Rodeos too .
Hawaiian Rodeo Paniolo Palaka Hawai’i has its own plaid cotton fabric (palaka) and its own cowboys called (paniolo). We have Rodeos too and our floral lei and haku (head lei) are a big part of our rodeo heritage. Our Paniolo often wore the traditional palaka plaid fabric because it was a heavy cotton that protected them from the elements. Palaka was widely worn by sugarcane workers and became overtime a Hawai’i statement fabric among locals. It originally came in just navy and white. Today, red and many other colors dominate. I created it in gray because I loved the way it looked against my haku lei. There’s a lot more interesting history about Palaka and Paniolo that I can’t cover here. Both Palaka and Paniolo were a result of contact with westerners. PANIOLO In 1793 Captain George Vancouver brought the first long horned cattle to the Big Island as a gift for King Kamehameha I. The wild cattle created a nuisance that resulted in need for experienced cattle handlers. In the early 1800's, King Kamehameha III invited cowboys from Spanish California to come to Hawai`i to teach cattle handling skills. They were called Espanoles (Spaniards) which the native Hawaiians pronounced as paniolos. In time all cowboys in Hawai`i became known as paniolos. Over time the paniolos attained fame as world class cowboys. In 1908, Parker Ranch paniolo Ikua Purdy won the world rodeo steer-roping championship in Cheyenne Wyoming. In 1999, Purdy was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.