Hawaiian Culture

Hawaiian Culture

Introduction

The “Aloha State” turned out to be the fiftieth state in the year 1959; however, Hawaiian history goes back hundreds of years earlier (Pryor, 2004). Approximately fifteen hundred years before, Polynesians originating from the Marquesas Islands turned up for the very first time on Hawaii Island. An island which has blue-sky waters, sandy beaches and palm tree shores, astounding volcanoes, and magnificent sunsets; however a striking natural atmosphere is not all there is to take pleasure in in this earth-bound heaven, since the Hawaii island is also home to natives with a very rich, multifaceted and diverse culture.

Discussion

The traditions and cultures of Hawaii are truly the reflections of the inherent beauty of this island. The poised and stylish Hawaiian dances, the religious and meaningful songs, and a range of appealing art forms look as if created with merely one reason, and that is to function as instruments by means of which the mystery and beauty of this island is expressed.

The Government

At present, the Hawaiian Government tags along the constitutional government evocative of the 1840 Constitutional Dominion of Hawaii, and the statehood pattern of the Federal Government of United States (Buck, 2010). The structure of the Hawaii Government is settled on by its constitution, and it pursues a common republic model wherein the government is split into 3 major branches: the judiciary, legislative, and executive (Buck, 2010).

The Hula Dance

The traditional Hawaiian dance called the Hula Dance is as vivacious and pulsating as the rising and falling waves in its beaches (McDernott, 1980). The dance moves in fact expresses the meaning, beauty, spirituality and grace of Hawaii. A lot of people believe that the hula is a symbol of the spirit of Hawaii by means of captivating music and graceful movements. Thus, this dance is profoundly rooted to the religious convictions of the people living here. In point of fact, Hawaiians deem that the first hula dance was performed by a goddess or a god (McDernott, 1980). Owing to this, the dance is measured more as a holy ritual as compare to that of a kind of entertainment. However, with time, this dance turned out to be a part of festivals and celebrations and not merely a form of worship or spiritual performance.

Hawaiian songs

Hawaii's music is a true reflection of what this island is all about - a mishmash of various cultures. Contemporary Hawaiian songs are in fact a jumble of modern and ancient influences. These songs are just another form of art by means of which the natives of Hawaii adore and worship nature. The lyrics of these songs are usually about things related to Hawaii, the way of living of its people and the culture (Shofner, 2008).

The traditional music of Hawaii is spiritual and religious in nature. On the whole, it is made up of chants together with musical instruments. For the reason that Hawaii is deficient in minerals and metals, people utilized the plentiful materials around them. And due to this, almost all the ancient ...