Hawaiian Folklore
When I think of Hawaii the first thing that comes to mind are hula skirts, luaus, and tikis, but there is so much more to Hawaiian folklore than that. As I researched Hawaiian folklore, I grew a fonder interest for Hawaiian culture. Hawaii has always been my ideal vacation spot, but now I feel as though visiting Hawaii for all the culture would be amazing. As a child, I watched plenty of shows that portrayed Hawaiians as superstitious, storytelling people. As I did the research for this assignment, I read so many folk tales, legends, and superstitions; as I went through this course, I also realized that all cultures have a great deal of folklore. My Hispanic culture probably has just as much folklore as any other culture. Researching Hawaiian folklore, gave me so much information and like you said, it is too much to include in this paper. The three main types of folklore that I enjoyed the most, which I will discuss below, are the legends, music, and folk medicine.
The first type of Hawaiian folklore that I would like to discuss, are legends. Sandy Schlosser, a well-known folklorist, gives her own version of many legends. One of the Hawaiian legends retold by Schlosser that I found very interesting, was the tale of “The King of Sharks”. Schlosser’s retelling of “The King of Sharks” went something like this; One day the king of the sharks saw a beautiful human girl by the shore and fell in love with her. He then changed himself into human form in order to approach the girl in the village. He dressed up as a chief using the traditional feather cape. The people of the village were excited to see a chief visiting their village. They had a feast and the king of the sharks decided to ask the human girl to marry him....
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...r education about healing and medicine. Once a person was ill and was ready to see a practitioner, they would travel to one of the specified healing spots. Hawaiians believed that the mind and body are in-sync which meant that both parts of a human being had to get treated in order to be completely healed. Once an ill person arrived to the healing spots, they underwent a great amount of prayers to cleanse the body and mind of anything negative before beginning any type of medicinal practice. These kinds of treatments still take place in current times in centers like the Hawaiian Health Care Center (Native Hawaiian Healing). I personally believe strongly in education and the Hawaiians did too. This quality of Hawaiian folk medicine is something that is respectable, because they think highly of education. In some ancient cultures, there is no respect for education.
Captain James Cook and his crew came to Hawaii in 1778. Bringing along many diseases such as, syphilis, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis.(Blaisdell, p.44) Native Hawaiians were not immune to these diseases, they were unable to be cured therefore died and a massive depopulation occurred. An estimated 500,000 Hawaiians were living in Hawaii before Western Contact, and in 1878 less than 45,000 Hawaiians remained.(Trask, p.10). With the rapid decrease of Hawaiians, also came the fact that their culture was in danger.
This book addresses one of the common characteristics, and challenges, of health care today: the need to achieve a working knowledge of as many cultures as possible in health care. The Hmong population of Merced, California addresses the collision between Western medicine and holistic healing traditions of the Hmong immigrants, which plays out a common dilemma in western medical centers: the need to integrate modern western medicinal remedies with aspects of cultural that are good for the well-being of the patient, and the belief of the patient’s ability to recuperate. What we see is a clash, or lack of integration in the example of the story thereof. Lia, a Hmong child with a rare form of epilepsy, must enter the western hospital instead of the Laotian forest. In the forest she would seek out herbs to remedy the problems that beset her, but in the west she is forced to enter the western medical hospital without access to those remedies, which provided not only physical but spiritual comfort to those members of the Hmong culture. The herbs that are supposed to fix her spirit in the forest are not available in the western hospital. The Merced County hospital system clashes with Hmong animist traditions.
Folk medicine is an important aspect of the Appalachian region. According to Mathews, folk medicine is known in involving diseases or illnesses “which are the products of indigenous cultural development and are not explicitly derived from the conceptual framework of modern medicine” (Mathews 1). Folk or traditional medicine is found in all societies, throughout in history, and predates innovation of modern medicine. Folk medicine also explains roles for “indigenous practitioners”(1) who treat and restore health for the individual and community. Folk medicine beliefs and practices serve for the treatment and prevention of aliments and are resistant to change even when the cultural tradition may have gone extinct.
As the chants “Mele Pule No Laka” and “Oli Ho’oikaika” are included in this book as a Prayer chant for Laka and a Prayer for Strength , it reveals that by including these chants inside, it explains the importance of having the History of the island since Hawaii is the where the story is being taken place Also, “ Queen Lili’uokalani as she stormed in, accompanied by a group of men holding bayonets, clubs, and torches.” With this including one of the most sorrowful events in Hawaiian History, the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. As this is placed, this reveals that with this tragic moment, Hawaiians had to band together to overcome this tragedy and persevere
What is one thing that stands out in most peoples’ minds when they think of Hawaii? Most people would probably say the hula dance. The hula dance descended from, or can be traced to Polynesia and India. The Hula was a form of poetry for the Hawaiians in all of its sacred and ceremonial forms.
20 (1994): 252-271. Kualapai, Lydia. "The Queen Writes Back: Lili'uokalani's Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen. " Studies in American Indian Literature. 17.2 (2005): 32-62.
When comparing the healing philosophy that underpins healing practices of the indigenous tribes it’s evident that all cultures share similar beliefs.
In fact, Native American medicine men belief is firmly grounded in age-old traditions, legends and teachings. Healing and medical powers have existed since the very beginning of time according to Native American stories. Consequently they have handed down the tribe's antediluvian legends, which i...
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.
The native American tribe the Iroquois Confederacy has an origin story for the start of folk stories. This is an interesting piece of writing in the way that it describes how stories began. It shows the high regard for the art of storytelling. This story starts off by telling the reader about a young boy who had lost his parents. There was no other family that would look after him so he raised himself the best that he could. This young boy was unhappy as the villages saw him as an outcast and wanted nothing to do with him. The young boy one day came across a canoe. Once in the canoe the boy was brought into the sky and paddled until he stopped atop a peek. The boy had made a home and at night heard a voice calling out to him. The voice demanded the boy offer him Tabaco. After the boy obeyed the voice the voice preceded to tell the young man a story. The voice then told the young boy a set of rules that he must follow if he wanted to be told stories. This continued for a while and the boy also came
Queen Emma improved the health needs of ancient Hawaiians during a time of Hawaiian population decline. Diseases brought from foreigners...
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
Folklore is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation that includes Legends, Myths and Fairy tales. Legends are a semi-true story, which has been passed on from a person to another person that has an important meaning. Myths are a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon. A Fairytale is a children's story about magical which they have imaginary beings and lands. Hispanic Folklore is the traditional is mostly about beliefs, legends, customs and stories of the community of the hispanic culture. Hispanic or latino culture encompasses the traditions, language, religious beliefs and practices, legends, music and history.
The most phenomenal thing about each individual culture though they may be similar in some ways they vary in the most impeccable manner that makes that group of people unique such as the Navajo Tribe. “The Navajo are natives of the Four Corners region (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado). The Navajo people are still living in their traditional territory today. The Navajos live on a reservation, which is land that belongs to them and is under their control. The Navajo Nation has its own government, laws, police, and services, just like a small country. However, the Navajos are also US citizens and must obey American law.) Redish, L., & Lewis, O. (2011). Every belief or tradition are what make the very aspect of the Navajo tribe. In traditional Navajo belief, all illness or misfortune arises from transgressions against the supernaturals or from witchcraft (Adams). Consequently, medical practice is essentially synonymous with ceremonial practice (Adams). There are particular kinds of ceremonies designed to treat illnesses caused by the patient's transgressions, by accidents, and by different kinds of witchcraft (Adams). Apart from ceremonial practices, there was formerly a fairly extensive materia medica of herbs, potions, ointments, and fumigante, and there were specialists who collected and applied these (Adams).
In “The Beach of Falesa,” the protagonist Wiltshire asserts that the native Kanakas have a natural predisposition for superstitious beliefs. As he explores Case’s “devil’s bush,” Wiltshire tells the reader, “Any poor Kanaka brought up here in the dark, with the harp...