Analyzing Hawaiian Culture: History, Values, and U.S. Representation

This report provides an overview of the Kingdom of Hawaii's culture, starting with its early human settlements by Polynesians and its eventual unification by Kamehameha I. It details the cultural context, including the establishment of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and various festivals. The report explores how Hawaiian culture is represented in the U.S., particularly through music and dance. It emphasizes the collective nature of Hawaiian culture, its artistic contributions, core values like Laulima and Kupono, and its polytheistic religion, which has been significantly influenced by Western missionaries. The report also discusses sex and gender roles within Hawaiian society and offers insights into acculturation, suggesting a pilot study to understand and integrate into Hawaiian values and customs. The paper concludes by highlighting the enduring impact and representation of Hawaiian culture in the modern world.

Running Head: CULTURE 1
Culture: Kingdom of Hawaii
NAME
COURSE
UNIVERSITY/AFFILIATION

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Introduction
Culture can be defined as people’s way of life. It is concerned with how people conduct
themselves in their daily activities not limited to the dressing code and religious practices. Other
examples of cultural activities include traditions (Thomas & Brown, 2011). It is used to identify
a particular group of people. Culture is considered as an essential part of life up-to-date.
However, some cultures have become distinct or undergone some changes, which is usually
referred to as acculturation. There are some factors that have contributed to these changes such
as western education and civilization. Initially, missionaries played some vital roles to ensure
that there have been numerous cultural changes across the world (Sam & Berry, 2010). The aim
of this paper is to explain culture of Hawaiian people in details. Several areas have been covered
not limited to religion and values.
History
Human settlements in Hawaiian Island began as early as 124 AD. Polynesians are the
first people who occupied it (Young, 2014). It remained unknown for a long period of time.
However, it is believed that it was discovered by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in 1542. The kingdom
of Hawaii was established by Kamehameha 1 in the year 1542 through the help of European
military. Hawaii kingdom experienced tremendous growth due to several factors especially
agriculture, which attracted immigrants from different parts of the world such as Japan, America
and China. Later, it amalgamated with the United States as its state in 1959 (Young, 2014).
Cultural Context
In 1889, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum was founded. In this museum, the culture of the
kingdom of Hawaiians was represented as the museum consisted of variety of books not limited

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to periodicals and newspapers (Okihiro, 2009). Other than books, cultural artifacts were also
present. There are several festivals that were cerebrated in Hawaii Kingdom. For example, Merry
Monarch and Aloha festivals. Aloha festivals comprises of different activities such as cultural
events. Besides, there were also Filipinos in Hawaii kingdom. These people had their own
festivals, for example, Flores de Mayo. Moreover, there was also Korean festival. Therefore,
different festivals were practiced in the kingdom as it comprised of people from different parts of
the world such as Korea and China (Okihiro, 2009).
Represented in the U.S.
The culture of Hawaii kingdom has been represented in the U.S. as it is characterized by
uniqueness and pristine. For instance, Hawaiian music has been a source of tourist attraction
since 1959 (Walker, 2011). This music was also coalesced easily with western music, for
example, Beachboy music. This song became popular in 1930s. Initially, it was referred to as
hapahaole. Other than music, Hula dance is also used to entertain people in the U.S, hence it has
also played some important roles in tourism sector (Bonham, Edmonds & Mak, 2006). Other
cultures include surfing and luaus.
Individualistic/Collective
My chosen culture is collective in nature. It focuses on group achievement rather than
individuals. Every person struggles to achieve groups’ goals ignoring their own desires. Hence,
success is as a result of all people rather than specific individuals. This has been enhanced by
interconnectedness and central role (Goodyear-Kaopua, 2011).
Artistic

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Hawaii culture has contributed greatly to tourist sector in the U.S. The following are
some of its artistic contributions; Molokai’s music, hula dance, gothic architecture, Florentine
architecture, Romanesque architecture, beaux-arts, mele music and Heritage festival (Bonham et
al., 2006).
Values
Values are important as they define how a person can relate with others in a given
community. Hawaiian values are characterized by hospitality and friendship. For instance,
Laulima encourages Hawaiians to work together (Goodyear-Kaopua, 2011). For example, they
trapped fish using a rope with ti leaves. It involved a group who formed a line. Therefore,
success was attributed to all people. Besides, kuleana is concerned with responsibility. For
example, Hawaiians taken care of the land, which provided food for them in return, hence
maintaining balance not only within themselves but also natural resources. Moreover, Kupono is
also an important value in Hawaii as it focused on honest, hence encouraging fairness. For
example, Hawaiians were treated equally without discrimination when there was an event such
as festivals (Goodyear-Kaopua, 2011).
Religion
Hawaiian religion was polytheistic in nature. Hawaiians believed that natural objects such
as the sky have spirits. Lono and Ku are some of the gods that they believed in (Young, 2014).
The freedom of religion as provided in the U.S. constitution enabled Hawaiians to practice their
religion. Ho’oponopono concerned with the act of reconciliation. Samoa and Tahiti are some of
the places where forgiveness was practiced. However, these religious practices changed
drastically due to western culture that was influenced by missionaries from different parts of the

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world such as Mexico and Spain (Tranquada & King, 2012). The major faith is Christianity.
However, other faiths such as Buddhism are also evident.
Sex and Gender Roles
Hawaiians identified themselves as either male or female. However, “Mahu” referred to
the Hawaiians who identified themselves as transgender. There existed different ways in which
gender was expressed, for example, in arts especially in hula which is still practiced until today.
Examples of gender practices include the following; women were restricted from owning
property and voting. Besides, they were also restricted from eating with men. Moreover, women
were segregated when a child was born. Regarding sex, sexual education was offered to children
by grandparents (Young, 2014). Selfish lovers were ridiculed while on the other hand skillful
lovers were admired.
Acculturation
Acculturation is concerned with the act of adopting new culture or transformation of
original culture of a given community (Sam & Berry, 2010). Regarding acculturating into my
chosen culture, you need to understand values such as kuleana and laulima. Moreover, you need
to know Hawaiian and American English languages. In addition, you need to know the following
festivals; Merry Monarch and Aloha festivals. In my suggestion, you need to carry out a pilot
study for about one month. This will enable you to understand our culture better. Besides, you
will also understand how your time machine can fit in our culture. Furthermore, you can also try
to test your time machine basing on our culture, therefore ensuring that acculturation will be a
success.
Conclusion

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In conclusion, this paper has explained the culture of the kingdom of Hawaiian in details.
Human settlements in Hawaiian Island began as early as 124 AD. This island remained unknown
for a long period of time. The number of immigrants from different parts of the world such as
China increased upon its discovery in 1542. The culture of Hawaiian people such as surfing and
hula dance have been represented in the U.S. for recreation and tourist attraction purposes.
Hawaiian culture is characterized by several values such as Lokahi and Kupono. This values
focus on unity, hence Hawaii culture is collective.

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References
Bonham, C., Edmonds, C., & Mak, J. (2006). The impact of 9/11 and other terrible global events
on tourism in the United States and Hawaii. Journal of Travel Research, 45(1), 99-110.
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Okihiro, G. Y. (2009). Island world: A history of Hawai’i and the United States Volume 8.
University of California Press. Retrieved from
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Sam, D. L., & Berry, J. W. (2010). Acculturation: When individuals and groups of different
cultural backgrounds meet. Perspectives on psychological science, 5(4), 472-481.
Tranquada, J., & King, J. (2012). The Ukulele: A History. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved
from https://www.amazon.com/Ukulele-History-Jim-Tranquada/dp/0824836340
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a
world of constant change Volume 2019. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.
Walker, I. H. (2011). Waves of resistance: Surfing and history in twentieth-century Hawaii.
University of Hawai'i Press.
Young, K. G. T. (2014). Rethinking the native Hawaiian past. Routledge. Retrieved from
https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Native-Hawaiian-Americans-Interdisciplinary/dp/
B074R8VVMG

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