O-bon in Hawaii. Check it out!

O-bon is the annual Buddhist event where families remember and honor their ancestors. O-bon literally means lantern festival, and, in Japan, lanterns were hung out in front of homes to light the way for spirits to return andvisit. This tradition made its way to Hawaii in the early 1900s with the Japanese immigrants who came to work on the sugar plantations.

I know that now but, when I was a child growing up in Ewa, a plantation town on Oahu, o-bon or bon dance, as we u
sed to call it, was a two-night event where we donned our silk kimonos, had our mom or auntie wrap and tie the fancy obi (cloth belt) around our waist and put on our tabis (Japanese split socks) and geta (Japanese clogs) before we dashed off to the temple for a night of dancing and food. We would spend hours dancing in a circle around a tower (yagura) with our friends to the songs sung in Japanese by someone who was accompanied by a piccolo and beating taiko drum. Between songs and during breaks, wed grab sodas, eat some barbeque meat sticks and gossip.

While thats my memory from many, many years past, I dont think it has changed much for young Japanese-American girls growing up in Hawaii. And today, participation in O-bon has become somewhat of a multi-ethnic event as you will see many different ethnic groups participating in the dancing or just watching and enjoying the food. All one needs to participate is a willingness to join in the dance and, after watching others, you will soon discover that the motions are repetitive so its fairly easy to get the hang of it.

This year, the first O-bon celebration takes place at Hawaiis Plantation Village, located in historic Waipahu town, on Saturday, June 3. Visit http://hawaiisplantationvillage-info.com.

Food sales start at 5 pm followed by a blessing at 6 pm and bon dancing immediately thereafter. Admission is free and ample parking is available.

I took these photos at previous O-bon events at Hawaii's Plantation Village.

Enjoy the video too ...

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