Hawaii has been dubbed the “rainbow capital of the world” due to the islands’ regular sunshine, rain showers and clean air.
They are such a common sight that they have become popular symbols for the islands, adorning license plates, public buses and buildings. They are even the name of the University of Hawaii sports teams.
The Hawaiian language has around 20 names for rainbows, which in the native tradition represent diving or supernatural power. Rainbows occur opposite the sun when raindrops refract sunlight into various colours.
“For me, rainbows really signify hope and new beginnings,” said Liane Usher, the president of the Children’s Discovery Center in Honolulu, which features rainbows on its exterior wall and in its exploration rooms. “I can’t ever help but smile whenever I see a rainbow after the rain.”
Steven Businger, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, says the trade winds bring small showers with enough blue sky between them for the sun to shine through.
The clean air also helps, as other places tend to have more air particles from dust, pollen, and cars. Conditions improve further during the rainy season, which lasts from October through April.
“Hawaii has maybe the best rainbows on the planet,” Businger told The Independent. He has created an app called RainbowChase to help people find rainbows in Hawaii.
“Rainbows are a cultural touchstone for us. They cause us to stand still and for a moment, forget about the past and the future,” Businger said. “We are really in the moment when we see a spectacular rainbow, and that’s a rare experience in our busy lives.”
Sam ‘Ohu Gon III, senior scientist and cultural adviser at The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii, said rainbows are considered a symbol of Kāne, one of the four main gods in Hawaiian tradition.
Traditionally, the closer one got to a rainbow, the more likely they were to encounter a supernatural force or an extremely powerful or chiefly person.
To Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a teacher and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner, a rainbow signals an “aumakua” – a deified ancestor or a family or personal god.
“When those of our loved ones go before us, they precede us in life, and they leave us in this realm. They are able sometimes to show their presence,” Wong-Kalu said. “The rainbow is one of those ways.”