Hawaiian Culture In Hawaii

Understanding Hawaiians

Before I came to Hawaii, I didn’t really know anything about the Native Hawaiians and the current local Hawaiians culture or their lifestyle. I am so blessed to be living in Hawaii and very lucky to have the opportunity to be surrounded by the local culture, as important as it is to understand this culture, I really wanted to dig deeper into the lives of the native Hawaiians, the people that were here from the beginning. Going out into the field trips and gaining understanding from actual natives and participating in the field work was the best way for me to gain the knowledge I was looking for. I also used the assistance of some texts, and online resources.

One aspect I liked to focus on was their kinship and family and how much they cared for one another. If I had to talk about one thing that I appreciated, it would be the love and the togetherness the Hawaiians have for each other. Another focus I had was to better understand their religion and their world view. I think religion is something that deserves a lot of attention, especially growing up in a catholic society and learning a lot about different religions. Also I think religion is a big part of any culture. It can have the power to create laws and dictate government. Another aspect that I looked at was the social inequality that faced Hawaiians. Being bullied and treated as inferiors at your home is something that I think needs to come out to everyone and has to be changed in order to avoid it from happening all the time and for it to keep happening.

In all cultures, there are relationships by marriage and family/ household forms, relationships and groups defined by kinship organize a variety of tasks and activities. According to the book,...

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...ns religion was focused around nature we need to realize its value to them and stop abusing the area. Religion is one of the main focuses of the culture, whether or not it’s still practiced, the value of what was once worshipped should never be overlooked or forgotten. I believe that if something was ever held sacred to people, even if these people have long since been deceased then it deserves to be preserved, and since the Hawaiians held nature sacred, then nature needs to be preserved. They should not have to continue to fight to keep some traditions alive and they should be free to practice many of them whenever necessary. The fieldwork has allowed me to look at Hawaiian culture in a totally new perspective. Being able to see and hear them talk to us about the history of Hawaii has been rewarding to me and it gave me a better understanding of their culture.