The riding of waves has likely existed since humans began swimming in the ocean. In this sense, bodysurfing is the oldest type of wave-catching. Undoubtedly ancient sailors learned how to ride wave energy on many styles of early boats. However, standing up on what is now called a surfboard is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians. The influences for modern surfing can be directly traced to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.
Peru
Archaeologists have found that the practice of riding a vessel with a wave was utilized since the pre-Inca cultures around three to five thousand years ago. The Moche culture used the caballito de totora (little horse of totora), a type of reed found in the lagoons of northern Peru, with archaeological evidence showing its use around 200 CE.
An early description of the Inca surfing was documented by Jesuit missionary José de Acosta in his 1590 publication Historia natural y moral de las Indias, writing:
To this day Caballitos de Totora are still used by local fishermen and can also be ridden by tourists for recreational purposes.
West Africa
West Africans (e.g., Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal) and western Central Africans (e.g., Cameroon) independently developed the skill of surfing. Amid the 1640s CE, Michael Hemmersam provided an account of surfing in the Gold Coast: “the parents ‘tie their children to boards and throw them into the water.’” In 1679 CE, Barbot provided an account of surfing among Elmina children in Ghana: “children at Elmina learned “to swim, on bits of boards, or small bundles of rushes, fasten’d under their stomachs, which is a good diversion to the spectators.” James Alexander provided an account of surfing in Accra, Ghana in 1834 CE: “From the beach, meanwhile, might be seen boys swimming into the sea, with light boards under their stomachs. They waited for a surf; and came rolling like a cloud on top of it. But I was told that sharks occasionally dart in behind the rocks and ‘yam’ them.” Thomas Hutchinson provided an account of surfing in southern Cameroon in 1861: “Fishermen rode small dugouts ‘no more than six feet in length, fourteen to sixteen inches in width, and from four to six inches in depth.’”
Polynesia The art of surfing, known as hee nalu (literally, wave sliding) in the Hawaiian language, was recorded by Joseph Banks in his journal aboard while on the first voyage of James Cook, during the ship's stay in Tahiti in 1769:...their cheif [sic] amusement was carried on by the stern of an old canoe, with this before them they swam out as far as the outermost breach, then one or two would get into it and opposing the blunt end to the breaking wave were hurried in with incredible swiftness. Sometimes they were carried almost ashore... Surfing was a central part of Polynesian culture predating European contact. The chief (Ali'i) was traditionally the most skilled wave rider in the community with the best board made from the best wood. The ruling class had the best beaches and the best boards, and the commoners were not allowed on the same beaches, but they could gain prestige by their ability to ride the surf on their boards.
In Tahiti and Samoa, surfing was a popular pastime that was often used as part of warriors' training. Warriors often paddled to surf breaks and were recorded in print by early European historians as spending many hours bravely paddling head-on into large surf and riding waves. Canoes often accompanied surfing parties and the men would often swap between canoeing and paddling boards, and then catch fish after their recreational activities. In Hawai'i, surfing became ingrained into the very fabric of Hawaii'an religion and culture.
The sport was also recorded in print by other European residents and visitors who wrote about and photographed Samoans surfing on planks and single canoe hulls; Samoans referred to surf riding as fa'ase'e or se'egalu. Edward Treager also confirmed Samoan terminology for surfing and surfboards in Samoa. Oral tradition confirms that surfing was also practiced in Tonga, where the late king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV became an expert surfer in his youth. Matt Warshaw, however, says the King began to surf in the 1920 on a board given him by Duke Kahanamoku.
Ancient Hawaii Hawaiians referred to this art as hee nalu which translates into English as "wave sliding." Surf-Riders of Hawaii Harper's Weekly 1883-Mar-17 Vol 27 #1369:167 The art began before entering the mysterious ocean as the Hawaiians prayed to the gods for protection and strength to undertake the powerful mystifying ocean. If the ocean was tamed, frustrated surfers would call upon the kahuna (priest), who would aid them in a surfing prayer asking the gods to deliver great surf. Prior to entering the ocean, the priest would also aid the surfers (mainly of the upper class) in undertaking the spiritual ceremony of constructing a surfboard.
Hawaiians would carefully select one of three types of trees. The trees included the koa (Acacia koa), ulu (Artocarpus altilis), and wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) trees. Once selected, the surfer would dig the tree out and place fish in the hole as an offering to the gods. Selected craftsmen of the community were then hired to shape, stain, and prepare the board for the surfer. There were three primary shapes: the olo, kikoo, and the alaia. The olo is thick in the middle and gradually gets thinner towards the edges. The kikoo ranges in length from and requires great skill to maneuver. The alaia board is around long and requires great skill to ride and master. Aside from the preparatory stages prior to entering the water, the most skilled surfers were often of the upper class including chiefs and warriors that surfed amongst the best waves on the island. These upper-class Hawaiians gained respect through their enduring ability to master the waves and this art the Hawaiians referred to as surfing. Some ancient sites still popular today include Kahaluu Bay and Holualoa Bay.
Post-contact Hawaii After contact with the Western World Hawaiian culture was forced to change. While Europeans were preoccupied with exploring and later colonizing the Pacific, they defined the islands as specks of land in a faraway sea. Western diseases spread and colonization began, plantations were built, and immigration started. Local Hawaiians, mixed with imported workers from Asia, were put to work on sugar plantations and Protestant missionaries attempted to turn the population from their traditional beliefs into Christians. Along with the suppression of traditional culture was the suppression of surfing, often viewed as frivolous.
It was not until Waikiki became a tourist destination that surfing began a resurgence in popularity. Particularly wealthy Americans came to the beach and saw the locals occasionally surfing what had long been an established surf break, Waikiki, and wanted to try it. Mark Twain attempted it but failed in 1866. Jack London tried it while visiting, then chronicled it enthusiastically in an essay entitled "A Royal Sport" published in October 1907. In 1908 Alexander Hume Ford founded the Outrigger Canoe and Surfing Club the first modern organization developed to promote surfing broadly, although it was de facto whites-only and women weren't admitted until 1926. Local Hawaiians started their own club in 1911 called Hui Nalu, meaning "Club of the Waves". But the first surf icons who gained widespread recognition, George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku, became famous for practicing their traditional sport and helped spread it from Waikiki to around the world.
As the news of this new sport began to spread, locals in Waikiki began giving lessons and demonstrations for tourists. This was the basis of the Waikiki Beach Boys, a loose group of mostly native Hawaiians who hung out at the beach, surfed daily, and taught wealthy haole tourists how to ride waves. This was also known as the Hawaiian boarder-land, where white hegemony was uncertain and Natives inverted dominant social categories. A borderland is a place where differences converge and social norms are often fluid. Because state-sanctioned authority is often absent from the borderlands, unique social and cultural identities are formed there. This was the foundation of a continual element of surf culture, repeated around the globe innumerable times and continuing to this day: people who, for at least a time, dedicate most of their daily lives to living on or around the beach and surfing as much as they can. These groups in Hawaii, and following in Australia, California, laid the foundation for modern surf culture around the world.
North America
In July 1885, three teenage Hawaiian princes took a break from their boarding school, St. Mathew's Hall in San Mateo, and came to cool off in Santa Cruz, California. There, David Kawananakoa, Edward Keliiahonui, and Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole surfed the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on custom-shaped redwood boards, according to surf historians Kim Stoner and Geoff Dunn. In 1907 George Freeth traveled to California from Hawaii to demonstrate surfboard riding as a publicity stunt to promote Abbot Kinney's resort in Venice, Venice of America. Later that year, Henry Huntington, who gave his name to Huntington Beach, hired Freeth as a lifeguard and to give surfing demonstrations to promote the city of Redondo Beach. Freeth surfed at the Huntington Beach pier for its rededication in 1914. In 1917 Freeth moved to San Diego to work as a swimming instructor at the San Diego Rowing Club. He later worked as a lifeguard at Coronado and Ocean Beach where he also gave surfing exhibitions.
In 1909, Burke Haywood Bridgers and a group of surfers began surfing in the Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, area, the earliest surfing documented in the state of North Carolina.Pacific Commercial Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, April 7, 1910, Image 3. Carolina Man Writes For Surfboard Instructions. http://www.carolinabeach.net/surfing_history_changed.html The state of North Carolina honored Burke Haywood Bridgers and the Wrightsville surfers by placing a North Carolina Highway Marker for "Pioneer East Coast Surfing" on Wrightsville Beach and designated it as the birthplace of surfing in North Carolina in 2015. Burke Haywood Bridgers and the other surfers around Wrightsville were among the earliest surfers in the Atlantic Ocean.Sea Shore Hotel, Wrightsville Beach, NC dated March 24, 1907, The Rotograph Co., N.Y. City, Printed in Germany. New Hanover County Public Library, Robert M. Fales Collection, Wilmington, NC The Wrightsville Beach Museum Waterman Hall of Fame honors, recognizes, and inducts community members for their contributions to the island's watersport culture.
Australian surfing
In 1910, Tommy Walker returned to Manly Beach, Sydney, with a surfboard "bought at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, for two dollars."The Referee Thursday, 23 February 1939, p. 16. Walker became an expert rider and in 1912 gave several exhibitions in Sydney.The Daily Telegraph 27 January 1912, page 21.
Surfboard riding received national exposure with the exhibitions by Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku in the summer of 1914-1915 at several Sydney beaches. As a current Olympic sprint champion, Kahanamoku was invited to tour the Eastern states for an extensive series of swimming carnivals and at his first appearance in the Domain Pool, Sydney, smashed his previous world record for 100 yards by a full second.The Referee, 6 January 1915, p. 16. Following the first exhibition at Freshwater on 24 December 1914,The Sun, Thursday 24th December 1914 page 6. in the New Year Kahanamoku demonstrated his skill at Freshwater and Manly,The Sun, 11 January 1915, p. 6. followed by appearances at Dee WhyThe Sun, 6 February 1915 page 6. and Cronulla.The St. George Call, 13 February 1915, p. 5.
Duke Kahanamoku's board is now on display in the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club, Sydney, Australia.