Every culture, community, or ethnic group has its own beliefs, values, and notions on how to live their way of life. In today’s society, it is crucially important to understand, accept, and respect other people’s traditions and histories. Most especially, we live in such diverse community. Each Ethnic group somehow relies on what is commonly practiced within their society in order to maintain a strong community, preserve its moral and spiritual values. For example, in “The Green Banana,” Donald Batchelder states that his journey in Brazil provides him an insightful and meaningful experience that the “Green Banana” symbolizes much more than just a simple piece of unripe fruit. He claims that he gains a higher level of understanding as far as …show more content…
The Polynesian Cultural Center “PCC” was also known as a home to the famous Ali’i Luau. It was the world's largest Polynesian variety show that was located on the northeast side of Oahu. The PCC was considered to be one of Hawaii’s centers of the world because this facility featured seven native pacific island villages where each of its respective village demonstrated the daily life and traditions of their people. The Polynesian journey started in Tonga, then Tahiti, the Marquesas, Fiji, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Samoa, and Hawaii. Every village provided us the opportunity to witness the islanders reenacted war dances and wedding ceremonies, carved Tiki figures, or climbing barefoot on coconut trees. At the beginning, I was extremely bored. but my grandfather made me explore and appreciate everything that PCC had to offer. From fun activities, music and entertainment to authentic cultural presentations even the most famous luau and its spectacular show at night. I was tremendously grateful and fortunate to be able to experience a momentous cultural “learning moment” with my grandfather. On the other hand, Batchelder did not believe that a rock could be the villager’s “center of the world” because he thought that New England was the central location of the world where his grandfather was raised. Although, he initially hesitated in the beginning, however, he then later realized that there was no right or wrong idea of what we claimed to be our own “center of the world” because every ethnicity’s belief varies, depending on other people’s background. In other words, being open-minded to new things was always the best approach because what we perceived to have its significant values may not always weigh with the same principles as
When people think of Hawaii, other than it’s beautiful beaches, Hawaiian jams, and ono grinds, one thing that stands out is hula. For the Hawaiians, hula was a form of poetry and was used in sanctity and ceremonially. According to King David Kalakaua, “Hula is the language of the heart, and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people”. As times passed hula has changed because missionaries did not accept what the Hawaiians had established on their own such as their traditions of nudity. Whatever the missionaries did not accept, they quickly and strategically changed. This caused a “rebirth” of hula. It is important to remember that hula is a part of the Hawaiian culture and
In the third grade, I remember bringing noodles to lunch, and all of my white classmates looking at me strangely. Little did I know, Americans did not bring noodles to lunch, but rather simpler things, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lunchables. Although my introduction to the western culture was nothing as close to the Ibo people’s introduction to the western culture, it is clear that different cultures often have a hard time understanding the customs of another culture. Okonkwo’s response to new western influences spreading through his clan depicts how the introduction of different cultures can lead to disagreement because of contrasting religious values and customs.
A major part of one’s identity involves a system of morals and beliefs which are too influenced though one’s culture and experiences in life. The
As part of their efforts to educate others about the true Native image, this small group of Natives put on the first Annual Stanford Pow Wow. The event in the 1970’s was not as big as the Pow Wow everyone has come to know and love today. But the same reasons for having the event motivated that group of Natives: education and experiencing true Native cultures.
Trask is able to use logos to prove how tourism has affected the Hawaiian culture. Trask refers to Hawaii as a “She” who “Rubs off” on the visitor with her magical presence. The beauty of Hawaii is used as an escape from “Rawness and violence” for most Americans though, Trask mentions that the land has a “Western sexual sickness” (Trask 1993). “Of course, all this hype is necessary to hide the truth about tourism, the awful exploitative truth that the industry is the major cause of environmental degradation, low wages, land dispossession, and the highest cost of living in the United States” (Trask 1993). Trask says that the areas of Hawaii which were “sacred” to the Hawaiian’s have now been turned into top of the line hotels. The beaches that were once full of fishermen and their nets are used for recreational activities like surfing getting a tan and jet skiing. On most of the beaches owned by resorts, the beaches are reserved for hotel residences only. In the essay, Trask gives the readers logos as to how tourism is changing the land. For example, thirty years ago the ratio of Hawaiians outnumbered the tourist 2:1. Today,
When I was very young, my parents would take me and my sister to powwows, which are Native American social gatherings. Singing, dancing, and feasting are all characteristic of the powwow, as powwows serve as a means of experiencing Native American culture. During my time at the powwow held at UCSD, I served as an audience member for many of the traditional Native American performances. Through the viewing of these performances, I gained much insight into their symbolism and significance, and I was also able to contextualize some topics discussed in the course.
Around the world, there are many Indigenous groups having practiced their own traditional cultures. Through the history and following globalisation, traditional cultures have gradually disappeared. For example, in Japan, there are Ainu people had established their own culture, but they were assimilated to Japanese culture because of the annexation to Japan in the mid-1800s. Therefore, until recently, they have used the Japanese language and been educated and lived as Japanese. However, there are many traditional cultures which have still practiced over the time. Those existing cultures may be more significant than those cultures that have disappeared. Particularly, Indigenous performing arts tend to be survived over the time and actively protected to preserve. This essay will argue that Indigenous dance and chant have had significant roles to Indigenous people in many aspects. Firstly, this essay will examine hula’s several roles among the Hawaiian culture and society in the past and current. Secondly, it will focus on the relationship between haka and the Maori’s mentality and spirituality over the time. Finally, it will investigate Ainu chant, yukar, and its particular changes of importance to the Ainu.
Hawaiian is unique among the fifty states, especially in regards to its native music form, which is still preformed, and captivates audiences even today. Hawaiian chanting, music, and dance are not only key parts of life on the island, but have also become cultural icons as well as profound symbols of nature and religion in Hawaii. Hawaii has a rich history, beginning with the early settlers from Polynesia who brought their traditions and religions to Hawaii. Over the years, the inhabitants took those traditions and adapted them to their new home, creating the definitive culture that, even with Western influences, still is a captivating force within the society.
Many aspects of our identity such as our language, culture, and religion were shaped by the past, and by not embracing these past events, a large part of one’s identity is being disregarded. An example of this is Brazil, a country where the dominant language and religion today was brought over by the Portuguese in the 15th century. This event is an important factor in the lives of many people living in Brazil, as many of them trace their ancestors, language and religion back to the original Portuguese settlers. If citizens were to ignore events of the past and not realize the origins of their practices, they would lose an aspect of their identity in the process, although it is difficult to ignore such a large legacy present in one’s life. This makes disregarding the past ineffective because the results of historical globalization are so prominent in everyday life and cannot be easily
The most important Hawaiian cultural value I saw today was Malama ‘Aina. It means to take care of the land so the land can take care of us. We must nurture the land so it can give back all we need to sustain life for ourselves and our future generations. This value is a sustainable measure that everyone can learn from so we can all live a balanced (Pono) life. The lo’i provides us food to eat, such as the kalo plant, which nourishes our body. It is the kinolau of Kane, God of fresh water. Without Kane’s help, there wouldn’t be any crops for the community to feed on. On-hands learning is the best way to understanding more about our culture and learn why it is important to treat everything with respect. Taking care of the kalo plant made me look
As American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez expressed, “Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” Respecting everyone’s culture is a necessity, no matter their ethnic background, or if they stand out in society. Language, customs, food, and religion are all parts of a culture everyone possesses. All individuals have a viewpoint, a perspective of what cultures the world around them is compromised of. The culture in every human influences how they view the world around them by hiding one’s own culture, giving people biased views of others’ ethnicities, and weighing down the minority groups.
In our society today, culture is not what it used to be hundreds of years ago. There is no more “pure” culture. Our culture today is enriched with many different traditions and customs that are being shared and adopted. Due to emigration and immigration, a variety of diverse customs, beliefs, and knowledge moved with every exiting and entering human being. Thus, changing and shaping the culture of many. Throughout the world, the beliefs and religious views of culture are dissimilar around the world. By taking the time to read, listen and learn about certain people’s culture, there will be knowledge and understanding that will be gained.
Hawaii is a beautiful island and it didn’t take long for people to realize it could be a lucrative business venture. Hawaii’s tourism began, as “bourgeois desires for contact with the rejuvenating "primitive"” became something that interested
It is clear that cultural tradition delivers set foundations into a person’s lifetime, giving identity and sense of belonging to a person and their social group. It allows individuals to feel part of something and understand their ancestral values and customs. Several people believe that it is very important to preserve cultural traditions because they feel as if tradition is the main enabler to a shared identity and to a construction of social consistency and unity. People also believe that conservancy of cultural traditions forms exclusive bonds within members of the community, holding people with the same background together to pass on cultural values, and excluding those who aren’t part of the culture. They think that the actual preservation of traditions means not to change the customs and traditions, to not grow from our culture, for example not learning another language because you already know your mother tongue. It is a way to group up and tag everyone in a form of an alliance, and to have better organization and awareness of where everyone comes from.
The general study of humans and their ways of life is called Anthropology. Anthropology have four classic subdivisions: Cultural (or socio-cultural) Anthropology, Archaeology, Linguistics Anthropology and Biological (or physical) Anthropology. He or she who typically had some training in each of these four classic subdivisions in fact, have connected them to one another within a large field anthropology study. Moreover, he or she can use the theoretical knowledge and findings of anthropology to solve real-world problems surrounding human beings or human customs. Anthropologist has an idea that the beliefs and practices of a culture should be understood within the context that particular culture’s background, history and current events surrounding it called Cultural relativism. The main objective of this final research paper is examining my own culture from etic (i.e. outsider’s) perspective and another culture from emic (i.e. insider’s) perspective to clearly show my personal understanding of cultural relativism. Specifically, I will examine the rites of passage in African American girls/women lived reality and effects of the intersectional race, class and gender oppression in America coupled with discussing Japanese different rituals comparison to American outlook into death and the afterlife. All in all, rites of passage are done differently and makes a difference in its own society.