Personal Narrative: The Voice Of Hawaiian People

When I started writing this, I had no clue what it would be about. I was told “It has to be perfect.” “It has to explain you without you explaining yourself.” “You have to give it meaning without being asked for anything.” “If it isn’t good enough, admission officers won't give your application a second glance.” So, I put off writing it, pondering it over and over in my mind. I’m so glad I put it off, because until recently, I didn’t know what it was keeping me in Hawai’i. My mom lives in Oregon now, and I had the option to move with her because she still has custody. Something kept me here, though, and I wasn’t sure what. Through reminiscing and building more memories, I realized what it was. It was how much I love being Hawaiian. The food,

The Hawaiian creation story tells us that long ago the world started off in total darkness, and out of the darkness two gods were born, Kumulipo and Po’ele. Kumulipo means “The Essence of Darkness” and Po’ele whose name means “Darkness Itself” These two created all the creatures of total darkness like the shellfish that live at the bottom of the ocean. These creatures made the darkness a little lighter and with every generation below Kumulipo and Po’ele the new creatures made the darkness a little lighter until the last descendants made humans that were dark but with every generation of humans they got lighter until they got the color they are now.

It seemed like a normal day at the time, the sun was shining, the waves crashed on the shore, steady and reassuring. I did a lot of thinking that day. I thought of my future, of what I wanted to accomplish in life.Only now I realize that it wasn’t a normal day at all. It was the day I decided to graduate early.

Before moving to Saint Paul, Minnesota, two and a half years ago, I lived in Storm Lake, a small rural town located in northwest Iowa. There was no big Hmong population there, only a few family friends. I was very hesitant to share my culture at school because I did not know how to explain the elaborate traditions and its purposes. For example, sacrificing animals to ancestors is an outdated practice and not understood by many people. Traditions like this only exist in historical textbooks. I was scared of being judged and looked on as weird. I did not know the purpose of dressing up in traditional clothing for new years, or what was the purpose of celebrating Hmong new year. I envied other cultures, for they had a history that was widely known and written down in text. I had no appreciation for my culture.

Can you translate the word “hau’oli”? Most likely not, unless you live on one of the eight islands of Hawai’i and speak fluent ‘olelo Hawai’i, (Hawaiian language). Language is much more than just a means of communication, it is an important aspect of a culture. Language is an important social function by which cultural values are preserved. This is true for people and cultures everywhere. Language allows us to pass on the ideas and knowledge of our culture to the next generation. It allows cultures to develop and grow because its people are able to share previous experiences and give guidance on what needs to be to be done to perpetuate the culture. Without language, culture would not exist.

As part of my networking, there are some high school classmates who I am in constant contact with. We all went to college and have our own careers in different fields. One of these friends allowed me to live with her for my first year out of college. Four of us played volleyball together. They are from Waianae, Kaneohe, and Waimanalo and they?re Hawaiian, Portuguese, and Japanese. Over the years, we realized we get our strength from our diversity. When we have a

The culture and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people are being neglected and destroyed. Hawai‘i has become home to hundreds of different ethnic groups coexisting in one place that holds it’s very own unique and distinct culture. The unfortunate side effect of this multiculturalism is the loss of the true Hawaiian culture. Western interference desecrates our sacred sites and artifacts, for things like telescopes and shopping malls. Foreigners capitalize on Hawaiian practices such as hula, making a mockery of the tradition. The state and counties of Hawaii grant large amounts of monies to non-Hawaiian concepts. Even though there are many individuals and organizations across the state of Hawai‘i that try to maintain the Hawaiian practices,

Growing up in an environment filled with a variety of cultures, there are words that mean different things and are used in different ways. In Hawaii, there is an official language, but there is also a slang language, “pidgin”, that was used during the era where sugar plantations were very popular. They created this language so that people of different ethnicities could communicate with one another as they traveled from other countries such as, Japan, China, Philippines, and Korea. Today, pidgin and the Native Hawaiian language are used amongst the locals allowing us to connect on another level by keeping our culture alive. Some words, however; have changed since ancestral times from something innocent to something derogatory and insulting. The word, “haole”, pronounced “hau-lay”, was used to describe Captain Cook and his men, today; this word is used to describe Caucasian people and is used as an insult amongst one another.

In rural North America, in present day Billing, Montana, over 600 years ago, there once live a tribe that was fierce as a bear and yet stayed together like a pack of wolves and trickery as a fox. Altogether, it builds an ultimate warrior of pure ferociousness and blunt force. Other tribes tended to more soft than the tribe I was in . While most tribes were farmers and gathers, our tribe was mainly hunters, we raided other tribes of their goods.

This plant represented the God Kane which Hawaiians believe to be the creator life. The Hawaiians believed that Taro had helped them stay alive, because of it’s use as the common staple of their diet. Taro is considered a purple potato, in the Araceae family, that was frequently made into poi. (Hawaiian name for mashed potato.) Its niche is as a

I will start off by saying that I am writing about different aspects of Hawaiian culture. The first 2 aspects of the Hawaiian culture that I will be educating you about is the overall culture of the state and also, a little history on Hawaii. The state of Hawaii is valued to be very beautiful and to have great views of the vast landscape. The flower lei represents a welcome home gift from the islanders. It is there way of saying welcome you made it! You should never take it off in public, which is considered rude and dishonorable. There is also expert canoe builders and non-tool navigators. They know how to construct a sturdy boat to move resources or people. The non-tool navigators know the lay of the land. Using only the sun, the moon, and

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a princess. A beautiful ballgown dress, a golden crown, and a perfect family. When I was a going through puberty, I was over working for a educations and wanted to become a housewife and be the leading woman in “Housewifes of Hawaii”. Ever since I was a child, misogyny has been ingrained in my mind, I’ve been taught to grow up to have the perfect life with a perfect husband and perfect kids. Growing up and watching Disney movies, Little girls are taught that they’re life isn’t complete until they meet a man who will rescue them whether it's from a towering castle, their wicked stepmother, or a curse that can only be broken from true love’s first kiss. Whatever the situation girls will always know that on a handsome man will come in and save the day, so there is no reason to fight for your fights just stay in the tower, or continue cleaning your floors, or wait everyday for your prince to come. Out of the thousands of years that humans have existed, not only has media convinced woman to follow their husbands and wait on them hand and foot, but the Bible says that woman will work under men and submit to them. Even our parents, who we look up to, have taught us that the men handle finances and the woman have to clean, cook, and take

When I was 11, my father was employed in London so visits to the predominantly Asian community at South Hall were common. Cold evenings in the narrow alleys were spent pacing between shops, jumping over stalls set on the street and occasionally buying my favorite superhero designed roller skates.

I agree with your response, my family is from Hawaii as well and people will always play the ukelele not only at gatherings, even the boys at school. It is a form of art for them and for the girls that dances hula as well. I used to like Japanese rock music when I was younger and I could never understood a word from it, but I really like the rhythm and how it flows. Nowadays with the power of technology, I just go online and search for the translation of the lyrics and have it translated to my language for better understanding of the story behind the song.

“I’m about to go get something to drink from the gas station billy, said Tom. “Make it quick we got to go to work, replied billy. Tom makes it in the gas station. He buys a drink and buys a few lottery tickets. Tom scratches the tickets off and no luck on the first one, but the second one…. Billy shouts as he runs back to the car, “I won, I won.” “You won what,” Billy said. “I won the lottery , I am rich,” Tom yelled. Tom then tells Billy to tell the boss that he quits.