"Who are you to tell us our history?" Kultur och religion i ... - Anpere

Hawaiian educational system was furthermore individualized in such a way that it was not
until an operation was mastered that one was allowed to continue to the next one. This
contrasts with the Western school system, which was and is based on the concept of the
joint progression of the collective.
Nonetheless, the form and content of education in the Hawaiian Islands continued to
be shaped by the educational philosophy that was current in New England, and it was on
this basis that the schools in the Hawaiian Islands were designed and developed. The
school system was institutionalized, English was established as the official school language
and the Hawaiian language was marginalized. This means that those who had had no
knowledge of the English language were barred from receiving education. Many Hawaiians
remained therefore outside the educational system and the result of this is still evident
today. Many Hawaiians are poorly educated and the high positions in society are held by
educated whites. Knowledge of Hawaiian culture and history was also institutionalized, and
the colonial power governed what was chosen to be passed on. The stereotypical image of
the Hawaiians and Hawaiian culture that was constructed by the missionaries still survives
therefore in the classroom today.
Singling out and focusing on different understandings of the concept of knowledge
and epistemologies is, in my opinion, one of the pre-requisites of increased awareness,
which is necessary in further studies related to cultural encounters and the interpretation of
culture. We need to find, explore and utilize other ways of thinking about what we already
know, rather than accumulating new knowledge on the basis of our old ways of thinking.
Here, de-familiarization is a suitable method, in other words reading between the lines or
looking for what has been omitted, and by making that which is familiar unfamiliar it is
possible to attain awareness regarding previously suppressed perspectives. On this basis,
the Hawaiians’ response to the demands and rules of the missionaries related to what was
considered to be Christian, civilized order becomes interesting. Many Hawaiians modified
not only their own forms of expression, in other words the emic relationship, but also
modified forms and expressions that derived from the outside world, such as clothing,
written language, etc. They also became increasingly good at adapting to new situations
dictated by the missionaries. At the same time, as much as possible of their own traditional
identity was preserved – thus, an obviously constructive treatment of the new possibilities,
with the emphasis on transformation and innovation. Adapting oneself provides
possibilities of not only being part of, but also navigating and maneuvering in that reality
which the Euro-Americans considered to be superior and that moreover came more and
more to be dominant. The strategy thus becomes rather to approach than to distance
oneself, with the agenda being to if possible achieve independence. This does not,
however, mean that the Hawaiians’ own tradition was abandoned.
That the Hawaiians put up resistance is apparent not only in the Hawaiian-language
material, such as petitions and debate articles from the mid-19th century, but also in
English-language sources such as the mission material. Resistance occurred, and still
occurs, not only in the form of oral and written arguments, but also in the form of
behavior. This thesis makes this clearly apparent.
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