Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 3, 1 April 1984 — Hawaiian Papers Presented at ASAO Conference on Molokai [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian Papers Presented at ASAO Conference on Molokai

By Bill Tagupa Cultural Affairs Officer Presentations made by Valerio Valeri of the University of Chicago and Joyce Linnekin of Lake Forest College, 111., proved of particular interest to Hawaiians at the annual meeting of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oeeania (ASAO) whieh convened on Molokai recently. Attendance consisted primarily of anthropologists from the United States and Canada. ASAO is a prestigious professional organization of long standing whose primary interest is in the Pacific Islands.

Professor Valeri's paper was a preview of his forthcoming book, "The Hawaiian Chief and His Sacrifice," whieh will be published in 1985 by the University of Chicago Press. Briefly, Valeri's analysis of traditional Hawaiian ritual attempts to reconstruct the connection between myths and symbols that are used or invoked during high status ceremonies. The 800-page manuscript will be one of the most important contributions to the understanding of Hawaiian culture in recent years. Dr. Linnekin's interest is with contemporary Hawaiian communities and the characteristics whieh Hawaiians use to denote their own identity in a modern context.

In her written presentation, Linnekin drew from her field experience in Keanae, Maui, and noted that there has been a considerable international movement among ethnic communities to elaim political recognition and that Hawaiians today are merely part of that greater phenomenon. The taro plant becomes the "summarizing symbol" for Hawaiian nationalists, and the rural life is looked upon as the "locus of authentic culture." Linnekin's doctoral dissertation, "Children of the Land: Exchange Status in a Hawaiian Community," will soon be published by Rutgers University Press. In an earlier presentation to faculty and students of the UH Department of Anthropology, Dr. Linnekin outlined her research findings on changes in inheritance patterns after the 1848 Mahele.

Based upon her work under Prof. Marshall Sahlins at the University of Chicago, Dr. Linnekin concluded that Hawaiian women became increasingly "caretakers of land for her brother's or husband's children," thus producing a "matrifocal" household. This role has "cultural precedents" in the Hawaiian valuation of women as a "caretaker and a symbol of stability." The conferees also attended a slide presentation by Dr. Emmett Aluliconcerning the issues surrounding Kaho'olawe.