Where Can I Find the True Culture and Spirit
question
Also Lisa, could you please tell me where I might go to feel the true Polynesian culture and lifestyle and also learn about the history more. We used to visit every year when I was a kid (back in the sixties) or should I just say much younger in age haha, and everywhere you went there were Polynesian people and customs and culture. A few years ago I was visiting and I was disappointed in the lack of culture now. It's the places in between the big cities where I enjoyed it the most. I am aware of the anti Howlie (sic haole) attitude in some places and I understand some of the reasons those attitudes exist but I would rather try to mingle than be a tourist. Does that make since?
answer
Well, I live in Puna on the Big Island, and even here in the wilds of Hawaii you have to search hard for it. There are a dedicated few that live it every day but most polynesian people here are just as American as you or I. They go about their days in American ways and maybe go to hula halau on Tuesdays or say Hawaiian prayers or have a pretty traditional big first birthday for their kids and are a bit nicer and more relaxed than on the mainland, but they still go to a christian church on Sundays and go to work every day. They pay taxes, shop at the convenience store, drive SUVs, and speak English. Obviously, in the islands everything is a bit different because of the influence of the culture, but I know you are looking for more. The thing is, you just are not going to be exposed to it as a tourist in most cases and there is nothing you can do about it. The other day at playgroup I heard a local firefighter of Hawaiian descent talking to his two year old in Hawaiian. How are you going to be exposed to that :) ?
My best advice is to visit Hilo during the Merrie Monarch or the Tahiti Fete or any island during the aloha festivals and go to the events. This is not a show put on for tourists, these events (mostly the first two) are for the people who live here who share the cultural background. For the week they put their American selves on the back burner and nurture their polynesian selves, and everyone does it. They wear leis and feathered hatbands and everybody kisses everybody and you can just feel it in the air. I know this is what people looking for the "real aloha spirit" are looking for, but the truth is, a place where you are welcome to 'mingle' in it any day of the week just does not exist.
Now, the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu does a pretty good job of simulating it in an entertaining and educational atmosphere. You may want to consider it.
Categories: hawaii, culture, hawaiian+culture
Also Lisa, could you please tell me where I might go to feel the true Polynesian culture and lifestyle and also learn about the history more. We used to visit every year when I was a kid (back in the sixties) or should I just say much younger in age haha, and everywhere you went there were Polynesian people and customs and culture. A few years ago I was visiting and I was disappointed in the lack of culture now. It's the places in between the big cities where I enjoyed it the most. I am aware of the anti Howlie (sic haole) attitude in some places and I understand some of the reasons those attitudes exist but I would rather try to mingle than be a tourist. Does that make since?
answer
Well, I live in Puna on the Big Island, and even here in the wilds of Hawaii you have to search hard for it. There are a dedicated few that live it every day but most polynesian people here are just as American as you or I. They go about their days in American ways and maybe go to hula halau on Tuesdays or say Hawaiian prayers or have a pretty traditional big first birthday for their kids and are a bit nicer and more relaxed than on the mainland, but they still go to a christian church on Sundays and go to work every day. They pay taxes, shop at the convenience store, drive SUVs, and speak English. Obviously, in the islands everything is a bit different because of the influence of the culture, but I know you are looking for more. The thing is, you just are not going to be exposed to it as a tourist in most cases and there is nothing you can do about it. The other day at playgroup I heard a local firefighter of Hawaiian descent talking to his two year old in Hawaiian. How are you going to be exposed to that :) ?
My best advice is to visit Hilo during the Merrie Monarch or the Tahiti Fete or any island during the aloha festivals and go to the events. This is not a show put on for tourists, these events (mostly the first two) are for the people who live here who share the cultural background. For the week they put their American selves on the back burner and nurture their polynesian selves, and everyone does it. They wear leis and feathered hatbands and everybody kisses everybody and you can just feel it in the air. I know this is what people looking for the "real aloha spirit" are looking for, but the truth is, a place where you are welcome to 'mingle' in it any day of the week just does not exist.
Now, the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu does a pretty good job of simulating it in an entertaining and educational atmosphere. You may want to consider it.
Categories: hawaii, culture, hawaiian+culture
posted by Lisa at 11:21 AM
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