"Who are you to tell us our history?" : kultur och religion i hawaiianers möte med amerikansk mission
(2007) In Lund Studies in History of Religions 23.- Abstract
- The life and history of the Hawaiians has been documented ever since the contact with Western adventurers at the end of the 18th century. In connection with the arrival of American missionaries in 1820, these missionaries introduced and established a puritanical doctrine and method of communicating knowledge by way of the written word. The encounters between the different cultures have been described as peaceful. It has, however, proven that these descriptions are not entirely truthful – there is another side to the story. It is thus reasonable to ask how the introduction to the Christian doctrine and so-called Western civilisation unfolded.
Many Hawaiian academics and researchers emphasise that the way history has... (More) - The life and history of the Hawaiians has been documented ever since the contact with Western adventurers at the end of the 18th century. In connection with the arrival of American missionaries in 1820, these missionaries introduced and established a puritanical doctrine and method of communicating knowledge by way of the written word. The encounters between the different cultures have been described as peaceful. It has, however, proven that these descriptions are not entirely truthful – there is another side to the story. It is thus reasonable to ask how the introduction to the Christian doctrine and so-called Western civilisation unfolded.
Many Hawaiian academics and researchers emphasise that the way history has hitherto been written, which is considered colonial both in composition and expression, should be revised. It has become apparent that situations of conflict and resistance existed from the first encounter with Westerners, a fact that has not been made clear in the writing of history to date. Hence, relevant questions are: How have "we" Westerners interpreted and understood the Hawaiian culture and history? How has this understanding and interpretation been perceived by the Hawaiians themselves?
In this thesis, focus is directed at the encounters that occurred between missionaries and Hawaiians chiefly in the first half of the 19th century. In these situations of encounter, a number of problems arose as a consequence of disparate opinions concerning the outlook on the human body, modes of dressing, sexuality, education, knowledge and, not least, opinions on social relationships. The strategies of dealing with these issues and situations, from the part of the Hawaiians as well as the missionaries, are in this context of utmost importance. Higly significant and also discussed, is the role of the missionaries as civilizational colonialists, and the colonial context in which the missionaries not only acted, but also generated.
Thus, the aim and direction of this thesis is to locate, document and discuss discrepancies between the two cultural groups in the apprehension of history, civilization, culture, behavior, morality and religion. Furthermore, the intent is to question previous writings of Hawaiian history, and its angles, with the purpose not only to find a wider but also a new understanding of Hawaiian culture and histoy. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Hawaiianernas liv och historia har dokumenterats allt sedan första kontakten med västerländska äventyrsresanden i slutet av 1700-talet. I samband med amerikanska missionärers ankomst år 1820 introducerade och etablerade dessa missionärer en puritansk lära och kunskapsförmedling via det skrivna ordet. Mötena mellan de olika kulturerna har beskrivits som fredliga. Dock har det visat sig att dessa beskrivningar inte är helt sanningsenliga – det finns en annan sida av historien. Därmed är det rimligt att fråga hur introduktionen till den kristna läran och den så kallade västerländska civilisationen tedde sig.
Enligt många hawaiianer förelåg konfliktsituationer och motstånd i stort... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Hawaiianernas liv och historia har dokumenterats allt sedan första kontakten med västerländska äventyrsresanden i slutet av 1700-talet. I samband med amerikanska missionärers ankomst år 1820 introducerade och etablerade dessa missionärer en puritansk lära och kunskapsförmedling via det skrivna ordet. Mötena mellan de olika kulturerna har beskrivits som fredliga. Dock har det visat sig att dessa beskrivningar inte är helt sanningsenliga – det finns en annan sida av historien. Därmed är det rimligt att fråga hur introduktionen till den kristna läran och den så kallade västerländska civilisationen tedde sig.
Enligt många hawaiianer förelåg konfliktsituationer och motstånd i stort sett redan från första mötet med västerlänningar, något som inte tydliggjorts i hittillsvarande historieskrivning. Detta väcker frågor som: Hur har "vi" västerlänningar tolkat och förstått den hawaiianska kulturen och historien? Hur har denna ”vår” förståelse och tolkning uppfattats av hawaiianerna?
I denna avhandling riktas fokus mot de möten som uppstod mellan missionärer och hawaiianer med betoning på första hälften av 1800-talet. I dessa mötessituationer uppstod en rad problem till följd av olikartade uppfattningar om synen på människokroppen, sättet att klä sig, sexualitet, utbildning, kunskap såväl som uppfattningar om sociala relationer. Avhandlingen undersöker de inblandade aktörernas handlingsstrategier, och förtydligar missionärernas roll som civilisationskolonisatörer. Likaså diskuteras den koloniala kontexten som missionärerna inte bara verkade inom, utan också genererade.
Avhandlingen lokaliserar, dokumenterar och diskuterar diskrepanserna mellan dessa båda kulturgruppers uppfattning om historia, civilisation, kultur, uppförande, moral och religion. Syftet är också att ifrågasätta tidigare historieskrivning och dess infallsvinklar med målsättningen att nå en vidgad förståelse för den hawaiianska kulturen och historien. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/602651
- author
- Hellner Taylor, Kristina LU
- supervisor
-
- Tord Olsson LU
- opponent
-
- Ph. D. Rothstein, Mikael, Dept. of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen
- organization
- publishing date
- 2007
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- de-colonization, conflict, colonial, Hawaiian medicine, culture, hula, resistance, Hawaii, knowledge, education, sexuality, social relationships, dress, body, civilization, behavior, civilizational colonialists, Hawaiian culture, Hawaiian history, American missionaries, de-familiarization, Hawaiian Movement, history of religions, anthropology, history, comparative religion
- in
- Lund Studies in History of Religions
- volume
- 23
- pages
- 311 pages
- publisher
- History and Anthropology of Religions
- defense location
- Pangea (hörsal 229), Geocentrum II, Sölvegatan 12, Lund
- defense date
- 2007-12-17 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1103-4882
- ISBN
- 978-91-977212-0-2
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f0b029f3-c425-40b2-a867-1209c4970e74 (old id 602651)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:03:11
- date last changed
- 2019-05-21 19:42:19
@phdthesis{f0b029f3-c425-40b2-a867-1209c4970e74,
abstract = {{The life and history of the Hawaiians has been documented ever since the contact with Western adventurers at the end of the 18th century. In connection with the arrival of American missionaries in 1820, these missionaries introduced and established a puritanical doctrine and method of communicating knowledge by way of the written word. The encounters between the different cultures have been described as peaceful. It has, however, proven that these descriptions are not entirely truthful – there is another side to the story. It is thus reasonable to ask how the introduction to the Christian doctrine and so-called Western civilisation unfolded.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Many Hawaiian academics and researchers emphasise that the way history has hitherto been written, which is considered colonial both in composition and expression, should be revised. It has become apparent that situations of conflict and resistance existed from the first encounter with Westerners, a fact that has not been made clear in the writing of history to date. Hence, relevant questions are: How have "we" Westerners interpreted and understood the Hawaiian culture and history? How has this understanding and interpretation been perceived by the Hawaiians themselves?<br/><br>
<br/><br>
In this thesis, focus is directed at the encounters that occurred between missionaries and Hawaiians chiefly in the first half of the 19th century. In these situations of encounter, a number of problems arose as a consequence of disparate opinions concerning the outlook on the human body, modes of dressing, sexuality, education, knowledge and, not least, opinions on social relationships. The strategies of dealing with these issues and situations, from the part of the Hawaiians as well as the missionaries, are in this context of utmost importance. Higly significant and also discussed, is the role of the missionaries as civilizational colonialists, and the colonial context in which the missionaries not only acted, but also generated. <br/><br>
<br/><br>
Thus, the aim and direction of this thesis is to locate, document and discuss discrepancies between the two cultural groups in the apprehension of history, civilization, culture, behavior, morality and religion. Furthermore, the intent is to question previous writings of Hawaiian history, and its angles, with the purpose not only to find a wider but also a new understanding of Hawaiian culture and histoy.}},
author = {{Hellner Taylor, Kristina}},
isbn = {{978-91-977212-0-2}},
issn = {{1103-4882}},
keywords = {{de-colonization; conflict; colonial; Hawaiian medicine; culture; hula; resistance; Hawaii; knowledge; education; sexuality; social relationships; dress; body; civilization; behavior; civilizational colonialists; Hawaiian culture; Hawaiian history; American missionaries; de-familiarization; Hawaiian Movement; history of religions; anthropology; history; comparative religion}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{History and Anthropology of Religions}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Studies in History of Religions}},
title = {{"Who are you to tell us our history?" : kultur och religion i hawaiianers möte med amerikansk mission}},
volume = {{23}},
year = {{2007}},
}