The recent Keani name thread, and the thread asking if it's OK for a haole girl to dance hula, has got me thinking about Hawaiian culture, and about exclusivity vs inclusivity.
Sometimes I hear people say that only Hawaiians should...
...give their kids Hawaiian names (I even say this myself)
...use tiki (ki'i) imagery (Kimo, are you listening?)
...dance hula (almost nobody says this)
Why?
On the one hand, you could argue that doing these things preserves the Hawaiian culture, keeps it "pure", in the face of a massive Western cultural onslaught that threatens to cheapen the meaning of these things.
But on the other hand, wouldn't it be great if people all over the world did Hawaiian things -- wouldn't that be spreading the Hawaiian culture, and wouldn't that be a good thing?
Sometimes I hear people say that only Hawaiians should...
...give their kids Hawaiian names (I even say this myself)
...use tiki (ki'i) imagery (Kimo, are you listening?)
...dance hula (almost nobody says this)
Why?
On the one hand, you could argue that doing these things preserves the Hawaiian culture, keeps it "pure", in the face of a massive Western cultural onslaught that threatens to cheapen the meaning of these things.
But on the other hand, wouldn't it be great if people all over the world did Hawaiian things -- wouldn't that be spreading the Hawaiian culture, and wouldn't that be a good thing?
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