Book

Lady friends: Hawaiian ways and the ties that define

Cornell University PressIthaca • Published In 1999 • Pages: xi, 175

By: Ito, Karen L. (Karen Lee).

Abstract
This is a study of six urban Hawaiian households. Ito interacted with household members, extended families, and friends; but focused on the mothers, who according to her, are the mainstays of the family. An important set of familial traditions is associated with interpersonal conflict. Disputes and their resolution are invoked by the metaphors 'entanglements' (HIHIA), 'loosening' (KALA), 'cutting' ('OKI), and 'to make right' (HO'OPONOPONO). Negative emotions, such as coldness, unkindness, jealousy, stinginess, and insincerity entangle and bind. They block the smooth functioning of social interactions on which reciprocity and community are based. Path-clearing ceremonies and clearing-the-way prayers are practiced to restore the set of positive emotions associated with the word ALOHA: love, generosity, affection, hospitality, empathy, and warmth. Ito argues that even though urban families are alienated from the land they are able to maintain their identity by practicing the above traditions.
Subjects
Gift giving
Etiquette
Ingroup antagonisms
Family
Informal in-group justice
culture
Hawaiians
HRAF PubDate
2003
Region
Oceania
Sub Region
Polynesia
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard
Field Date
1973-1974
Coverage Date
1970-1998
Coverage Place
Kalihi, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Notes
Karen L. Ito
Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-171) and index
LCCN
99017552
LCSH
Hawaiians