Posts: 36
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 36
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2007
quote:
Haole Girl, You seem to know alot about your hawaiian history, culture, etc-infact I think it's your passion. Could you tell me why most (70%) your history, traditions, etc are not written down, was it forgotten?
Edited by - buzz on 03/13/2007 07:52:26
E Buzz...
Actually I don't think I am passionate. I think it's more that I know a little about our history who I am, where I come from etc and that it should be noted that our history and that parts of our culture and history differ in that it's orally based.
I don't think it's necessarily forgotten because much of our culture, history, and/or traditions is still passed on orally to the younger generations. To sum it up though... it's just different and it should be noted that it's different. Even then... other Hawaiians would think that I am stating the obvious because it is the obvious... to them.
Y.W.N.
Edited by - Haole Girl on 03/13/2007 11:35:41
Y.W.N.
Posts: 160
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Joined: Dec 2006
Thanks haole girl,
It is good to make it clear that besides the John Papa Ii, Kalakaua, Lili`uokalani, Kamakau, and Puku`i books, most of the other books that were written by non hawaiians can somewhat be questionable to some degree. Also, our culture is never lost. We can learn much more than any books can teach us if we live the Hawaiian lifestyle. I've also found that some books are biased depending on religion of the author etc... so be aware of that.
Posts: 36
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Joined: Mar 2007
Aloha e Buzz.
Yeah... in the Western world many people see it as being lost probably because they are not used to it being orally based whereas in the Western world material is based on what is written. Orally based cultures like ours does not necessarily correlate with our culture being lost. We adapt like other people and cultures do.
For example despite the influx of American food I still eat Hawaiian food though it is difficult to find sometimes. I think I've mentioned before too... that there is no book about Hawaiian food but I still eat Hawaiian food like ake, aku palu, oio, opelu, poi etc.
Another example is hula. Whereas haumana may write things down, kumu hula typically teach orally.
Many times it's out of respect for their kupuna too. It's just different but I don't think that its fair to say that we will lose our culture because we don't write things down. To me there is no correlation but in the Western world I think that they are unaccustomed to this. That may be why but its different with Hawaiians. We talk. Literally. In fact if you look online (here and elsewhere) rarely will you find Hawaiians who type which is another example but just because something is written about our culture does not mean that the culture won't be lost.
The culture you see... lives in its people. Not in books.
Y.W.N.
Edited by - Haole Girl on 03/14/2007 04:43:46
Y.W.N.
Posts: 36
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Joined: Mar 2007
quote:
Thanks haole girl,
It is good to make it clear that besides the John Papa Ii, Kalakaua, Lili`uokalani, Kamakau, and Puku`i books, most of the other books that were written by non hawaiians can somewhat be questionable to some degree. Also, our culture is never lost. We can learn much more than any books can teach us if we live the Hawaiian lifestyle. I've also found that some books are biased depending on religion of the author etc... so be aware of that.
Aloha e Momi.
Yeah... I don't know why some people think that our culture is in books???? It's not in books. Our culture is in our people. Know what I mean? LOL
BTW I know mamoahina and have known him for over six years 
Y.W.N.
Edited by - Haole Girl on 03/14/2007 06:58:41
Y.W.N.
Posts: 83
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Joined: Aug 2006
aloha all,
i have read the "shoal of time," book mentioned by haole girl, several times, and it is a great read. also, there is a great book about the history of the parker ranch (big island ranch if you're somewehre off-island) that does a great job of telling not only the history of the ranch, but also some of the history of the big island as well. also, some of the books/journals/diary's of the earliest non-hawai'ian settlers are great as well. the diary of (sarah?) lyman is very interesting and actually documents some of the earliest information regarding earthquakes and tsunamis. interesting to read the thoughts and observations of the first non-hawai'ian settlers. the "shoal of time," book is dynamite, and if you don't feel a bit remorseful when you read it, you probably don't belong in hawai'i....
aloha,
holahan
