Up until the early 19th century, Hawaiians did not have much contact with the outside world, and thus were able to establish their own traditions. These traditions organized the social life in Hawaii until foreign traders and missionaries arrived to the islands. With the new ideas and technology being introduced by the foreigners, the natives feared the loss of traditions. One native in particular, Mary Wiggen Paiku, was able to take three Hawaiian oral stories, and write them as a folktale, “The Despotic Chiefs of Kau”.

The purpose of the stories in, “The Despotic Chiefs of Kau”, is to teach political theory, as well as exploring weak and wrong forms of government. The three folktales all demonstrate what happens to a chief that does not respect his people. The chiefs that oppressed their people are not tolerated, and will be quickly removed from the community. In the story, “Halaea”, the chief oppressed his people by taking all their caught fish only for himself, leaving his people hungry in return. For this, the people gave him what he wanted, which led to the chief’s death. The natural order that is established in this story is that people will not have a leader that does not represent them as a community. The chief is not compassionate and only takes from others. The community, on the other hand, are hard working and compassionate.

The story, “Koihala”, shows how powerless a chief really is. The chief ordered food to be sent to him, and as requested the food was going to be brought by his people. The chief decided to leave the delivery location, and his people followed him. The chief’s actions eventually tired his people, and left them frustrated. His people threatened to eat his food, only to then lure the chief in to stop them. The furious king was then stoned to death. The community’s values can be identified with this story by their lack of care for the chief’s orders and/or feelings towards them. It’s clear to the people that a chief that does not help his people, will not receive help from his people.

These folktales could be compared to the revolutions that took place in world history. For example, the French Revolution showed the world how people don’t have to take orders from anybody. In addition, the government is theirs to help them, not something to be a servant to. The folktales also relates to Olympe de Gouges, “Rights of Women”, because they both emphasize the importance of human rights and being free to resist oppression. That no one individual can not exercise authority that is not found/ expressed from the community/nation.

The Despotic Chiefs of Kau are folktales from Hawaii which depicts three chieftains that were cruel to their people. The story of Halaea is about a chieftain who would constantly take fish from the fisherman of his land and would leave them with scraps. The people of his land were enraged and plotted to end his reign. By the time the season of fish came about the fisherman took everything they needed to catch as much fish as they could and came to an agreement that every single fish they caught would be stored in the chieftains canoe. As the chief ordered the fisherman to store more fish into his canoe he realized that his canoe was overflowing with fish and that it was sinking which eventually lead to his demise.

Koihala was the second chieftain of Kau who ordered his people to arrange a feast on his arrival to Ko-na. His servants would setup the feast but as they saw him approach the land he would deviate from his route and go to another island. The servants saw this and setup the feast on the island that he was landing on but Koihala would once again change his route and went to another island. The servants were annoyed and ate the food that was originally supposed to be for the chief. The chief saw this and rushed to the island but was killed by his servants as they stoned him to death.

Kohaikalani was the last chieftain of the despotic chiefs who commanded his people to build a temple. When the people gathered all the stone to build the temple, two priests warned them that the chieftain was planning to use them as sacrifices after it was built and the way to prevent this was to ask the chieftain to choose a tree which was the last piece section of the temple and to get it himself. Knowing the intention of their chief, the workers convinced the chief to choose an ohia tree and as he was lifting it up the cliff the workers responsible for pulling it up dropped it on him.

The stories about the three despotic chieftains of Kau are a lesson about greed, indecisiveness, and deception. In the same way that the people of France revolted against their oppressors for all the transgressions they committed. Each story described how the people were being wronged in one form or another and that the reign of their oppressor was shortly lived as the people rose up and deposed them.

The Anansi Stories highlight the importance of rational thought. The Anansi tales heavily enforce the saying “brains over brown.” Anansi faced opponents and problems that were totally bigger, for example snakes and leopards, and still prevailed because of higher thinking. When you think of a spider against a leopard, no one expects the spider to win, no one even expects a good show, but Anansi does it not through superior strenght, but through quick thinking and examination. Anansi didn’t defeat his enemies, he let them defeat themselves.

When I first heard this, my mind went back to  Enlightenment thinkers. Of coarse not in the way they are seen or taught about, but the rational thinking and logic associated with them. However, emotion also plays a role in some stories, but they often don’t end well. For example in the video clip, Anansi gets angry at the end, exiles humans, but then starves. Rational thought was not used, but instead the Romantic expression of strong emotion which lead to his downfall. Even though Enlightenment thinkers weren’t connected to Anansi Stories, the logical process is clearly seen.

The Three Spinners, recorded down by the Grimm brothers, focuses on the chain of events lived by an idle girl. The folktale begins with a mother losing her temper and beating up her daughter because she was being quite lazy. The Queen passed by hearing the daughter’s weeps and because she was ashamed, the mother told the Queen her daughter was weeping due to the fact that she was not able to continue spinning because they were too poor to have flax. The Queen impressed by the daughter’s desire to work promised to take care of the daughter and sponsor the flax. If the daughter were to complete the spinning three floors of flax than she would be able to marry the prince. Of course, being as lazy as she is, she had no idea how to spin and bargained three women to spin for her in exchange for an honorary seat and recognition at the main wedding table. All of the flax was spun and eventually wedding bells began to ring. On the day of the wedding, the bridegroom spotted the three women, aka the “aunts”, and pointed out how deformed their bodies were caused by flax-spinning. He got scared for his wife’s sake and decided to “neither now nor ever shall [the] beautiful bride touch a spinning-wheel.” (920)

As mentioned in the beginning of the German Folktale section, the tale illustrates how “the different social classes have strikingly different relationships to work, and…what its happy ending [means] to those facing a life of hard and unrelenting labor.” (918) In retrospect, this tale was not really focusing on the difference between classes, but rather the differences between beauty and ugliness by examining how highly beauty is valued. For example, the idle girl in the tale was poor (“…you shall have my eldest son for a husband, even if you are poor” (919)) and so were the three women. Regarding class, these women were on the same level; the only difference here were the body deformations of the three women caused by flax-spinning, making them “ugly” compared to the girl who never really touched the spinning wheel. Even the prince was frighten for his wife’s sake once he knew of the deformations. He immediately announced to never let her touch the wheel again for fear of her losing her beauty. Working hard was in both ends rewarded, however beauty took it a bit further. This folktale goes along with the theme of dualism and gives another example of the different ends of the beauty and ugly spectrum.

The oratures from the previous week provided similar morals that may have guided people of different nationalities from around the world to cope with the oppression or overcome the oppression. The oratures of Anansi’s mythical stories provides the importance of having hope, which anyone can relate. The story which was originated from West Africa, uses oral literature to pass on stories to many generations. As the years progressed, the stories of Anansi began to alter from culture to culture. The renditions of the story usually had the same theme of coming on top and overcoming challenges.

Anansi is a spider that is considered to be the underdog of the stories. However, Anansi is able to overcome any obstacle by using its intelligence and cleverness to get what it wants. In All Stories Are Anansi’s, the spider was able to accomplish the job that Nyame, the Sky God wanted in return for his tales. He was able to bring the hornets, the great python, and the leopard to him; it was a mission that the richest and most powerful were not able to fulfill. The way that the Anansi story was projected was influenced by the slave trade. During the 1900s, the African American slaves and those alike did not have the opportunity to read and write. Due to the lack of education of the West Africans, they used stories like Anansi to make them forget about their situation and provide hope to those who were being oppressed by the slave owners.

The theme of hope seemed to be common during the 19th century as the slaves were able to project their ambition, to be able to come out on top through different variations of oral literature such as spiritual and secular songs. In the song, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, the song has a subliminal message that helps the slaves get to the Underground Railroad. The song encourages the slaves to escape the fields and undermine the harsh system that was instilled for years. Intelligence is used in both stories to defeat the oppressor and the taboos among the “inferior”. These oratures give the people the aspiration to achieve any goal even if the odds are not on their side.

Malagasy wisdom poetry are meant to serve as a guide as how to live according to traditional ideas and cultural values. The two poems Ohabolana and Hainteny, are based on the traditions Ohabolana, wise proverbs that were used to explain various situations and emotions; and Hainteny, which demonstrates the ups and down of love and its tribulations.

In Ohabolana it describes life in relation to common place occurrences. The poem describes life in terms of “Life is like the aroma of a cooking-pot: when it is uncovered, it escapes…” (938) and “…Death is not a condemnation but part of a tax” (938). The poem relates life to the excitement of smelling food coming from a pot. Death, like taxes, is an unavoidable part of life; essentially the tax for life is death. The poem explains the fundamental elements of life in a way that is relatable, taking the complexity of life and attempting to condense it.

In Hainteny, love, abandonment, and blame are the central themes. In the first two parts of the poem there is dialogue between a couple, with one asking repeatedly “How, then, do you love me?” (939), and the other responding with various objects such as water, food, and money. The first person is only satisfied when they are told that the other person loves them as the ruling prince. In the second part of the poem it seems that one of them has been abandoned by the other and describes themselves, “I am like a friendless child who plays alone in the dust, a chick that has fallen into a ditch…”(940). However, they also plead with the other person to reconcile the relationship saying “…not to make our love a love of stones: broken, they cannot be joined. But make it a love of lips: although angry, they approach each other.”(940) The third part of the poem describes what blame is like, relating it to nature and accidents, and forms of greeting. Hainteny, tells a story of lovers in which one initially seeks to be reaffirmed about how much the other loves them. Later they are abandoned, and subsequently are blamed for the relationship failing.

The Navajo Night Chant is a form of orature that is performed through dances and spiritual healing. Originating amongst the Native Americans, the chant served as a way to harmonize between earth and man while offering healing services. The goal of the Navajo night chant is to establish a connection between earth and man. Through the use of sand paintings and prayer sticks, the Navajo used this as a tangible link to nature that helped treat many illnesses.

This particular form of orature provided a strong link to the Native American community. The power of dance and chant kindled a flame for the culture of the people that was passed down through many families. Since the chant involves many people to be performed, this incorporates all the members of the community involved. Not only does the chant represent a link to man and earth, it also serves as a link between man and man. While the night chant is performed, people are required to come together and pour their emotions into the surroundings around them, providing a closer relationship amongst themselves. To those that encounter this chant, the values of spiritual renewal, socializing, and cultural reaffirmation is offered. Furthermore, since the Navajo use the chant as a form of healing, this brings forth the severe importance of preserving the earth and staying linked to it.

Overall, the night chant elicits a structural order amongst the Navajo people and nature. It demonstrates how man can take natures resources and turn them into a positive healing effect. The Navajo ceremonies emphasize a man’s ability to control their world, while balancing their responsibility to use that control in order to provide balance, respect, and healing. By doing so, the Navajo Night Chant goes beyond conventional healing ceremonies and incorporates art, medicine, religion, and science. The chant accurately represents the culture of the Navajo as it accentuates the central value of beauty.  Similar to Romanticism, the chant offers intense emotion as a source of aesthetic experience. Both the Navajo and Romanticism delve into the idea of natural and untamed settings, which are commonly shown through the Navajo chants. Romanticism attempted to evoke imagination, spontaneity and freedom, and this is just what the Navajo chants embodies.

This particular Amansi story centralizes its focus on the character of Amansi, the tricky spider. In normal society, spiders are portrayed as the underdogs in the world of animals because they don’t seem to hold any authority when competing and comparing with other “superior” animals such as lions. However, this story allows Amansi to be in control of those supposedly superior animals with his intelligence. Amansi takes advantage of his small physical structure to bait out his targets and trick them into believing he is harmless and innocent. This method allows him to be able to trap his targets and accomplish the tasks that Name, the Sky God, gives him.

Amansi is said to be originated from West Africa with the Ashanti population there, who passing on Amansi’s stories from generation to generation. The Ashanti population views the Amansi stories to “reinforce a shared sense of moral norms and appropriate behavior precisely by having Amansi break taboos in a humorous way.” In this sense, Amansi’s stories discusses the theme of breaking away from normal traditions in society. This theme is similar to the story, Bewitched, where the main male character was not the ideal “man”  society wanted and approved.

The audience is not just limited to the Ashanti population. It also includes the large population of slaves who were forcibly taken to the New World. In the slaves’ point of views, the world is a cruel and unjust place. There is a wide separation between the powerful and the weak, where slaves are seen as the weakest in society. Amansi’s character that starts off as the underdog in society uses his “cunning tricks” to overcome his inferior social status and survive. As mentioned in class by the group presenting the three Amansi stories, the story also raises the problem of having too much greed. Amansi starts his story in order to have the right to own all the stories known in the world. However, I think that the focus on Amansi’s capability of manipulating underhanded  tricks to outsmart his “enemies/targets” to survive holds more weight over the problem of Amansi’s greed.

Ariana

During the 19^th century the island of Hawaii went through a vast amount of foreign influence that came from traders and missionaries of Europe. Due to the influence and changes it brought about, many natives feared that their Hawaiian traditions would be lost. That is why Mary Wiggen Paiku translated the three folktales of Halaea, Koihala and Kohaikalani. She hoped that these folktales would live on to show the common theme of overthrowing unfit chiefs that only seemed to oppress their people. In the Halaea folktale, Halaea was this greedy chief who wanted nothing but to keep all the fish of the land to himself. Whenever his fishermen came back from fishing he would wait for them at the docks to remind them that whatever they had just caught belonged to him. Halaea threw feasts that wasted the majority of what was caught, leaving the fishermen and their families with nothing. Soon came about the “Ahi” fish season where once again the chief reminded his people that all the fish was his to keep. Halaea instructed them to leave the fish in his boat and so the fishermen followed his orders. However, these giant tuna fishes were too heavy for the small canoe Halaea was in and he quickly started to sink. The fishermen made no efforts to try and aid him, for obvious reasons, freeing themselves of his oppression by allowing him to drown. Another example of this common theme is seen in the Koihala tale, in this tale the chief was very indecisive and kept his people on a limb for the majority of the story. Koihala spent most of his time out at sea in the tale and made his people deliver food to very far apart locations for him. This angered the people since they grew tired of going to such extents for a chief who did nothing but sit in his canoe. At a certain point they threatened to eat the food themselves if he did not land and so they tricked him into coming in. When the chief finally did they took hold of the hidden stones they kept wrapped in leaves and killed Koihala.

Both these tales established, illustrated and preserved how the Hawaiian people handled wrong forms of government. It showed how a weak support like that of chief Koihala and large oppression like that of chief Halaea would not stand by the people. It shows how the Hawaiian natives valued their rights and they would eventually do what was necessary to receive them. These folktales could even compared to the French revolution and how they took matters into their own hands after being oppressed by the king for so long. As well as the Navajo ceremonies and how the Native Americans came together as one to achieve a common goal.

     In the text, Annancy, Monkey and Tiger, Annancy is a trickster who helps Monkey to live in order to prove that she has more “sense” than him. At the beginning of the story Annancy and Tiger are drinking at a bar, and Monkey comes into this bar and starts yelling and boasting about himself. Annancy then questions him in a manner that she wants to challenge his boast because she thinks he is doing way too much. Monkey as arrogant as he is responds to Annancy’s question of “ Bro’er Monkey, how many sense do you have, tell me?” by telling her that his sense is too much for her to even count. He basically says that his sense is superior to any ones in which one can’t even measure it. Annancy doesn’t criticize him for boasting too much since she after replies that she doesn’t have much sense she doesn’t boast as Monkey does. She might not do it because she knows the amount of sense she has and doesn’t have to brag about it. In the middle of the story Monkey is caught by Tiger and is in the verge of dying by being eaten by Tiger and Ananncy walks by this happening and helps Monkey out by tricking Tiger into letting Monkey go. She doesn’t do this to help Monkey out because she likes him but because she wants to actually prove Mokey her sense. She then again challenges his sense by saying if he had as much sense as he claimed to have or boasted to have he would’ve been able to escape without Annancy’s help. She ends it off by telling Monkey that the two senses that she claimed to have she used it that day to help Monkey. She says this in a way that she only needed two senses to help Monkey not all of the senses that Monkey claimed to have.

This story demonstrates values that teach a lesson to the audience. It teaches them to not be so arrogant in a way because Monkey nearly died from being so arrogant and boasting about himself. The message might be portrayed mainly for younger kids can grow with the idea of humbleness. Annancy didn’t boast as much as Monkey did but in actions she proved that she had more sense than Monkey. It tries to accomplish a natural order that a community shouldn’t have people that think they are better than others but a community that sticks together, trying to get this message to younger kids in the community can help the future of the community.