The Shaka
The shaka sign, commonly known as “hang loose”, is a greeting gesture, often associated with Hawaii and surfer culture.
It consists of extending the thumb and smallest finger while holding the three middle fingers curled, and raising the hand in salutation while presenting the back – the hand may be rotated back and forth for emphasis.
Hawaiian locals use the shaka to convey what they call the “Aloha Spirit”, a gesture of friendship and understanding between the various ethnic cultures that reside within Hawaii, 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 “thank you”, “hi”, “howzit”, and the like. The shaka gets a lot of use on the roads as an effective drivers sign language and in photographs to communicate a distant greeting.
Outside of Hawaii, the shaka may be used to mean “hang loose”, “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.
In California, the Shaka sign may be referred to as the “chill” or “hang ten” sign- both associated with surfer culture.
So when you see The Shaka Shack, you know it is time to:-
