Chief of War - TV Series

 One thing we kept hearing over and over again while we were in Hawaii was that we had to watch Chief of War with Jason Momoa. 

(Full Disclosure - it stars Jason Momoa so I was planning on watching it anyway.)

On the flight back to the Mainland, Chief of War (which streams on Apple TV) was one of the in-flight choices for entertainment!  

If you are not familiar with the series, Chief of War is about the unification of the Hawaiian Islands from an indigenous point of view. The War Chief is determined to fend off colonization of the Islands by uniting the divided and warring islands.  The series was created by Jason Momoa and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett.  

The visual scenery is stunning.  The acting is phenomenal.  The story line is well thought out, and I enjoyed watching how the story grew.  I love how the Chief of War grew out from the legend and into the world.  What was more stunning to me - the beginning of the series is entirely spoken in Hawaiian.  This forces the viewer to pay attention to the dialogue and the script, as the English words are dubbed in when the actors speak Hawaiian.

Did I enjoy the series?  YES!!  It was extremely well acted, with a solid storyline based upon historical fact.  Everyone I spoke with in the islands spoke again and again about the lengths that the producers went through to ensure Cultural Authenticity.  Historical accuracy is tantamount to the entire series, which builds upon its authenticity.

I read in an interview with Jason Momoa that he worked with a language coach who taught him not only the words, but also the cadence and the accents.  While Jason is Hawaiian, he did not grow up speaking Hawaiian.  For the filming of Chief of War, the entire cast learned Hawaiian, and they worked together on reading scenes in Hawaiian so that they could learn each other's lines and how to react to the lines.  Jason has said that learning the Hawaiian language was more difficult than learning Dothraki for Game of Thrones.

What a wonderful celebration of the history and culture of the people of Hawaii.  If you have Apple TV and are looking for a new series to stream, this is an excellent choice. 

image released by Apple TV for Chief of War.
source: the link below/

Read more about Jason Momoa's Hawaiian Langugage Journey (also the source of the picture above):  https://apnews.com/article/jason-momoa-chief-of-war-hawaiian-language-e5a49c8fb8d9d5fb809e354f85bab4ba

Hawaii

I could bore you all with a detailed account of our trip to Hawaii, but I won't do that.  It was lovely.  A week on Oahu and a week on Hawaii.  I'm going to do a quick, random recap of our time there.  We rented condos while we were there, so we were able to cook.  We picked up food from the Farmer's Markets and in China Town.  We cooked and ate locally grown food - we did not expect to eat anything we would normally eat on the mainland.  The fruit was amazing! We ate lunch out occasionally while we were exploring. The food trucks are amazing, and the little family owned restaurants make the best food!

 

Hilo Farmers Market

One of the healthiest salads I've ever eaten!

Chinatown in Honolulu

We arrived on the Big Island the day after the volcano stopped erupting.  She had been fountaining lava the day before we arrived.  We landed on the big island and *fizzle* there was a glow of lava, and so much steam from the steam vents.  But no lava.  We explored everything we could safely explore in Volcanoes National Park.  We walked out to see the Petroglyphs.  We drove to the ends of all the roads.  We explored the lava tunnels.  We went back at night to see the red glow. It was awesome!

We spent time in Hilo - the rainiest city in the United States.  It lived up to it's reputation!  But all of that rain leads to a lush and verdant rainforest and the most amazing waterfalls.  Loved every single minute of exploring those trails. Drove through the middle of the island between the two volcanoes and around the island. We did not begin to see everything there was to see.  We only scratched the surface.

Lili'uokalani Gardens

Wailuku River after a Storm.

Sitting on the seawall in Kona, looking out across the Bay.

Huli-hee Palace, Kona

Oahu is amazing. We went to the North Shore and watched the big waves. Ate Poke.  Visited Pearl Harbor. Had Shave Ice.  Hiked through still more beautiful rainforests and saw still more beautiful waterfalls. Went up to the National Cemetery of the Pacific. Had a formal tea.  Ate Malasadas. 

We found this gem when roaming through the Sheraton Lobby.

Ocean literally 100 feet away from where I took this picture!

The Byodo-In Temple
Jason Momoa posted pictures from here earlier this week.

Waimea Falls

I wish I remembered where I took this picture.
Honestly, it reminds me of Gilligan's Island!

But by far, my favorite part of Hawaii is how every single person stops to watch the sunset every night.  It is an event.  We went down to the ocean - and so did so many other people - and sat down with the crowd.  I am still in awe of how every single person was united in that moment of beauty - just stopping whatever they were doing to watch the sun go down.  We all need to do more of that.