For the past three centuries Hawaiian culture has been attacked by the
cultures of immigrant groups from places such as China, Japan, the Philippines,
and, of course, the U.S. As early as the 1820s, cultural conflict led
to the prohibition of the hula, which is a way of dancing and chanting
in praise of the Hawaiian gods, among them Kane, the creator; Lono, god
of harvests; and Ku, the god of war, regarded by Christian missionaries
as pagan.
By the time Hawaii became a state in 1959, its culture had been seriously
eroded. Many Hawaiians were angered as they had to prove that they had
at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood to receive land grants. This lead to
an insurgent movement in favor of land for all Kanaka Maoli, Original
People, no matter how little native blood they had. Hawaiians resented
the fact that in the new state the language continued to be forbidden
in schools, and were enraged at the high crime rates and poor health standards.
Although the Hawaiians never lost their voice, only in the past two
decades have people started paying close attention to them. Today the
old term "part Hawaiian" is considered derogatory, and of the
1.2 million people living in the islands, almost 250,000 identify themselves
as "native Hawaiian", wholly or in combination with another
ethnic group.
The 1970s saw four main expressions of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance:
the recovery of the island of Kaho' olawe, the return of voyaging, the
"Battle of the Bones", and the revival of traditional hula.
The U.S. military had been using the small island of Kaho'olawe as a bombing
target since 1941, despite the fact that it contains some 2,000 archaeological
sites. In the late 1970s the bombing provoked anger, demonstrations and
occupation of this uninhabited island, which since 1990 has been set aside
for the preservation of Hawaiian culture.
The 1970s also saw the revival of voyaging in the ancestral way, sailing.the
Pacific in traditional canoes. Hawaiian voyaging had ended in the 14th
century but the art of navigating and the ancient methods of reading the
stars still existed on remote Pacific islands. Pius Piailug, "Mau",
has brought back the art of crossing the Pacific following the stars,
and a proud culture of voyaging that teaches discipline and self -steem
has grown up around Hawaiian canoes.
The so-ca1led Battle of the Bones erupted in the mid-1980s when a Ritz-Carlton
hotel was proposed at Honokahua on a burial ground. Protests were so strong
that in 1989 the planned hotel was moved back to preserve the sanctity
of the site, and new laws were passed to prevent buildings from desecrating
ancient Hawaiian sites.
Hula is a symbol of the Hawaiian people. It is a performance of storytelling,
chanting and stamping by one person or in groups. It is entertainment
as well as a formal way of greeting visitors and of praising events and
places. It teaches Hawaiian language, history, genealogy and spirituality.
To most natives, hula was life, so it was not surprising that mothers
used to teach hula to their daughters before they could walk.
(From the press. Adapted)
PART ONE: READING COMPREHENSION
1. Answer the following questions according to the information in
the text.
1. How did the Christian missionaries help destroy the Hawaiian culture?
2. Write three events that made Hawaiians angry.
3. Why do you think Pius Mau Piailug became a hero for younQ Hawaiians?
4. This text suggests that today a Hawaiian is...
anyone with any Hawaiian blood, even if it is only one per cent.
someone who is the tenth generation of missionaries or Japanese planters.
all the American citizens. including the Kanaka Maoli. born after 1959.
5. Which of the following sounds the best definition of "hula"?
a song contest in which perfomers dance to praise their families and
enemies.
a religious Polynesian party in which women teach their children to
walk.
a Polynesian dance performed for enjoyment, welcorning, narrating and
teaching.
PART TWO: WRITING
Choose ONE. Write about either 1 or 2.
1. You are a reporter for "The HonOlulu Times". Write an interview
with Waipo Mapuana, the director of a school in which classes are conducted
in Hawaiian. Talk about the difficulties and challenges of teaching and
speaking this language and of trying to revive Hawaiian traditions.
2. You are Sabra Kauka, a girl from Molokai. Write a letter to a penfriend
in Spain. Tell her / him about your country (land, people, climate, food,
traditions, interesting places...). Invite your penfriend to visit the
beautiful islands of Hawaii.
3. Vocabulary
Explain next words in English, write the phonetics and also an example:
to erode, derogatory, to stamp, anger, to praise, burial ground, to desecrate
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