean bon dance season. Bon dance season in Hawaii doesn’t mean you have to be Japanese or a Buddhist to participate this tradition. Although obon traditionally is observed for only a few days in mid-July, Hawaii’s Buddhist community commemorate their ancestors for 3 months (June-August). Buddhist temples in every community hold their own bon dance, seemingly coordinating with one another so that there isn’t much overlap and so that avid dancers can literally go temple-hopping and attend a bon dance every Friday and Saturday night for the entire summer.

I would assume that the bon dances are probably the churches’ big annual fundraising endeavor as they often feature food booths, crafts, and bake sales for the event. Obtain your own souvenir bon dance towels, emblazoned with the temple’s name, for a small donation. Feel underdressed? Pick up a homemade hapi coat sewn by church members — we did!

I am notorious for being ridiculously early to bon dances, arriving as early as an hour and a half before it is set to start. Oddly enough, I’m usually one of the last ones to arrive at any other type of event — but I perish the thought of not being able to find parking among the limited spaces along the street and missing out on a midsummer night of dancing.

Before you think I’m insane, let me just say that the food booths are generally open by this time (or soon to be) and I can get a head start on the onolicious grinds and get a parking space for my butt on the limited chairs around the bon dance circle without having to fight the crowd. So, it works out nicely.

Bon dances are no fun without a few outgoing friends to join you on your journey around the yagura. Hubby brought a few of his friends to the bon dance but didn’t find them to be willing participants as they flailed their way through the Fukushima but only made it about halfway around the circle before bowing out. (Actually, they ran away and stood waaay outside the circle so that we wouldn’t drag them back in.)

Luckily, I have a few bon dance addicts for friends, (Joyce, Shari, Mahealani, Chris) so I usually don’t have to make my way into the circle alone. Hubby also has absolved his fear of dancing and will join me — when he’s not entertaining his non-dancing friends, that is. Boo.

It always seems to rain on the Waipahu Hongwanji bon dance and the skies overhead that night sure looked like it was intending to continue the tradition, but thankfully, rain was not on the agenda this year. I even wore my rainy day ‘do, not bothering to dry and straighten my hair as is my normal regimen, which is why I look like I just had a bad perm in the photos. At least rain didn’t mandate that I wear a bon dance towel on my head, obaachan-style.

Make a mental note: Waipahu Hongwanji is one of the best bon dances to attend on Oahu. Great food with lots of variety, good mix of upbeat music and dance, nice set up, ample space to sit or bring your own folding chair if you come late. Parking can be a bear, but if you come early , you’ll be sure to find some street parking not too far from the mission.

Related Links
Invitation to Bon Dancing - An excellent resource to find out more about bon dances.
Star-Bulletin article entitled “Spirit-Filled Tradition”, includes the 2005 bon dance schedule for Hawaii

Trackback URI |