UERJ 2017/2

THE COST OF BEING HAWAIIAN: DEFENDING OUR IDENTITY 

A beautiful Polynesian woman moves her hips from side to side, a flower adorning her ear as her  

hands glide across her body in harmony with the music. She looks like a photograph come to  

life. Beside her is a dark and handsome man smiling and playing the ukulele*. He sings through  

his gigantic smile a beautiful love song to the dancing girl. After a time, the man stops playing  

[5] and the woman stops dancing. The two stare lovingly into each other’s eyes and jump into their  

canoe, disappearing into the sunset. 

This misconception about the Hawaiian culture has always been around, and although I do not  

profess to be an expert in Hawaiian studies by any means, I know that these ideas are only cheap  

imitations and generic stereotypes created more to appeal to tourists than to perpetuate and  

[10] preserve the Hawaiian way of life. The more people are exposed to these misconceptions, the  

less they understand the true beauty of the Hawaiian people and the richness of their culture  

steeped in politics, agriculture, aquaculture, dance, storytelling and an oral tradition that include  

both extensive genealogies and mythology.  

Imagine the reaction of our Hawaiian forefathers if they were to view one of the many dinner/ 

[15] cocktail shows that litter the pages of our tourist guides. What would they think? Would they  

proudly applaud our efforts to preserve their contributions to history? Or would they laugh at  

its absurdity? Is the need to be an economically viable state causing us to compromise our true  

identity as Hawaiians in exchange for the luxuries that come with being a tourist destination? 

As a boy, I took trips to the Big Island. Visiting there reminded me that Hawaiians had their own  

[20] place in history and a proper culture complete with its own form of government, its own form  

of religion and its own legal system. These discoveries about my heritage filled me with equal  

portions of pride and wonderment.  

The most concerning thing to me as a Hawaiian is the growing commercialization of our culture  

and its possible consequences. Simplifying the culture merely for financial gain may actually  

[25] cost Hawaiians more than they think. I do not dispute the fact that the tourism industry brings  

in much needed revenue to the state, but how long can we tolerate the integrity of our culture  

being violated simply to earn money? How much longer can we sell these fabricated ideas of the  

islands before they imbue themselves upon the cultural consciousness of all Hawaiians? 

I am not suggesting that we shut down every hula show that makes a profit off of reinforcing  

[30] stereotypes, but that Hawaiians as a people with a rich heritage and a long cultural history need  

to be more active in understanding our cultural identity. As western influence grows, we need to  

take steps to preserve our culture so that our children don’t grow up believing the stereotypes  

that are so readily conditioned into the mind of every tourist. Tourism will not go away, but  

we need to take steps as Hawaiians to ensure our traditions are not swallowed up by these  

superficial shadows. 

*ukulele − Hawaiian musical instrument 

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