We now call it surfing, but the ancient Hawaiian name for this sport was he`enalu, a term rich in oceanic and poetic nuance. The word's first half, he`e, for example, can mean 'to change from a solid to a liquid substance: to run, as a liquid: to flow, as blood or water: to slip or glide along: to melt away: or to flee through fear.
And nalu, the second half, implies the roaring, surging and rolling motion of a wave as it glides toward a beach: the forming of a wave: and the slimy liquid or the face of a newborn infant.
Piece those word parts together and what everges is a simple definition 'wave sliding'or a semi oetic interpretation which allows surfers from the earliest of surfing times to be as newborn babes fleeing in a slippery, flowing from through a terrifying, roaring and surging saltwater womb.
Nobody's sure when Plolynesians first engaged in this subtle and spectacular watersport, but Hawaiian chants which date to the 15th Century recount surfing exploits and indicate that surfing by then was so fefined that special contests were held between famous surfers.
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