People and cultures of Hawaiʻi : the evolution of culture and ethnicity /

This revision of People and Cultures of Hawaii: A Psychocultural Profile (CH, Dec'80) is a rich, highly useful description of the history and influences of all the cultural groups of Hawaii, with new chapters on black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Micronesians. The cultural groups are presented in order of settlement of the islands, each with its own chapter by authors who are specialists and members of the groups. The introduction lays the groundwork, explaining the uniqueness of the settlement of Hawaii and the high degree of assimilation and interracial marriage that occurred there over many years. Each chapter presents the history and accommodation process of the cultural group, carefully describing traditions, current practices, and cultural trends regarding familial relationships, marriage, gender roles, child rearing, and relationship to community, with reference to relevant historical events and statistics. The editors' concluding chapter presents an overview of the range of cultural differences among the groups on individual versus collective orientation, the degree of assimilation versus maintaining unique cultural traditions, and the fluid nature of cultural assimilation and transmission, which is clearly evident in the microcosm that is modern Hawaii. Excellent for a cultural historical study of Hawaii as well as courses with a sociological or an anthropological viewpoint. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. D. L. Loers Wartburg College