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I have always thought that the “shaka” evolved from the common and widespread gesture of greeting a friend or acquaintance by waving the raised hand with stretched fingers.
As a gesture of greeting, the shaka retains the waving of the raised hand (with only the thumb and the pinky sticking out). I have always thought that the word “shaka” is a pidgin-ation of the word “shake.” Before I even heard of the word “shaka,” I have been hearing the phrase “shake it, baby.”
I have always understood the phrase as meaning “relax” or “take it easy.” In any event, Bob Sigall’s article on the shaka’s origin is instructive (“Shaka’s origin evolves through the years as readers chime in,” Star-Advertiser, Rearview Mirror, April 14).
Tony Ramil
Kihei, Maui
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