Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Ka 'Āina Ka'awale

The islands of Hawai'i have stood in the Pacific for hundreds of millions of years. In that time they've endured storm and tsunami and have thrived. In the time before human eyes beheld them, these lands developed a magic that, over the centuries, people of many races have found irresistible. The power of these lands to captivate is beyond some spell, beyond mere love or beauty, it is ume mau, a never-ending attraction.

I like to think of the human discovery of the islands as being akin to the storm waves that have washed upon these islands for millennia. The first great wave was the original polynesian settlers, who braved thousands miles of ocean in vessels that most modern people would fear to voyage in. They brought with them the animals and plants that they could accommodate on their voyaging canoes. The islands, empty of human inhabitants, welcomed them, and the transformation of the land began.

In the second wave, westerners arrived, starting with Cook, and later Hawaii became a stop for merchant mariners. New England missionaries arrived shortly after and received a welcome somewhat better than Cook's. These missionaries, merchant mariners, and other early arrivals were caught in the island's spell. They and their descendants were welcomed by the people and the land, they intermarried with the original inhabitants, advised the kings and queens and chiefs of the islands. Lead mostly by American's, western thoughts on government, religion, land-ownership, and business provided a new transformation. This wave was perhaps the most profound and the most controversial. These westerners were the founders of the huge commercial agricultural companies which exerted overwhelming force upon the development of the islands between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries.

Then the Chinese came. Their immigration was initially arranged to provide much needed labor in the sugar (and later pineapple) fields of the islands. They brought with them their own culture, food, and language. Their work-ethic allowed many to transform agricultural toil that would be unheard of by today's standards into opportunity and wealth. They became part of business and government and instead of returning to their homelands, they became part of Hawai'i too.

The fourth wave came from another island nation, Japan. Once again the demand for labor in Hawai'i's immense agricultural system caused the large western business interests to reach across oceans. Work-life was incredibly hard for these early immigrants, but they also found a place which allowed them near complete cultural autonomy. Like the Chinese, and the westerners before them, the islands worked their peculiar magic upon these people and instead of returning to Japan with their earnings, many stayed.

As each wave crashed upon the shores of these islands, the force was absorbed. Of course it wasn't always an easy transition, racial and economic tensions were not at all rare. Still, the result is something totally unique, like the islands themselves. Through generations of living with one another, and of frequently marrying each other and raising the next generation together, the people of modern Hawai'i have become the most unique and well-integrated cultural and racial mix the world has ever seen. 

Maybe it is because I am a member of a multi-racial family that I feel so utterly at home when I am in the islands. The influence of the orient is everywhere, from the food you eat to many of the customs you encounter (such as removing your shoes before entering a hawaiian home). Of course western influences are unmistakeable, from commercial enterprise to government and law. All of these influences do not replace, but are layered upon, the culture of the original inhabitants. The Hawaiians of yesterday may have been awash in wave upon wave of foreign migration, but their unique presence is still felt everywhere, from the food and language to the beautiful music and dances of the islands.

In this way, Hawai'i is a place apart, it does not feel like anywhere else in the world.

No comments:

Post a Comment