With the turn of the 20th Century the world saw an explosion in the ways, the speed in which and the distances ideas began to travel and be traded. The sun never set on the British Empire. Alongside that European colonial expansion was building empires wherever Britain had not and the industrial era was in full flight. Little wonder it all turned out to be a century of diabolical conflicts.
Exotic ideas changed the ways people lived in the world – even if their own world did not change all that much. Nonetheless popular culture introduced people almost everywhere to the 'exotic other' via cheaper travel and books, cinema and later on, vicariously via TV.
In amongst all of this in far removed theatres and living rooms there was the 'Polynesian paradise in the Pacific' idea with palm trees, Honolulu, ukulele, the hula hula and the surf.
In amongst all that there is the ‘lei’. Lei is a Polynesian cum Hawaiian word for a garland or wreath. However, a lei can be flowers, leaves, shells, nuts, seeds or feathers strung together with the intention of them being worn. The most popular lei in Polynesian culture is a wreath of flowers draped around the neck presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of affection and connection.
This concept was popularised through tourism between the Polynesian Islands, continental USA, Australia and Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries." LINK
Exotic ideas changed the ways people lived in the world – even if their own world did not change all that much. Nonetheless popular culture introduced people almost everywhere to the 'exotic other' via cheaper travel and books, cinema and later on, vicariously via TV.
In amongst all of this in far removed theatres and living rooms there was the 'Polynesian paradise in the Pacific' idea with palm trees, Honolulu, ukulele, the hula hula and the surf.
In amongst all that there is the ‘lei’. Lei is a Polynesian cum Hawaiian word for a garland or wreath. However, a lei can be flowers, leaves, shells, nuts, seeds or feathers strung together with the intention of them being worn. The most popular lei in Polynesian culture is a wreath of flowers draped around the neck presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of affection and connection.
This concept was popularised through tourism between the Polynesian Islands, continental USA, Australia and Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries." LINK
In Hawaii there is a lei for everyone of all ages and ranks. Lei are a way of telling people's stories, their mythology, their legends, their histories, and talking about their culture. A lei comes charged with cultural meaning.
It seems to follow that a lei is not simply a necklace, it is a lei. Like a maireener, it has distinct cultural meanings, cultural functions and cultural significance. Without all this, it seems that it could not be lei. It would lack the narratives and cultural cargo that invest it with meaning. Nonetheless, it appears that sometimes, a lei might even become a simple necklace as well outside its cultural context – and in some kind of diluted cultural crossover.
Like a maireener, it would seem that in the end a lei is a kind of 'cultural glue'. Likewise, the gift of a lei seems to connect people, the making of a lei clearly connects the maker to 'their place ' and the wearing of a lei seems to connect people, places, ideas and belief systems.
The question arises as to whether it is place that defines culture or alternatively, it is a culture that defines place. Whichever, lei seem to play a part in connecting people to their place, or a place, and a the way of believing – and a way of being that belongs to the place.
Like a maireener, it would seem that in the end a lei is a kind of 'cultural glue'. Likewise, the gift of a lei seems to connect people, the making of a lei clearly connects the maker to 'their place ' and the wearing of a lei seems to connect people, places, ideas and belief systems.
The question arises as to whether it is place that defines culture or alternatively, it is a culture that defines place. Whichever, lei seem to play a part in connecting people to their place, or a place, and a the way of believing – and a way of being that belongs to the place.
No comments:
Post a Comment