11-18-2007, 07:08 AM
Punaweb has really been blessed with some interesting new members lately, who speak from very different perspectives.
Is Hawaii and being Hawaiian a matter of blood or attitude? That's the question we are all trying to resolve right now. I call it the "Sammy Davis Jr" question. The man was born black into a Christian family. Is being Jewish a matter of belief, or is it a matter of race?" Some Jews say "belief". Others say "race". Still others say both.
Is Herb Ohta, Jr. (ukulele God), Hawaiian? Well, yes he is. He was born in Hawaii during Statehood, and so he is a Hawaiian, from the standpoint of American Jurisprudence, as much as I am a Californian. To those that don't recognize that Jurisprudence, Herb Ohta, Jr. is not Hawaiian (unless he has an ancestor that is indigenous to the Islands, and he may).
Whenever this topic comes up, I always think of that Sean Na'auao song "No Hawaiians, No Aloha", which goes on to suggest that non-Native Hawaiians have an important role in maintaining the culture by passing on the "spirit of Aloha".
I liken the Native Hawaiians to the Cajuns. The Cajuns were/are a unique fun loving culture, with their own langauge (a French dialect), a positive outlook on life, a wry sense of humor, their own brand of music, and a delicious cuisine.
I encountered this culture for the first time when I lived in New Orleans and went for a drive in the country one weekend. I walked into a little dusty country store, ostensibly in America, and heard people speaking French, without the Parisian accent! After that experience, I began completely obsessed with the Cajun culture. Listened to the music, went out of my way to see and meet obscure performers such as D.L. Menard. When I returned to California to go to school, I was shocked to find out that my return coincided with the "Cajun Craze". People were standing in line for 6 hours to dine on cuisine prepared by Chef Paul Prudhomme.
The French language was almost stamped out among the Cajuns because English was mandatory in schools, but it persevered in the families were it was the first language.
The Hawaiian language has not been so fortunate. It appears to live on only in song, although there are currently attempts to revive it.
It will be hard to do that. It is not just the Hawaiian culture that is endangered in the 21st Century. My grandmother spoke a form of English I call Texan but you will be hard pressed to find a real Texas accent (such as I knew it 50 years ago) in Texas any more, thanks to television, and to the monoculture that is spreading across the globe. "Y'all" is disappearing and is becoming a very self conscious "you all".
I support these localized cultures wherever they occur, because they are the only thing that keep us from becoming homogenized global consumers of a culture that is handed to us by people who profit from the proliferation of "popular culture".
All differences will be erased by the end of this Century and there will only be four languages at best: English (commerce, popular culture), Chinese (numbers), Japanese (strong cultural tradition),and French (they will never give in).
In the meantime, I come down like this:
* When I move to Puna, I will become Hawaiian because under the prevailing legal system, as a resident of the State of Hawaii and the Island of Hawai'i, I will be Hawaiian.
* I will not be a native Hawaiian, as I was born in California and have no indigenous ancestors from Hawaii.
* I hope to become a "Sammy Davis Jr" Hawaiian. That is, a person accepted by Native Hawaiians as a believer and adherent to the tenets of Hawaiian culture as best I understand them. I think those that fight to maintain the vestiges of Hawaiian culture, and that includes many, many non-native Hawaiians, should be treasured, even if they have no ancestors indigenous to Hawaii.
Lastly I would add this: No aloha? Then you are not Hawaiian, no matter where your ancestors were from.
I've seen nothing but aloha in this thread.
Is Hawaii and being Hawaiian a matter of blood or attitude? That's the question we are all trying to resolve right now. I call it the "Sammy Davis Jr" question. The man was born black into a Christian family. Is being Jewish a matter of belief, or is it a matter of race?" Some Jews say "belief". Others say "race". Still others say both.
Is Herb Ohta, Jr. (ukulele God), Hawaiian? Well, yes he is. He was born in Hawaii during Statehood, and so he is a Hawaiian, from the standpoint of American Jurisprudence, as much as I am a Californian. To those that don't recognize that Jurisprudence, Herb Ohta, Jr. is not Hawaiian (unless he has an ancestor that is indigenous to the Islands, and he may).
Whenever this topic comes up, I always think of that Sean Na'auao song "No Hawaiians, No Aloha", which goes on to suggest that non-Native Hawaiians have an important role in maintaining the culture by passing on the "spirit of Aloha".
I liken the Native Hawaiians to the Cajuns. The Cajuns were/are a unique fun loving culture, with their own langauge (a French dialect), a positive outlook on life, a wry sense of humor, their own brand of music, and a delicious cuisine.
I encountered this culture for the first time when I lived in New Orleans and went for a drive in the country one weekend. I walked into a little dusty country store, ostensibly in America, and heard people speaking French, without the Parisian accent! After that experience, I began completely obsessed with the Cajun culture. Listened to the music, went out of my way to see and meet obscure performers such as D.L. Menard. When I returned to California to go to school, I was shocked to find out that my return coincided with the "Cajun Craze". People were standing in line for 6 hours to dine on cuisine prepared by Chef Paul Prudhomme.
The French language was almost stamped out among the Cajuns because English was mandatory in schools, but it persevered in the families were it was the first language.
The Hawaiian language has not been so fortunate. It appears to live on only in song, although there are currently attempts to revive it.
It will be hard to do that. It is not just the Hawaiian culture that is endangered in the 21st Century. My grandmother spoke a form of English I call Texan but you will be hard pressed to find a real Texas accent (such as I knew it 50 years ago) in Texas any more, thanks to television, and to the monoculture that is spreading across the globe. "Y'all" is disappearing and is becoming a very self conscious "you all".
I support these localized cultures wherever they occur, because they are the only thing that keep us from becoming homogenized global consumers of a culture that is handed to us by people who profit from the proliferation of "popular culture".
All differences will be erased by the end of this Century and there will only be four languages at best: English (commerce, popular culture), Chinese (numbers), Japanese (strong cultural tradition),and French (they will never give in).
In the meantime, I come down like this:
* When I move to Puna, I will become Hawaiian because under the prevailing legal system, as a resident of the State of Hawaii and the Island of Hawai'i, I will be Hawaiian.
* I will not be a native Hawaiian, as I was born in California and have no indigenous ancestors from Hawaii.
* I hope to become a "Sammy Davis Jr" Hawaiian. That is, a person accepted by Native Hawaiians as a believer and adherent to the tenets of Hawaiian culture as best I understand them. I think those that fight to maintain the vestiges of Hawaiian culture, and that includes many, many non-native Hawaiians, should be treasured, even if they have no ancestors indigenous to Hawaii.
Lastly I would add this: No aloha? Then you are not Hawaiian, no matter where your ancestors were from.
I've seen nothing but aloha in this thread.