Hawaiian Studies Reflection

Words: 550
Pages: 3

Hawaiian Studies 101

When I was 14 years old, I went to my friends house for dinner with his family. When I entered the home, I noticed something seemed strange to me; their home was not western. While I knew that my friends family was polynesian, I did not know that they were specifically Hawaiian. His parents immediately gave me hugs, shared food generously, talked and laughed with me as though we were friends, and from the moment I stepped in the door, made me feel loved, as though I was an honorary member of their family. I never forgot that experience, and it heavily influenced my decision into applying to BYUH, and furthermore, to enroll in Hawaiian Studies. While my friends family were members of the church, there was a spirit of Aloha in the way the acted, talked, and throughout their entire home. If there was one thing that affected my most in this class, it was the further understanding of this cultures unconditional love and passion for the gospel, for other people, themselves, and for the earth as a whole.
As we deeper discussed how the Hawaiian culture lived off the land, I understood more and more what it meant to them in the past, and now. They used materials from the land, but not over-used as our american culture tends to. They broke up the land equally between groups. They were close to the earth because that is where
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Genealogy, stories, or mo’olelo are still such a huge part in Hawaiian culture. As children grow up, they learn chants speaking of the gods/godesses that created island. There are chants telling stories of the Hawaiian roots, and where there people came from. There are stories describing the wonderful weather, sunlight, breeze and trees. There are even chants taught to ask for help guidance and many other things. Hawaiians are so grateful for their history, gods, and most importantly,