Paniolo – Hawaiian Cowboy

Kathy and I have been lucky enough to visit the Hawaiian Islands many times and on most trips I try to ride with one of the local Paniolo or Hawaiian cowboys.

The first longhorn cattle in Hawaii were delivered as a gift to King Kamehameha I by Captain George Vancouver. Kamehameha protected them by making it illegal to harm them and they reproduced in the wild until they became a nuisance, knocking down small fences and destroying crops.

John Parker, a New England sailor who jumped ship in 1809 and remained on Hawaii, became a friend of Kamehameha and talked the king into granting him the right to hunt the wild cattle.

The Hawaiian style of ranching included capturing wild bullocks by driving them into pits dug in the forest floor. Once tamed somewhat by hunger and thirst, they were hauled out up a steep ramp, and tied by their horns to the horns of a tame steer which knew where the paddock with food and water was. Many of the ranch fences and paddocks can still be seen today – and some remain in use – stone walls undulating over the lava fields. Wood was too rare in many areas to use for fencing, so stones provided a sturdy and readily available material.

In 1832 Portuguese and Mexican vaqueros were imported to control the cows and local ranchers hired native Hawaiians to oversee and control the herds, learning from the visiting cowboys. In talking with the Hawaiians, the men introduced themselves as “Español.” The closest the Hawaiian tongue could come to that was “Paniolo.” A man who worked cattle in the Spanish style was now a Paniolo.

Eventually the idea of exporting to the US mainland became economically desirable but there was one problem. Because there were no wharves each cow would have to be led into the ocean, suspended on the side of a rowboat, and when a half-dozen were so suspended, they were rowed out to the ship and hoisted via crane and belly strap aboard, for transport.

A Paniolo Hall of Fame was initiated by the O`ahu Cattlemen’s Association in 1999 to recognize yesterday’s and today’s paniolo statewide who have contributed to keeping Hawai`i’s paniolo heritage alive, and to honor those who made the paniolo culture legendary. There are 94 members, both living and deceased, in the Paniolo Hall of Fame. All of the islands are represented by its members. The Paniolo Hall of Fame website is HERE.

And there’s an excellent documentary movie called Paniolo O Hawai’i – Cowboys of the Far West about the first and current Paniolos. You can order it HERE.

In the future I’ll write more about some of the places we’re visited and the people we’ve met. (That’s me in the green Hawaiian shirt riding on Daniel Nakoa’s ranch on the big island Hawaii.)