Human Nature

October 10, 2008

Up to a point, evolution formed the people that roamed the island. Through that evolution they developed traditions and beliefs that defined their culture. This culture then met the people that traveled by sea. This arrival brought about conflict to the once peaceful people on the island. After the native beach people embraced the different culture, they realized that their own traditions and beliefs faced competition. The small community did not realize that their own culture began its path to distinction right after the sea people arrived. No one can be blamed for the events that take place when cultures coexist. Changes take place wherever different cultures come into contact. These changes come from various influences from the opposing culture. Throughout the missionary work that took place in Hawaii, cultural combining results in the stronger culture over powering the weaker culture. In most cases, the stronger or more stubborn culture succeeds in forcing ideas and ways onto the other culture. Stronger cultures possess and control weaker cultures, allowing for a noticeable change in many different areas. These changes include change in language, tradition, and settlement.
Language remains the first influence recognized when combining cultures. When two groups come together they must develop a means to communicate. Without this communication, the two societies cannot influence each other on a more personal level. Often times, the stronger cultures force a language onto the weaker cultures. The language change that took place when missionaries migrated to Hawaii proves this cultural influence. The primary language on the island became English after the native people learned how to speak it. Seeing as the English-speaking missionaries had strong opinionated characteristics, not much time passed before the Hawaiian language came near to death and English became the most common language. This meant that English remained the language used to teach the children in schools and the language used to communicate in public places where both natives and emigrants lived. In many situations the stronger culture forces their language onto the weaker culture without any questions.
Two cultures cannot coexist in peace together with their different traditions. Once again, the cultural combining between American missionaries and Hawaiian natives displays the conflict that erupts between cultures. The strong willed Americans did not approve many traditions that the Hawaiian people accepted. Marriage between siblings, which was practiced by the Hawaiian people, did not attract any attention. The people embraced this union between son and daughter and did not consider it an unacceptable act. The elders kept the expectation that brother and sister slept in the same house in a romantic way. This idea startled the missionaries and caused them to take action so that the American culture became the accepted way to live. Also the Christian missionaries did not approve when confronted with the death that was forced onto innocent children. The Hawaiian people considered a birth mark a flaw in a human being. The children with these marks found instant death soon after facing the new world. This default, however, only applied to a few children. Other defects, like an unhealthy child, resulted in drowning the child in the ocean soon after birth. The weaker native people had to accept that their traditions held no value and they had to evolve into accepting the American people's ways. Soon, the Hawaiians found themselves marrying only one individual and keeping every newborn child.
Stronger cultures also bring their ideal settlements and instill their ideas into the weaker people. The many areas within settlement include architectural structures, laws, and acceptable clothing within an area. Before the American people infected the Hawaiian culture, the native's settlements remained simple. However, after the American arrived, the visual image that the civilization created made a one hundred-eighty degree turn. While the natives built buildings with no walls for spiritual reasons, the American people built strong structures with sturdy walls. Soon all architecture took on this solid structure and the open walls no longer existed. The society also developed new laws that honored the American ways. These laws ranged from not allowing sex before marriage to a curfew that the citizens had to abide by. These laws set standards for the Hawaiians to live by. Since the strong American culture brought the idea, the laws struck many similarities to American laws. Once again, the stronger culture stomped on the weaker cultures ideas and instilled their own. The clothing found within the settlement boarder also experienced a drastic change. While the native people found it normal to run around without clothing to restrict them, the American people found it savage and unacceptable. Over time the American people provided clothing to cover the skin that once appreciated the sun. All these changes within the settlement model how the stronger culture prevails over the weaker culture in most cases.
It only makes sense that the stronger figure will overpower the weaker one. While many people like to criticize the qualities that stronger cultures entail, the whole process that takes place represents human nature in action. When they come into contact with a weaker culture, strong cultures will enforce their ideals into the other people. Language, tradition, and settlement all factor into how a culture thrives and these remain the most important changes that take place when cultures combine. The stronger culture forces their language onto the weaker culture and do not respect the language that they force into distinction. The smaller culture is often forced to accept the traditions from the other culture that demands change. The culture that the weak people once had is diminished when they accept the new settlement that the stronger culture possesses. All these changes favor the stronger culture with its stubborn attitude and confident stride. Soon the two societies mold into one and no distinction remains between the two. The evolution that created the Hawaiian culture goes unnoticed after the Americans redefined Hawaiian culture altogether.