The value of language diversity and the important role of oral traditions
Life is richer when people “have different ways of talking about and classifying the world through language,” said David Beus. An associate professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, Beus said language shapes the way people think. He explained when using a new language to think and speak, “You’re forced to think differently because of the different ways [languages] are structured and call a moment into being.”
Having studied French and English literature, he said even these two languages that are somewhat similar offer different ways of understanding the world. He said having also studied a little Swahili, Greek and Russian, “even getting a little bit, you get a sense of how much differently you can think.” He shared when a person only speaks one language, it can limit their understanding.
Larry Kimura, a professor of Hawaiian Language & Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, similarly said, “Every language sees the world through its own lens, or in the way the language expresses that world.” One example he shared of the differences between English and Hawaiian is the difference between mahalo and thank you. “Mahalo is a little bigger than thank you. It’s a felt appreciation.” Translating Hawaiian phrases that carry specific cultural significance and emotions can be difficult, he shared.
Kimura said, “Every language is sovereign.” He said all languages have a God-given right to exist and be used. Beus said one way languages can be preserved is through art and music. “Art can generate interest and encourage kids to keep learning languages … You can’t imagine the Civil Rights Movement without music. You can’t remember the Hawaiian Renaissance without Hawaiian protest songs.” He said learning a language is enhanced by learning things specific to that culture like its understanding of history.
Vilai Ilolahia, a political science senior from Tonga, said Pacific Island nations are caught in a globalization wave. In high school, he said, “We spent more time learning about the history of the West and world wars, but we never dove into our own histories with much depth.” He said one way to combat the absence of cultural expression and education is through oral histories, which he called “a big part of Polynesian cultural identity.”
Another historical account is the “Kumulipo,” which is “a traditional genealogical Hawaiian record of the creation of the Hawaiian universe” that Kimura said is an account with over 2,000 lines. Native Hawaiians traditionally passed down oral records by relying on memory, and they did not have a written language until after Westerners came to Hawaii, he shared. King Kalakaua was instrumental in helping preserve the Kumulipo through writing, Kimura said.
He described “kumu” as meaning “source” and “lipo” as meaning “deep darkness.” This idea can be found in Polynesian cultures, and he said, “It makes me feel like we have this common belief... It has been among the people for a long, long, long time.”
Depending on the discipline, the Kumulipo is classified as many things from a cosmogonic genealogy to an epic poem. Kimura said in Hawaiian, the Kumulipo is classified as a ko‘ihonua or a genealogical chant that describes how different parts of the Hawaiian universe are connected.
He said the Kumulipo also shows Western cultures were not the only ones that thought scientifically. “A common question, I believe, to all mankind is how did all of this happen and where did it come from?” when thinking about creation, Kimura said. “All humans think that way, and the Kumulipo encapsulates one Hawaiian thinking of that question.” He said, “I think for people who are very close to nature, it is almost common sense.”
Beus said the Kumulipo is different from many adventure-driven epic poems like India’s “Ramayana,” but it shares similarities like explanations for the origins of the universe, gods, peoples and the natural world. “It is epic in scope,” he said. He said stories, including epic poetry, “tell us who we are and what our values are.”
Some people think oral traditions are inferior to written traditions, but Beus said they should not be viewed that way. He said even “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” started as oral poems before they were written. For those interested in epic poetry, he said the “Sundiata” from West Africa is the “great epic of Mali … It is really fun and interesting.
Translation of the “Kumulipo” by Larry Kimura
When fundamental space altered through heat
When the cosmos altered, turning inside out,
When the sun was flickering between darkness & light Attempting to brighten the moon,
When this complete abyss was dotted with tiny stars,
Then began the slime that established a physical space
The source of impenetrable darkness, so profound, A fathomless power, reincarnating itself