Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Your Gods are Adorable!

A   L   O   H   A  !
" Colonialism.
The enforced spread
of the rule of reason.
But who is going to
spread it 
among the colonizers? "

Anthony Burgess

[][][][][][][][][][]][][][][][]

Our visitor in the picture 
is unknowingly 
disrespecting a TIKI.

They originally represented 
Hawaiian Gods.

Or is it the restaurateur
who placed it there?

Yes, they were " Idols "
and were literally
" Cast Down "
by the Hawaiian People
themselves, under 
missionary influence.

The Hawaiian Kingdom
was overthrown
 January 17, 1893 

LINK

What does it do to a people
when their culture
is turned into kitsch?

Some contemporary 
Hawaiians are 
Traditional Cultural Practitioners.

Many more Hawaiians
and local residents
are Very proud
of Hawaiian Culture.

This is not a
slap on the wrist;
But a lesson
behind 
just another day
in Waikiki. . .

 }
/V\
[[
' Take Peace & Smiles - Leave Your Comment '
Thanks for visiting!
                          Warmly, cloudia

Join us in Comments
even if you just look around.
You'll like the people 

who you meet there!



23 comments:

Willow said...

I love learning .

Cloudia said...

Hi Willow! Aloha!

William Kendall said...

I wouldn't have known that to lean against it was a sign of disrespect. I imagine the same is the case with her.

Cloudia said...

LOL!

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Without kitsch, we'd have no culture at all.

(I'm not saying this is a good thing...)
~

Adam said...

I don't think I'm familiar with any of the Hawaiian Gods

Vagabonde said...

I read what the Christian missionaries did to the Hawaiian people – and if it were now, they would end up in jail, at least I hope they would – they took their land, gave them viruses and imposed their own politics without listening to the Hawaiians – it was all about greed, but isn’t it the same nowadays? greed is all around us.

Elephant's Child said...

The Christian missionaries made an art form out of disrespecting other people's gods and culture. Which is sad and bad.

Small Kucing said...

Opps...I wouldn't know leaning against it a sign of disrespect. I guess there are just too many culture in the world. We may unwittingly do something we are not supposed to do without and ill intention.

For example in Japan if we slurp noodles loudly is to compliment the chef on the good food but if in China it is consider as bad manners

Cloudia said...

Great comments. And thanks for the slurping tips!

G-Man said...

You are the delight Cloudia Dear..... G

Cloudia said...

:-)

Anonymous said...

Even with 4 trips to the Islands, I never caught this tip. Would seem to be okay to touch or hug them, maybe not. This one is hanging out near the end of a bench, easy for visitors to lean on. The shaved ice is nice to slurp, while leaning on a banyan tree, or a live human.
DrumMajor

Anonymous said...

Respect should be in us need not show it out!

DeniseinVA said...

A good reminder, thanks Cloudia .:)

eViL pOp TaRt said...

We should try to be as informed as possible so as not to offend other peoples' beliefs or sensitivities.

I agree. Representations of a deity should not be treated as kitsch!

I am shocked and saddened by what tourists wear (or don't wear) when visiting St. Louis Basilica!

Couture Carrie said...

Thanks for the reminder, darling!

xoxox,
CC

Charles Gramlich said...

SF writers sometimes write of the entire human race experiencing this once we've been 'colonized' by aliens. It's an interesting take on the experience.

Rajesh said...

Good one.

Teresa said...

Will you give us a lesson on the properly respectful way to interact with TIKIs?

LOLfromPasa said...

A good lesson, indeed :).

kaykuala said...

The restaurantuer should have made it known with a note on the totem pole. Rational thinking people would make it a point to conform. Nicely Cloudia!

Hank

Cloudia said...

Great points, each of you.

I just feel it is good policy to be a good guest of our host culture.