In Hawaiʻi winter brings cooler weather, humpback whales and, of course, massive surf to north-facing shores. Surfing-or heʻe nalu in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language)-is believed to have originated in ancient Polynesia and brought to the Islands, where it thrived. Once a sport reserved for aliʻi (Hawaiian royalty), commoners were allowed to hit the waves when the Hawaiian kapu (taboo) system ended in 1819. The sport gained popularity in the early 1900s, thanks to Waikīkī beach boys like Olympian Duke Kahanamoku, who taught visitors how to ride waves.