Malo e lelei or Hello, like all cultures, Tongan culture is a way of life and in this case the island life. The Kingdom of Tonga is but a speck on the map, a Polynesian kingdom off the South Pacific Ocean. My cultural identity is defined in a variety of ways, my self-perception, my family background, and the values associated within the larger ethnic group. Where I come from is not known and most people have never heard of such a place, it is untouched and largely undiscovered. But, my culture is the sole purpose of whom I am today. Cultural identity comes not from others but from yourself and what you have experienced. My cultural identity is Tongan, I may have not been born in Tonga but I am full Tongan. I am not considered Tongan American …show more content…
My family immigrated to the U.S. one by one, my mother came first in 1987 and then my father some years later in 1992. My family consists of only my parents, all other immediate family stayed back in Tonga. Both my parents originated from the island of Tonga which is located about two-thirds of the way between Hawai’i and New Zealand, southwest of Samoa and east of Fiji. The Kingdom of Tonga are divided into three main groups, Tongatapu the main island, Ha’apai and Vava’u. My mother came from the main island of Tongatapu where the capital of Nukualofa is located. And my father came from the third group Vava’u the north most islands. The plan was to move to the United States to have a better life and start a family where more opportunity is. My parents already had their first child back in the islands, but as time went on they had the dream of immigrating to America for a better life. As mentioned earlier Tonga is but a speck on the map, largely undiscovered and very poor. My parents did want their children to grow in the same conditions they had to undergo. Likewise, most families knew a better life was possible in …show more content…
Although this is true, we never forgot the Tongan traditions and customs, we were culturally adept with anga fakatonga (traditional Tongan way) and anga fakapalangi (Western way). And from having these dual context of the traditional way and Western way my family knows when to switch between them when necessary. Tonga is a nation entwined with a Christian background(2), the motto of Tonga is Ko e ‘Otua mo Tonga ko hoku Tofi’a meaning God and Tonga are my inheritance. And so a lot of our traditions and customs comes from the church. One ethnic tradition my family practices is called fakame it basically means white Sunday. Where the children of the church conducts the church service, all the children down to the babies of the church to the young adults. I have been a part of this tradition since I was born. It is held on every first Sunday of May, my parents dress us up in the traditional attire which is to be in all white hence the name White Sunday. It consists of the women wearing puletaha a handmade traditional dress and the men wear tupenu which a man skirt is. Along with ta’ovala which is tapa cloth mat that is worn on the waist of both females and males. This tradition is significant in that the congregation comes together to acknowledge and celebrate childhood. Also on White Sunday children
However, some generalizations can be made to help provide culturally competent care to this group of people. One of the most significant factors of culture for Pacific Islanders is family. Family help care for each other and the family should be included in health care decisions. Health is viewed as being in balance and harmony, and illness viewed as an imbalance. Prayer is important aspect of health and healing. Traditionally, in the Pacific Islander culture having a very large body was a sign of health, wealth, and prestige. Just like many cultures food is used in ceremonies and social function. Certain foods are associated with the ethnic identity of the Pacific Islander cultures, these include: breadfruit, green bananas, yams, fruit, fish and coconuts to name a few (Sobralske, 2006, p.
I classify my race, ethnicity, and culture as a white, Irish-Italian- American, woman. My mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and my paternal grandparents are from Sicily, Italy. I imagine being first generation Irish and second generation Italian helps me relate with my ethnicity.
Cultural identity is a dynamic and a complex feeling and sense of belonging to one or more ethnic groups. It defines the way an individual identifies or positions himself or herself in different cultural contexts. In our modern society we are experiencing contact with different cultures like never before. As expressed in “If you are what you eat, then what am I” by Kothari, Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas, and Flight by Sherman Alexie. Kothari has her identity but tries to deviate around it with the type of cuisine she was eating, but only to find out that it was an impossible task for Kothari. Piri has his identity also, but going through different environments and cultures has completely puzzled and influenced Piri’s identity which
Culture and identity are two very strange ideas. They are received at a very young age, yet they are very hard to give to someone else. They will affect you for the rest or your life, yet for the most part you are born into them. However, they soon become very important to us and we cannot, no matter what we do, live without them. They are a part of us, and a vital aspect of society. However, it took me a very long time to recognize that I had an identity and a little while after that before I knew what it was.
My cultural identity, is Haitian American. My parents come from a country of beautiful landscape and valleys of the hidden treasures of knowledge, diverse people, and rustic towns. My parents walked up steep plateaus for water, laid in grassy plains for peace, and dive into the sea for cooling in Haiti’s humid heat. Although, I come from a culture of deep history, the first country to gain independence in the result of a successful slave rebellion, my parents knew the plague of suffering Haiti’s battle with will not recover through the poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy. As Haiti fought through its demons, my parents fought to provide plentiful opportunity for their family and immigrated to the United States of America.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
Since the birth of America many cultures came to find freedom and opportunity to accomplish the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that anyone who comes to America possesses the opportunity to succeed based on their merit. Through this different cultures diffused what America came to be. The influences of immigrant cultures gave America the name the land of the free. Cultural diffusion, migration, immigration, and transnationalism is important in relation to global economy based on the fact that through these countries we are granted many ideas, styles, religions, technologies, and languages from these different cultures. America became a melting pot of various cultures bringing their individuality in a country of many customs. The struggle between culture and identity is conveyed through the writings of Richard Rodriquez and Armstrong Williams to break stereotypes and be proud of who you are. People need to identify with their own culture first before identifying with America because a key American value is individualism and maintaining one’s own culture. America is a melting pot of different cultures making it necessary to remember one’s own culture in the flood of ideas and traditions within America. Through maintaining culture they are simultaneously upholding American beliefs and identifying with America.
This is a journey of self-discovery to understand the fundamental meaning of what makes me, me? All of us have a unique identity and culture. An Identity are a sets of social expectations related to ourselves and others that are grounded in the interplay between similarities and differences and pertain to the personal, relational, and communal aspects of lives (Hall, 102). In other words, it is our identity that makes us who we are. On the other hand, Culture is defined as a historically shared system of symbolic resources through which we make our world meaningful (Hall, 4). Culture is how we as individuals make sense of the world. So what is Cultural Identity? Cultural Identity allows us as individuals to feel a sense of belonging to a particular
I live in this huge mix of culture. Culture is personal. People can have many cultures especially in America and because of globalization. Cultural identity is not one or the other, it is not Mexican or American. Cultural identity is an individual relevant thing.
“Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.” (Page 132) In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, the protagonist, Arnold, frequently has difficulty finding the correct balance of being an individual and a member of different communities. Arnold is a Native American who has grown up on a reservation without hope. His family has lived in penury, his whole life, and he decides to pursue a better life for himself and his future family. On the reservation, he is called Junior, while at Reardan he is known as Arnold. These two names illustrate his two public personas and represent his two communities. However, bullies both on the reservation and at his new school harass
My personal cultural identity is a lot different compared to the society I am surrounded by. I am considered an outsider in my society. I am an outsider living in a constantly changing environment where there are many different kinds of people and many different cultural identities. In my culture we know how to respect people and their belongings, know how to work hard, use what we have while being thankful for it at the same time, and last we know how to stay true to ourselves in this very fast pace world of ours. I am a cowboy.
Why is cultural identity important to us as people from different race and ethnical background? Identity is one of the most baffling, unpredictable, problematic, survival instincts of individual life in any society around the world. CulturalIdentity is that is aspect of individual that creates a distinguish characteristics and unique differences from one person to another. It can be looked upon in the different angles and spectrum depending on what the case may be. Identity can be analyzed in terms of way of life of people in a geographical setting.Culture is the back born of every identity, and then we can look into some subcultures like, music, language, and communication and perception.
My culture identity, as I know it as is African American. My culture can be seen in food, literature, religion, language, the community, family structure, the individual, music, dance, art, and could be summed up as the symbolic level. Symbolic, because faith plays a major role in our daily lives through song, prayer, praise and worship. When I’m happy I rely on my faith, same as when I’m sad, for I know things will get better as they have before.
Who am I; my beliefs, values, morals, and views on society have assisted in molding me into the person that I am considered to be today. I was raced with specifics values, traditions, and norms. Being raised in a small town made being socially aware very easy. I was raised under the southern Baptist Christian religion. Church was always the same and it had a majority of women in attendance although the men and elderly people ran the church overall. It was always the same, repetitive habits and events that occurred in my town but after a while I became accustomed to always being near or known by others.
I have never really sat down and thought about my cultural identity, at least until I started this class. I never thought about how my identity was different than that of other members in my community. I also never put much mind to the communication challenges that I could face when speaking with members of my community. To be totally honest, there is more cultural differences that I have faced and actually paid attention to, and now I seem to understand the importance of how one culture differs from another.