Silent Relations Among Hawaiians and Westerners I wholeheartedly agree with the author’s stance between Hawaiians and Westerners physical contact when saying goodbye to one another through my personal experience. However I do disagree with writer’s But concur with the dislike of patting or one’s head like the Hawaiian do. The bodily contact differences between Westerners and Hawaiians reminds me of my local friend Chris who would say to his daughter Katelynn, “go give Auntie Amy a hug and kiss goodbye.” Katelynn who in the past use to hesitate coming to me for a hug and kiss before leaving my home. Which brings to mind the beginning of our encounters roughly four years ago, it took her longer to kiss and hug me goodbye because I was reluctant
to do so. At first I thought it was her resisting to say goodbye, but in actuality it was me who was uncomfortable with showing that kind affection to a child that was not a direct relative of mine. I must have given a vibe of inappropriateness, and in turn resulting in my ambivalence towards Katelynn. With that in mind, it brings me to my upbringing from the Mainland. Both my parents are haoles from Iowa which happens to be the midwest part of North America. Being from the mainland, I was taught not to make physical contact with people outside of my immediate family/relatives. The most physical contact a person has with another when saying goodbye to another is a pat on the back of the shoulder or waving the hand goodbye. , except for the Westerns had a fear of opening the floodgates for molestation. I know recall an instance, that had me think about whether or not I should further my education. but then I realized that I had an agreement with my significant other that we will get married after I graduate. this gives me motivation to pursue my education in order to live happily ever after.
Ii, John Papa., Mary Kawena Pukui, and Dorothy B. Barrère. Fragments of Hawaiian History. Honolulu: Bishop Museum, 1983. Print.
In our lifetimes, we meet many people. And, hopefully, with each of them we follow a certain protocol when we first meet them. When one is greeted sweetly, or even sourly, the receiver is expected to graciously accept it and return the favor politely. In other countries, children are taught to show their respect towards elders at all times. Young ones in the Philippines are conditioned to grab an elder’s hand and bring it up to their forehead in a bowing motion, this practice is known as “blessing”. However, no one has ever given a more in depth answer for the reason of these practices other than, “Because you should.”
The role of a kahuna in the Hawaiian culture takes on the responsibility of keeping a balance between the people and the nation. In doing so, they apply their field of expertise towards assisting the aliʻi and the makaʻāinana. In ancient Hawai’i, there were many different types of kāhuna that had a skill set that contributed or benefited the community. In this paper I will discuss the different ways a kahuna achieves this type of balance within the lāhui. These kuleana include advising the aliʻi to make pono decisions, guiding the makaʻāinana in their daily lives and practices, and taking care of the spiritual side of the Hawaiian culture and traditional practices of the people.
A small company of thirty-four New England missionaries came to Hawaii between 1820 and 1930, were the first modern immigrants. (Lind p.59) Missionaries were powerful agents of cultural destruction, coming to Hawaii to settle and teach their ways and beliefs. Bloodthirsty priests and despotic chiefs had ruled one reason for missionaries arriving and settling in Hawaii, due to the fact that they believed ancient Hawaiians. (Trask p.14) Bringing along cultural havoc by establishing a western style educational system, which included the first textbook as the Bible. The most critical change was in the use of language as a tool of colonization. Language had once been inseparable from the Hawaiians and their history by communicating their heritage between and among many generations, now came to be used as the very vehicle of alienation from their habits of life.
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
...Hawai`i’s economy is very dependent on tourism, however many locals are possessive of their land, and as they stereotype tourists, many do not accept others as they have a unity for their own. Numerous individuals feel the desideratum to fit the local stereotype because they prefer not to be labeled as a “haole”. It becomes tough and rather intense for an individual, because becoming haole betokens that you forgot and disregarded the local or Hawaiian quality values and ways of routes, as well as the flowing stream of life in the islands. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of where we emanate from, our skin tone, race, physical characteristics, and so forth, everybody ought to acknowledge just for who we/they are and treat one another like 'ohana and show "aloha", and subsequently, we can determinately verbally express "This is it. This is Paradise" (33).
Itadakimasu! Said before every meal, "itadakimasu" means "let's eat" and is the Japanese equivalent of a prayer. It is actually considered rude not to say “itadakimasu” before beginning a meal. Japan, like many Asian countries, has food that are exotic to the average American. The essence of a Japanese meal is rice, which is so important that the general word for a meal is “gohan”, the same word as rice. The Japanese also eat seafood and vegetables, as well as some meat, though meats are not eaten as often as they were introduced to Japan only about a hundred years ago (“Food”). In America, “sushi” and “Japanese food” are practically synonymous, but Japanese cuisine is diverse beyond the meals sold in the West.
Concerning communication, the host culture may react negatively to tourist contact by changing their non-verbal and verbal communication techniques. In terms of pragmatics, semantics, kinesics, and proxemics, the host culture may choose to utilize unwelcoming body language, tone, words, or facial expression when communicating with
Rowland, Amy. Complete Book of Etiquette; a Practical Guide to Success with the Japanese. New York, NY: Warner, 1985. Print.
Touching ones body such as,shaking hands is a non verbal act that can become an issue in the workplace if the employees are not confortable with it. There many employees nowdays in the workplace from different cultures and religions. Understanding their differences and things that make them unconfortable can prevent misunderstandings in the workplace. In this scenario one of the employee has noticed...
This includes a mother kissing her child goodbye as she leaves home to go to school, a group of friends placing their arms around each other’s shoulder to celebrate (pag-akbay), close pals greeting with a kiss on the cheek (beso-beso), among others. Display of affection between people who are romantically involved are classified as public display of affection (PDA).” Public display of affection does not limit to those people who are in a romantic relationship. There are lots of various people who can do it, even you with your parents, siblings and friends. The things we usually do like patting one’s back is considered as an act of affection, not just the things we usually know like kissing, holding hands and
Despite kissing being widely accepted as a means to display affection among most cultures, the
Instead of shaking hands, Thai greet each other with “WAI”. Foreigners are not expected to initiate the “WAI” gesture, but Thais can see it as an insult if the foreigners do not return the “WAI”. The tourists who are more familiar with Thai’s gesture, they would automatically “WAI” in return to show respect to the person they are greeting. But majority of the newly visiting tourists they are unaware of what it means to do the “WAI” gesture, how it is so important in Thai culture, and how to do it properly. Some tourists unknowingly return the gesture by smiling, bowing, or give a hi-five back. Thais may interpret these gestures as rude or offensive. Also different levels of hand position in “WAI” gesture are varied for different group of people: a common people, monks, and the King. Thais may see tourists as rude if they do not gesture an appropriate hands position.
With permission sought, greetings or "fakatalofaaga " is culturally appropriate to initiate the formal interaction between the researcher and the participant. This was carried out with honour and respect to establish a relationship between the participant and the researcher. Once a common ground is sought, the "sautalaga" environment becomes more comfortable and a more flexible way of conversation. Establishment of a relationship often links with the identification of any family ties or any other cultural common grounds. This often kick starts the "sautalaga" and gaining the confidence of the participant in releasing