Two Sides Of A Story: Hawaiian And Western
Two Sides Of A Story: Hawaiian And Western
By completing a total of three voyages into the Pacific, Cook was able to chart and discover many Islands, among them Hawaii, where he laid the groundwork for the many travelers and fortune seekers. Among the many new arrivals in Hawaii were the missionaries, who came to save the heathens and to spread Christianity on all the islands. Determined to bring about change, the first arrivals from New England saw with dismay the half-naked people who would entertain themselves with songs and dance and would frolic on the beach with complete disregard to "proper" moral. Seeing their Protestant-Calvinist views as ultimately superior, the missionaries took every step possible to alter the Hawaiian custom, prohibiting the wearing of flowers and performance of the hula dance and chant, which were the most important elements of keeping this culture alive.
The contact with the Western world has not only diminished the Hawaiian population, but also altered its culture into a stage of near extinction. It was during the last few decades that the Hawaiians became more aware of their heritage and culture and began to revive the language and reinstate life styles that were almost forgotten.
Among the areas of the Hawaiian culture that are being reborn, is the field of education. Those who believe in the revival of the Native Hawaiian Epistemology are determined to change the current “western” educational system back into the way ancient Hawaiians have taught and learned.
Turning the clock of cultural evolution back and reinstating the Hawaiian ways of learning is a helpful tool that insures the survival of the Hawaiian culture, but to substitute the western educational structure with it will lead to an intellectual and economic downfall of the Hawaiian Islands. A combination of both will not only help Hawaii’s future, but also bring back a part of its culture. In order to determine whether or not the reinstatement of the Hawaiian Epistemology as the sole carrier of educational development would be helpful for the overall picture of Hawaii’s future, both systems – Hawaiian and Western – need to be closely evaluated and taken into consideration.
Kimberly Helm’s lecture at the Moloka`i Education Center on January 18, 2001 gave an insight on the field of education. Helm’s lecture is based on Manulani Aluli-Meyer’s publications that handle Native Hawaiian Epistemology as a tool of empowerment for the Hawaiian culture.
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