|
The People of Hawaii and Cultural
Diversity
As you read here about the people of Hawaii, or visit Hawaii
yourself, you will discover
how a few islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean came to be the
home of people from Asia, Polynesia, Europe; literally, every continent
on Earth. There are few pure Hawaiian people now, but about one in four
people is part Hawaiian. It can accurately be said that Hawaii is a
place without a racial majority. It is also a place where many people
have ancestors from more than one country or race. I think it fair to
say than multi-ethnic people are the rule rather than the exception.
Hawaiian Heritage
Here I will introduce you to the Hawaiian
people, their history and how Hawaii became such a diverse place. You
will learn a little about the origins of the first people of Hawaii,,
how they came here
from islands in the south Pacific and about the many others came to the
Hawaiian Islands after them.
The early history of
the original people of Hawaii
Please visit The Early History
of Hawaii, by at Hawaii
History.org . Also read
Paul Water's At PaulWaters.com, where he
explains the
evidence supporting current understanding of the discovery and early
origin and development of Hawaii's culture as well a good deal about
Hawaiian healing. Languages in Hawaii
Most people in Hawaii speak English. It is a second
language for many. Hawaii has it's own regional dialect which has
absorbed words and other characteristics from many languages. It is
called Hawaiian
Pidgin, defined in Wikipedia as " a simplified language that
develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do
not have a language in common, in situations such as trade."
People
from
Portugal
- Here is a summary of the considerable
contributions of the Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii. It was written by
Robert Castro and includes a good summary and some personal history.
Find here and account of German influences in Hawaii . It is not widely
known that ever since then,people
from Germany, "Kelemania" and their descendants, have
greatly influenced life in the islands, first arriving with Cook in
1778. It is little known that Heinrich Zimmerman came to the Hawaiian
Islands in 1778 and that German immigrants and visitors have had a
lasting effect on Hawaii.
Asian Immigration
People from Asia began in Hawaii in the
1800's. Many worked on sugar plantations and
over time have intermarried with Hawaiians and others seeking a new
life here. Sugar companies welcomed them, offering them inducements to
work in the cane fields. It was very hard work. About 125,000 Japanese and many Chinese and Philippino people were a major workforce in
Hawaiian sugar cane fields. This article goes into considerable detail,
especially about the lives of early immigrants from Asia.
Chinese in Hawaii
About 5% of people in Hawaii
consider themselves Chinese. History records that in 1787 the first
Chinese arrived in Hawaii. Only the Hawaiians and the New Englanders
preceded them. .( It may be argued that there was a visit by Portuguese
ships before either the Americans or the Chinese ). Chinatown in Downtown Honolulu - A guide to the attractions of Chinatown in downtown Honolulu.
Here is information about Chinese operated business in Hawaii, Chinese
restaurants and much more.
Filipino
Migration to Hawai'i
Filipinos responded to the call
for labor in Hawaii, though they were paid less that workers from other
countries. Here is account of Filipino history in the state. In
addition to very hard work with too little rest, separation from their
families and a language barrier, made this a difficult life. Filipinos
are a prominent part of today's life in Hawaii.
About
food
in
Hawaii
Eat a bit of
everything and a lot of what
you like! The ethnic diversity of Hawaii leads to a great diversity of
culinary delights. Here is a glossary that will let you know what you
are ordering. Eating is big in Hawaii and visits to ethnic restaurants
is well worth while for visitors. Check out this site about ethnic
foods.
align="left">
Aloha Shirts - We
all wear them !
Aloha shirts seem to be popping up in many
itropical vacation spots far from Hawaii. Here, in Hawaii, we wear them
for almost any occasion. Learn about Aloha Friday and how it led to
wearing
Aloha shirts nearly anywhere, any time. Here is a history of the aloha
shirt, classic shirts, collectible aloha shirts and much more. Not all
aloha shirts are "knock your eyes out" gaudy. Take a look. |
Details About any Type of
Activity
|
|
Ethnic
Distribution,
State
of
Hawai`i. ( 2005 |
Ethnicity
|
Pop.
|
%
|
Source: Hawai`i
State Department of Health, Hawai`i Health Surveillance Program.;
Hawai`i State Department of Business, Economic Development, and
Tourism, The State of Hawai`i Data Book, A Statistical Abstract. |
| Black |
11,685 |
0.9 |
 |
| Caucasian |
314,605 |
25.3
|
| Chinese |
40,275 |
3.2
|
| Filipino |
140,935 |
11.3 |
All or Part
Hawaiian/
|
273,491 |
22.0
|
| Japanese |
205,017 |
16.5 |
| Korean |
7,997 |
0.6
|
| Mixed
(except Hawaiian) |
240,797 |
19.3 |
Samoan/
Tongan |
10,249 |
0.8
|
| Source:
Hawai`i
State
Department
of Health, Hawai`i Health Surveillance
Program.; Hawai`i State Department of Business, Economic Development,
and Tourism, The State of Hawai`i Data Book, A Statistical Abstract |
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
IN HAWAII
Hawaii has the distinction of being the only state in the United States
of America to have its own native, official language. Hawaiian is
spoken almost exclusively on
the Island of Niihau, but few people are truly fluent in the Hawaiian
Language on the other islands. The Hawaiian language, however, is
enjoying a gradual comeback, with classes available in some schools and
a growing realization that language is one of the "glues" that holds a
culture together. In many places in the world, including the United
States, indigenous people have been coerced to give up their language,
with devastating effects on the continuation of their culture. Such an
effort was made in Hawaii. Great damage was done, but it is encouraging
that many Hawaiian words have been absorbed into Engish as it is spoken
today in Hawaii. Learn
more
about
Hawaii's
history
here |
|
| Languages
Spoken in Hawaii |
Number |
Percent |
Population
5
years
and
over |
1,134,351 |
100.0 |
Speak only English |
832,226 |
73.4 |
Speak a language other
than English |
302,125 |
26.6 |
|
|
|
Speak
a language other than English |
302,125 |
26.6 |
Spanish or Spanish Creole |
18,820 |
1.7 |
French (incl. Patois,
Cajun) |
3,310 |
0.3 |
French Creole |
128 |
0.0 |
Italian |
826 |
0.1 |
Portuguese or Portuguese
Creole |
1,238 |
0.1 |
German |
3,986 |
0.4 |
Yiddish |
41 |
0.0 |
Other West Germanic
languages |
558 |
0.0 |
Scandinavian languages |
727 |
0.1 |
Greek |
203 |
0.0 |
|
|
|
Russian |
432 |
0.0 |
Polish |
274 |
0.0 |
Serbo-Croatian |
87 |
0.0 |
Other Slavic languages |
118 |
0.0 |
Armenian |
59 |
0.0 |
Persian |
192 |
0.0 |
Gujarathi |
27 |
0.0 |
Hindi |
200 |
0.0 |
Urdu |
127 |
0.0 |
Other Indic languages |
421 |
0.0 |
Other Indo-European
languages |
1,288 |
0.1 |
|
|
|
Chinese |
29,363 |
2.6 |
Japanese |
56,225 |
5.0 |
Korean |
18,337 |
1.6 |
Mon-Khmer, Cambodian |
162 |
0.0 |
Miao, Hmong |
30 |
0.0 |
Thai |
1,496 |
0.1 |
Laotian |
1,920 |
0.2 |
Vietnamese |
8,270 |
0.7 |
Other Asian languages |
276 |
0.0 |
Tagalog |
60,967 |
5.4 |
Other Pacific Island
languages |
90,111 |
7.9 |
Navajo |
58 |
0.0 |
Other Native North
American languages |
147 |
0.0 |
Hungarian |
242 |
0.0 |
Arabic |
729 |
0.1 |
Hebrew |
118 |
0.0 |
African languages |
359 |
0.0 |
Other and unspecified
languages |
253 |
0.0 |
|
|
Enjoy reading about the
history of the people of Hawaii and the people of Hawaii Read about Hawaii's people today and yesterday. Review these books and
purchase
them online, if you like. Purchasing books, audio books and Kindle
books costs less from Amazon and helps support Imagine Hawaii through
it's affiliation with Amazon.com . Mahalo.
|
|
|
|
Princess
Kaiulani of Hawaii
( 1875 - 1899 ) The last
princess of Hawaii
Pictured at the age of 18. Appointed heir apparent to the
Hawaiian throne in 1891.
Princess Kaiulani's story is a classic
tragedy in many ways. She was the born October 16, 1875, the daughter
of Likelike and a Scotsman, Archibald Cleghorn.
Kaiulani's mother, Likelike, who was the
King's sister, took ill and died when Kaiulani was only 11 years old.
About 2 years later, the now famous
author, Robert Louis Stevenson arrived in Hawaii. He befriended the
King and the royal family, including Kaiulani. Stevenson's stay was
brief and Kaiulani, was about to leave for Scotland to further her
education.
Stevenson, much taken with Kaiulani, presented her with this poem.:
Forth
from
her
land
to
mine
she goes,
The Island maid, the Island rose,
Light of heart and bright of face,
The daughter of a double race.
Her
Islands here in southern sun
Shall mourn their Kaiulani gone.
And I, in her dear banyan's shade,
Look vainly for the little maid.
But
our Scots Islands far away
Shall glitter with unwonted day,
And cast for once their tempest by
To smile in Kaiulani's eye. |
|