Week 3 1/23
Introduction
Humankind has always contemplated the origins and nature of life in the quest for its secrets. As a result, different cultures created unique creation and procreation traditions, which provide a foundation for philosophic, religious, and spiritual thought and shape the structure of each society. In the following weeks we will look at different origin stories and examine how they affect social structures and influence world-views and identities.
Humankind has always contemplated the origins and nature of life in the quest for its secrets. As a result, different cultures created unique creation and procreation traditions, which provide a foundation for philosophic, religious, and spiritual thought and shape the structure of each society. In the following weeks we will look at different origin stories and examine how they affect social structures and influence world-views and identities.
Oral Traditions
I ulu no ka lālā i ke kumu. The branches grow because of the trunk. The ʻōlelo noʻeau (proverb) above, "I ulu nō ka lālā i ke kumu" translates as "the branches grow because of the trunk." It refers to the belief that it is important to know our origins - to know your past, is to better know yourself. Just as tree branches do not float in the air, we would not exist without our parents, family and ancestors. In the spirit of starting from our roots, we begin by looking at some of the origin traditions of the Pacific and in the following weeks, Hawaiʻi. Part of learning your history, or the history of any group of people, is to ask, where or who did I come from? The easiest place to start is with genealogy. Moʻokūʻauhau is the Hawaiian term for "genealogy." In Oceanic as well as Hawaiian philosophical thought, this can, and often does, refer to both human as well as cosmic genealogies. An origin tradition of cosmological scale can be deemed a cosmogony. A cosmogony is defined as "the astrophysical study of the evolution of the universe." Cosmogonies often include histories or theories of the development of the Earth, human beings, gods, animals, plants, and natural phenomena. They are frequently produced in narrative form and can be found at the center of most philosophical, religious and spiritual systems. In Oceania and Hawaiʻi cosmogonies are often expressed as genealogies. Rawiri Taonui's article, Polynesian Oral Traditions, provides an overview of the different creation (this is the author's term although many of the traditions he discusses are actually procreationist) traditions, including cosmological genealogies, of the peoples of Polynesian. Oral origin traditions typically fall into two categories, cosmogonies and migration traditions--which we covered last week. The video clips from the course work last week discussed migration theories and patterns. The assigned reading this week introduces Oceanic cosmogonies and some of the common deities and belief systems associated with them. Commonalities are particularly prevalent in Polynesia because it is the only region in Oceania where the peoples share common histories, languages and cultures. One of the most common themes found in Polynesian cosmogonies is the pairing of Earth-mother and Sky-father. Many Polynesians have a version of this story. The videos on the right are a short and simple example of a Maori (the native people of Aotearoa/New Zealand) origin tradition about this pair. |
Activities
Due Dates:
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