HAWAIIAN FAMILY AND CULTURE

HAWAIIAN FAMILY AND CULTURE

Trivia questions

What does aloha mean ?

Do Hawaiians follow polygamy ?

What does Ohana mean ?

What is the main role of the father ?

Why is music so important in Hawaiian culture?

Language

The Hawaiian language. Comprised of only five vowels and eight consonants, Hawaiian has the shortest alphabet in the world. One of the most notable is the word aloha. It's probably the most widely known of all Hawaiian words, and it is one of the most important.

Aloha not only means hello, goodbye and love, it also means sympathy, kindness, compassion, affection and fondness. This word is more than a greeting or expression of love – it is the basis of what Hawaiians consider to be one of the culture’s core values.

What are the roles of males and of females within the family?

• Relationships with family members are close, and extend beyond the nuclear family. Adults take responsibility for their siblings’ children as well as their own.

• Women care for the house, plant the garden, clean, cook, care for children, weave, fish inside reef

• Men fish in and outside the reef, build, collect food from mountain or forest, make canoes, kill pigs, and make Um

• Interactions between sisters and brothers (and by extension between women and all male relatives) are prescribed.

Origin

Hawaiian descent is stemmed from the first ruler of Hawaii Kamehameha I. He conquered the Hawaiian Islands formally establishing the Kingdom in 1810 and founding the Kamehameha Dynasty

Thank you!

Canadian Families

Hawaiian Music

Hawaiian music is a unique blend of several early influences from abroad with ethnic Hawaiian chants. It has spawned the adaptation of guitar to several distinctly Hawaiian sounds and styles, notably slack key and steel guitar.

The general history of Hawaiian music begins in the mid 1800s, when visitors from all over the planet came by sea to Hawaii. Hawaiian music was rooted in old religious chants and hymns, which the native Hawaiians then mixed with the musical rhythms, sounds and instruments they heard from international visitors, immigrants and missionaries.

Music is important because its part of Hawaiian tradition, culture and heritage

• Families are responsible for the addition of new members through reproduction.

• Families provide physical care for their members, including adults, children and elderly.

• Families socialize children by teaching them skills, knowledge, values and attitudes of their society.

• Families are responsible for controlling the behavior of their members to maintain order within the family and within the society in which they live.

• Families maintain morale and motivate individuals to participate in society.

• Finally, families perform the economic function of producing and consuming goods and services.

How has the functions of the Hawaiian families changed over time ?

• In the Hawaiian society, families are expected to teach their children to know and understand what it means to be a contributing member of the community. Everyone has a responsibility to use his or her talents to the benefit of the entire Ohana (Family). However this wasn’t always the case.
• Hawaiians are Polynesian related to the Samoans, Tongans, Tahitians and Maori. Less than 1 percent of Hawaii's population is pureblooded Hawaiian.
• All of the immigrants that came into Hawaii have affected the function of Hawaiian families.
• Hawaiian families used to consist of the father being the sole provider of the household while the mother stays at home and takes care of the children.
• However over the years Hawaiian culture has been Westernized due to the immigrants living in Hawaii

THE ISLAND OF HAWAII

The roots of Hawaiian culture stretch south to older areas of Polynesia and beyond to the islands of the Western Pacific and the edges of Asia. The first settlers to Hawai`i brought with them the more ancient Polynesian traditions and lifestyles.

Hawaiian Family

• Hawaiians embrace the family as the basic unit of society and the best form of human expression, and reject individualism

• They define themselves by their relationships to each other, their ancestors and their land. Without these bonds of interconnectedness, they would be incomplete.

• Ohana is defined as a group of both closely and distantly related people who share nearly everything, from land and food to children and status. Sharing is central to this value since it prevents individual decline.

• Being Hawaiian involves nurturing and honoring these ties. In the Hawaiian society, one is expected to know and understand what it means to be a contributing member of the community. Everyone has a responsibility to use their talents to the benefit of the entire ohana (literally, family).

• The Hawaiian ohana encompasses not only those related by blood, but all who share a common sense of aloha (love and compassion).

Hawaiians strongly cherish their family members. they don't just believe in blood relation they believe that all Hawaiians are family

BY: Sheldon Fernandes

Sean Winick