Ukulele Hawaiian Culture Shirt - Aloha Tee, Hawaii Heritage Gift, Pacific Islander

The 'ukulele — the jumping flea — is small, bright, and unmistakably Hawaiian, even though it began its life as something else entirely.

In 1879, Portuguese immigrants from Madeira arrived in Honolulu aboard the Ravenscrag to work on the sugar plantations. They brought with them a small four-stringed instrument called the machete. Hawaiians took to it immediately, renamed it 'ukulele, and made it their own — pairing it with slack key guitar, with hula, with the falsetto leo ki'eki'e of Hawaiian song. King Kalākaua, "the Merrie Monarch," embraced the 'ukulele at his court and helped lift it into the heart of Hawaiian music, where it has stayed ever since.

For locals, this design honors an instrument that is now as Hawaiian as the songs it carries. For visitors, it is a souvenir of the sound of these islands — four strings, warm wood, and a melody that follows you home.

Soft unisex tee. Multiple sizes and colorways available.