Hang Loose - Shaka - Geocoin

To meet as many geocachers as possible and spread The Hawaiian "Shaka" throughout the world.

Please post your picture giving "The Shaka" and keep me moving. It may help you to feel the laid-back culture and the friendship if you smile a big, toothy smile and say "shaka!" while taking the picture.

Aloha!

The Shaka Sign is a common greeting gesture. It is often associated with Hawaii. It consists of extending the thumb and smallest finger while keeping the three middle fingers curled, and raising the hand as in salutation with the back of the hand facing the person that is being greeted; sometimes the hand is rotated back and forth to emphasize the sign.

Hawaiian locals use the shaka to convey what locals in Hawai'i call the "Aloha Spirit," a gesture of friendship and understanding between the various ethnic cultures that reside within Hawai'i, and thus it does not have a direct semantic to literal translation. Depending on context it can also be used to communicate notions such as "all right," "cool," "smooth," and the like. Residents of states other than Hawaii who use the shaka may describe it as meaning "hang loose," and in Florida the symbol itself is more commonly called the "hang loose" sign rather than the shaka sign. It can also be used to signal "hello," "goodbye," " till next time," "take care," or "all right!" In sign language, the shaka is one of the two signs used to refer to surfing.


The shaka sign resembles the American Sign Language letter for Y.
The sign is often followed by waving as a greeting or acknowledgement. It can be used when driving as a signal of thanks to other drivers (for example, someone who stopped to let another driver onto the road from a driveway).

The shaka sign was popularized among locals in Hawaii through its use by second-hand car salesman Lippy Espinda in his television commercials, which were broadcast throughout the state in the 1960s. It was adopted as a salutation of friendship by the local culture at large from then on.