Waikīkī means “spouting water” because it was a vast marshland fed by many streams. You are in fact standing on what was the mouth of an old stream, the Kuekaunahi. From traditional times Waikīkī has been a popular surfing spot which is one of the reasons why the chiefs made their homes and headquarters here for hundreds of years. Though its been called the “sport of kings,” everyone surfed. Surf spots had their special names and most famous in Waikīkī was Kalehuawehe or “take off the lehua.” It was so named when a legendary hero took off his lei of lehua blossoms and gave it to the wife of the ruling chief with whom he was surfing. Romance and surfing often went together. Believe it or not, by 1900 surfing had nearly died out in Hawai‘i partly because of the missionary opposition to the sport which took people away from worship and other religious obligations.