Preserving Hawaiian Culture: How To Build The Traditional Hawaiian Imu. On June 4th 2016 Habilitat Hawaii presents the largest family luau in the state of Hawaii at Kualoha Ranch. Preparing to feed 2000 people takes a lot of work. Habilitat participants created a giant underground oven traditionally known as an Imu. A full ton of pork was placed in the ground and cooked overnight to prepare for the huge event. The entire traditional process was done by Habilitat participants in an effort to perpetuate Hawaiian Culture. Caputured here, from start to completion, this traditional cooking method has been used for thousands of years by Polynesians for various celebrations.