Mamala
Ke-kai-o-Mamala (the Sea of Mamala), the ocean west of Waikiki off the coast of Honolulu, was named after one of Hawaii’s earliest known legendary woman surfers Mamala.
She was a kupua, a demigod or hero with supernatural powers who could take the form of a beautiful woman, a gigantic lizard, or a great shark.
Mamala was a wonderful surf rider. Skillfully, she rode the roughest waves. She apparently liked to surf far out from shore, in rough seas, when the winds blew strong and whitecaps rolled in disorder into the bay of Kou. The people on the beach, watching her, would clap and yell in recognition to her extraordinary riding.
Mamala was remembered ever afterward both by the surf spot named in her honor and also in a song about her called the "Mele o Honokaupu"
(couldn't find the song on the internet... I guess you should just try to imagine a traditional Hawaiian melody to go with the lyrics)
The surf rises at Ko`olau,
Blowing the waves into mist,
Into little drops,
Spray falling along the hidden harbor.
There is my dear husband Ouha,
There is the shaking sea, the running sea of Kou,
The crab-like sea of Kou...
Prepare the awa to drink, the crab to eat.
The small konane board is at Hono-kau-pu,
My friend on the highest point of the surf.
There is a good surf for us.
My love has gone away.
Smooth is the floor of Kou,
Fine is the breeze from the mountain.
I wait for you to return.
Will the lover return?
I belong to Honoka`upu,
From the top of the tossing surf waves,
The eyes of the day and the night are forgotten.
Kou is the day, and tonight
The eyes meet at Kou.
Into little drops,
Spray falling along the hidden harbor.
There is my dear husband Ouha,
There is the shaking sea, the running sea of Kou,
The crab-like sea of Kou...
Prepare the awa to drink, the crab to eat.
The small konane board is at Hono-kau-pu,
My friend on the highest point of the surf.
There is a good surf for us.
My love has gone away.
Smooth is the floor of Kou,
Fine is the breeze from the mountain.
I wait for you to return.
Will the lover return?
I belong to Honoka`upu,
From the top of the tossing surf waves,
The eyes of the day and the night are forgotten.
Kou is the day, and tonight
The eyes meet at Kou.
I wait for you to return,
The games are prepared,
Pa-poko, pa-loa, pa-lele,
Leap away to Tahiti
By the path to Nuumehalani,
Will that lover return?
The games are prepared,
Pa-poko, pa-loa, pa-lele,
Leap away to Tahiti
By the path to Nuumehalani,
Will that lover return?
Isabel Letham
(23 May 1899 – 11 March 1995)
Was an Australian pioneer surfboard rider and swimming instructor, renowned as "the first Australian to ride a surfboard". She was 15 at the time.
Mary Ann Hawkins
was a famous female surfer in California in the 1920's.
Faye Baird Fraser
who in the 1920s was known to catch a wave on her 85-pound redwood plank. She was the first female to surf in San Diego.
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