The Pua that Blossoms Overtime As I sat at my desk one rainy afternoon, looking for some type of inspiration to finish my debate paper for my Political Science course, I unintentionally clicked on “Kaulana Nā Pua” by the Kuleana Project. I had heard this composition many times before in poems, songs, chants, and it was also sung once to close an event I attended. However, as the music played through my speaker, the tears ran down my cheeks. I knew this was exactly what I needed to complete my assignment. Kaulana Nā Pua is not just an ordinary song; it is a song full of purpose, breakthrough, and the process of healing. It was originally written by Ellen Kehoʻohiwaokalani Wright Prendergastin 1893 in opposition of the annexation of Hawai’i to the United States. The musicians, artists, and video director examine the conflicts that exist within the language, cultural knowledge, and values of the Hawaiian culture. This particular song opens up with a chant from a group of Hawaiian charter schools students. One can immediately see that the Hawaiian language is one aspect that has a specific purpose as the story of the song is being told. Although the song is done completely in Hawaiian, it is evident to the …show more content…
They must educate themselves on what has happened to their land, and how to strategically disapprove of it being destroyed again. They are meant to rise up and take the initiative in caring for one another; they have seen that the only way to live on is by coming together as one. Within the song, each musician and the director has spread that same message, that unity and love are the two things that will help people recover from the past. As they work hand in hand, they will see the heaviness of what was, slowly transform into wings like an eagle soaring in the wind, as it lifts from each persons
They speak of their people’s past, of the present, and how they can be a more successful grouping of people in the future despite their oppression. In one song labeled “The Storm” by Doc Battiest, the lyric talk about historical occurrences in his native area of Florida. He speaks of kids dying of suffocation as their mothers shove dirt in their mouth as soldiers walk by. Sacrificing one to protect the camp where many Indians took shelter. But he explains that from this pain comes strength. His people are strengthening and their voices, which were once locked up, are now being heard. They just need a larger stage where everyone can hear what they have to say. Another perspective will open eyes and ultimately a combination of views will mold a true
I've gone back and reassessed my current relationships, whether it's with my family,friends, or a significant other and learned a whole lot about my own relationships. During other parts of this project I really got to delve deeper into different relationship dynamics for various other people, like when I interviewed my mother and Mrs. Davenport, or reading various other texts and connecting them to mine like the relationship Stanley and Stella had in streetcar named desire or the family bonds from the deck reading and how they apply to my own family. Everyone relationships and bonds to others is different and no one had the same connection to each other, but throughout time it's noticeable that the relationships we have been more alike than we think.
In “Dole Street,” Juliana Spahr addresses how Hawaii’s entire history and culture have essentially been integrated into the United States. To further expand upon this, Spahr addresses the education system. Of the four main schools on Dole Street, Spahr states of the elite Punahou school, “after annexation, it became notorious as the haole school, attended mainly by the children who wanted to get their kids out of the multi-ethnic pidgin speaking public schools,” and goes on to assert that “the school casts a large shadow in the psychic imagination of the state” (39). Upon annexation, the native population was unavoidably forced into fighting to uphold the usage of a significant native characterization, the pidgin language. Not only were the natives categorized for establishing inherent identities separate to those of foreigners, but they were also forced into competing within their own culture in order to prevent losing many of the traits that made up their identities. With the gradual loss of simple, yet symbolic, features such as a native language, the significance of identifiable elements within a community starts to decline, eventually resulting in the overall destruction of a distinctive society. Evidently, as Iyunolu Osagie, an English professor, points out, “colonized peoples are poignantly the objects of imperial gaze” (210). Because they cannot maintain stable identities, native populations often manifest their colonial pasts. In addition, in a 1959 ballot, the people of Hawaii were given the ability to vote to either be integrated or to remain a colonial territory of the United States. Among those allowed to vote were settlers and military personnel, a group that outnumbered native Hawaiians. As a result, the Hawaiian Islands became the 50th state of the United States. (Kauanui 643). As this case suggests,
Performances of folksongs ranging from the elites to the peasants give insight into individuals’ lives and experiences. In both Michael Nylan’s chapter on the Odes and in Chen Kaige’s 1984 film, Yellow Earth, the importance of the rhetoric of folksongs is emphasized as a body of knowledge and teachings that represents the culture’s accepted norms, ranging from themes of knowledge, pleasure, and human integration. The combination of lyrics with music was believed to be a “spontaneous expression of public sentiment” used by rulers to gauge the “welfare of the common people” (Nylan 79). Therefore, the significance of the Odes collection as an accurate reflection of historical events and emotions parallels with the role of folksongs used to convey the impoverished sentiments of the villagers of a feudal Shanbei in Yellow Earth. While Yellow Earth masks the roles of folksongs under the guise of traumatic experiences, these folksongs are used to promote individual and social empowerment, working in tandem with the functions of the more sophisticated folksongs in the Odes.
What is the song about and what is its historical context? Outline what happened, who was involved, when it occurred and key places. Are there any lyrics that answer these questions? If so, use these to support your answer. (HS3 & 4)
...the narrator and all people a way of finding meaning in their pains and joys. The two brothers again can live in brotherhood and harmony.
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.
As majority of the narrative in this poem is told through the perspective of a deceased Nishnaabeg native, there is a sense of entitlement to the land present which is evident through the passage: “ breathe we are supposed to be on the lake … we are not supposed to be standing on this desecrated mound looking not looking”. Through this poem, Simpson conveys the point of how natives are the true owners of the land and that colonizers are merely intruders and borrowers of the land. There is an underlying idea that instead of turning a blind eye to the abominations colonizers have created, the natives are supposed to be the ones enjoying and utilising the land. The notion of colonizers simply being visitors is furthered in the conclusion of the poem, in which the colonizers are welcomed to the land but are also told “please don’t stay too long” in the same passage. The conclusion of this poem breaks the colonialistic idea of land belonging to the colonizer once colonized by putting in perspective that colonizers are, in essence, just passerbys on land that is not
Young, Peter T. "Ho‘okuleana." : Kuhina Nui. N.p., 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
“The story employs a dramatic point of view that emphasizes the fragility of human relationships. It shows understanding and agreemen...
There is one universal language: the language of music. Music has a special quality and ability to bridge both social and cultural divides. A proposed theory by Dr. Gray, Founder and Director of National Musical Arts’ BioMusic Program; describes music has been around longer than human-beings have. Music is the one thing human beings from various backgrounds can relate to. Every living creature would agree. Music is heard everywhere not just among humans, but in nature as well, through the twitting of birds, winds blowing, the soft sound of raindrops against a windowpane, the ocean waves moving back and forth and the hum of the ocean rushing in a sea shell. There is no escaping it; music lives in and surrounds us steadily. While there are countless songs which confer social or cultural consciousness, this paper will analyze and address the dynamics of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”, video. Stylistically, the paper will examine the artist point of view, the unique use of lyrical analysis and sound description in relation to its historical, social, political and/or cultural context. This essay will also trace the lyrical analysis and sound description of song and discuss how the elements (visually, sonically, and lyrically) interplay with the theme of immigration and/or violence.
T The most commonly known Hawaiian music is the popular mainland and tourist market oriented hapa-haole, half-white or foreign, music which is not traditional Hawaiian music but is a kind of Hawaiian music that Hawaiian performers have adopted, adapted and acculturated by Hawaiian performers to their own musical standards (Solberg
In essence, this song carries various sociological concepts. It concentrates on the main idea about the social construction of reality and talking about how reality is changing. The song questions the actions and mentally of individuals violating the norms and values of society. The band takes into consideration various factors of why it is happening including the media and religion. As a result they talk about such influences taking control building and developing a sense of self. This is a great song about present day problems and how society changes with them.
‘Raam ke Naam’ is a documentary film made by Anand Patwardhan in the year 1991, a year before the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The film follows the journey of L.K Advani’s Rath Yatra, which led to the destruction of the 16th century mosque. The stage of the film is set at the destruction of a mosque in Ayodhya to build a temple in its place claiming it to be Ram’s birthplace, Ramjanamabhumi. However, along with the main issue, the film traces seeds of communalism, politicization of religion and classism. The film is not opinion based but reflects what people were saying at that time. It interviews several people ranging from fanatic members of procession to temple priests, local junta and even Govt officials. The film takes an interesting view in today’s time because in gives documentary evidence of how communal feelings and attitudes began to take shape as a result of right wing Hindu politics. It is also noteworthy that the title hints us of man’s actions ‘in the name of god’ but his actions not
Most of his other songs reflect on his life as a refugee who left his homeland and allow others who aren’t in his position to feel like they can somehow relate to him regardless of their background. K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag has universal meanings and themes that affect most of the world today, like hunger, poverty, and war. In K’naan’s song, Wavin’ Flag, he writes “But we struggling/ fighting to eat” (31). During the civil war, the majority of Somalis were experiencing hunger, and even though there was aid and relief brought to them by world organizations, most of that food and aid ended up in the wrong hands (that of the government). This problem of foreign countries giving food to countries that are in famine and in need of help is not solved when the resources are mostly handed over to the wrong people. This is still current in several regions around the world today. K’naan uses his lyrics to reach out to millions and wants to educate them about what’s going on around the world