Preview

decline in communal life on the pacific

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
609 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
decline in communal life on the pacific
Communal Life in the Pacific
Almost every country is experiencing changes due to today’s modern society. Communal life is the traditional way of living which has advantages from which most people can benefit in any society. This form of living is very common in some parts of the Pacific where most people are bound to be together with their traditions. However, it is important to consider that this traditional way of living is being forgotten today and there are many reasons for this decline in the communal life in the Pacific. The major reasons for the decline are in terms of cultural, social and economic.

Firstly, there are cultural issues for the decline in the communal life in the Pacific. To begin with, one of the cultural issues leading to a decline in the communal life today is loss of culture which almost all the people in the society are experiencing. The decline in religious activities, ways of doing, habits, feelings and behaviour of identity that had previously tied almost all the people together has caused them to fall apart. For example, in an Indian community in Fiji, the Hindus used to have a religious gathering known as Ramayan where followers of the Hindu “dharma” would gather together for this special occasion but today this gathering is dieing out in few places. Loss of culture, therefore, leads to a decline in commune way of living.

A related aspect to the cultural issues is Westernisation which is also one of the major reasons for the decline in the communal life. Strong influence of western cultures has changed the lifestyle of most of the people in many countries where by some people prefer to live as those of western countries do. For example, many Fijian villages were having an intentional community of people living together and sharing common interest in the society such as special gathering in villages when there is a new baby born or eating together when a big feast is held, however, today those traditions are no longer practiced.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ap Guns Germs And Steel

    • 3483 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Environmental influences on human societies. “What can we learn from all of Polynesia about environmental influences on human society?” (Page 57)…

    • 3483 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    | Over the past few decades, nearly all Western nations have undergone similar changes with respect to family life including:…

    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Conflict in the Pacific

    • 1898 Words
    • 8 Pages

    There were numerous strategic and political reasons that lead to the bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941. However nationalism, militarism and imperialistic notions were key influential factors, which together contributed to the almost complete annihilation of the US Pacific fleet. Based on Japan’s nationalistic beliefs of superiority over Asian nations, the surprise attack attempted to fulfill a change in the balance of power within South East Asia and expose the vulnerability of the West.…

    • 1898 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Property of the Clan

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A property of the Clan is a realistic proportional of young Australian culture. The under age drinking, the slang and swearing, the biff and the beach going life is all features of Australian youths. It also shows the gender differences in Australia.…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Oceania Research Paper

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Oceania, or the Pacific region, was explored and colonized approximately 1000 years ago by Austronesian-speaking peoples. It is important to note that the Pacific Islands lend themselves to a study of the contrasts between tribes and states and the development of political scale cultures such as chiefdoms.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A kinship system is a system of social relationships that constitute kinship in a particular culture. Among many cultures kinship is greatly valued among the Yanomamo society. Their way of life centers around these kinships. Their kinships impact the way they think and how they live their lives. While in today’s society our families also known as our kin “kinships” are typically blood related or through marriage. These factors also exist in the Yanomamo society however their kinship system is composed of a more complex group of people which we will later discuss.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Since the COFA (Compact of Free Association) Act was formalized between the Pacific Island nations of Micronesia and the United States in 1986, there have been rising influxes of Micronesian citizens that have the privilege of entering the U.S. without the need for a visa or time limit. These FAS (Freely Associated States) include the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. While there is no obligation to immigrate to a specific state within the U.S., many choose to settle on Hawai’i. Due to its proximity to their home islands and tropical environment, the Micronesian population in Hawai’i has been steadily increasing during recent years. It is estimated that around 15,000 COFA migrants are currently residing in Hawai’i, where they subsequently face many barriers as new immigrants, including language, social and cultural barriers. Specifically, there is an ever-growing presence of Micronesian stereotyping and marginalization that is frequently exhibited by other ethnic populations in Hawai’i. Because they are seen as the “newest” population to arrive on the islands and the fastest growing, Micronesians are subject to many forms of discrimination. In recent years, our local community has been ill-equipped and misinformed about the Micronesian population. Consequently, our unfamiliarity has contributed to their isolation and discrimination within the Hawai’ian Islands. It is important for us as residents of Hawai’i to bridge the gap that exists between Micronesians and what we perceive as our own “local society”. Due to our society being misinformed and social control factors at work, we perceive Micronesians as being inept, destitute and imprudent.…

    • 1384 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aboriginal Kinship

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the Aboriginal culture the importance of family is somewhat different from most other foraging societies. The nuclear family is still the basic kinship unit. Everything outside of the nuclear family is where the Aboriginal kinship organization starts to get more complex. In an article written by M.H. Monroe, he states that, “Aboriginal Australia kinship is one of the most complex systems in the world” (Monroe, 2010). In the Aboriginal kinship system the nuclear family is important, but there is more emphasis on the importance of the extended family. Kinship is so important to the Aborigines that they created Aboriginal Law that dictates the behavior of one member towards different relatives.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the midst of the United States and Soviet Russia Space Race, United States astronaut Neil Armstrong's exploration of the moon became one of the most important space journeys of all time. It helped shape the possibilities of what humans could accomplish in outer space expeditions.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Diversity In Polynesia

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The accessible natural resources is based primarily on location. The Maori people moved to northern New Zealand which allowed them access to new natural resources and enabled them to increase their population almost ten-fold. It also meant they had to create an army to both defend their new land and attack their rival neighbors. The Moriori people, on the other hand, remained static in the Chatham Islands. This meant that they had no need to develop any type of army for protection or to attack because there were no other surrounding islands. The inequality in wealth grows deeper in the case of the people on the Polynesian islands when you take for account the Maori’s ability to store food. Diamond explains that, “With the crop surpluses that they could grow and store, they fed craft specialists, chiefs and part-time soldiers” (56). The surplus in food allowed their population to grow which in turn led to their expansion, which lead to an increase in wealth. The Moriori people, once again being the exact opposite, went to extreme measures to ensure their population remained small. They did not have the ability to cultivate and store surpluses of food. Causing their population and wealth to grow…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Different cultures promote different relationships and can either hinder or encourage certain activities among its people.…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultures characterized by collectivism emphasize relationships among people to a greater degree. Collectivist cultures stress interdependent activities and suppressing individual aims for the group’s welfare.…

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural community as a nation emphasises the importance of ethnic ties and loyalties. The nations are determined by its natural environment, climate, physical geography, which shaped the lifestyles, working habits, attitudes and creative propensities of a people. These nations are made up of ethnic groups that share a common cultural heritage and language. The members of this community view themselves as an extended kinship groups distinguished by common descent membership is inherited through ethnic identity.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Globalisation poses a threat to cultural diversity because it is the cause of widespread cultural homogenisation. I will focus on Helena Norberg-Hodge's 1991 book, in which she describes the recent cultural changes within a particular Indian community. In examining this text, I hope to show that globalisation truly does pose a threat to cultural diversity. In this essay, globalisation will be used as an umbrella term to describe the increased economic, cultural and political interdependence of the globe's nation-states and their peoples. Culture is difficult to effectively define; for the purpose of this essay, culture is the collective knowledge, behaviour and customs of a group of people that has developed over generations. Things such as art, language and religious practices are often unique to a culture, which suggests that individual cultures possess a certain independence from others, thus creating diversity. I will make an important distinction throughout between Western culture and non-Western culture, the latter referring to traditional cultures in general - the sort that encapsulate diversity, such as the culture of indigenous Australians. Cultures are ever-evolving; change and development of cultures is a natural progression. In contrast , homogenisation and Westernisation are terms that describe negative cultural change through loss of diversity. The concepts are interconnected; however Westernisation is more effective in illustrating the inevitable social and economic consequences of globalisation. By presenting Norberg-Hodge'sevidence, this essay will reveal the large scale loss of diversity amongst vulnerable non-Western cultures due to globalisation. Homogenisation is a clear consequence of globalisation. It describes the tendency of cultures totrend towards a uniformed way of life. According to Richard Barnett and John Cavanagh, "the impact of this homogenisation on the rich cultural…

    • 827 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 21st century the most visible fact about society is that they comprise too many types of culture in it together. This is due to the cultural and physical wars which have existed for million years between big communities and also every single little one included in them. This multi-cultural structures societies are usually the return of the colonialism. Big and strong communities having the little and weak ones as colonies enforce them to live with each other who have different types of cultures and traditions.On the other hand multi-cultured societies also are consisting of different types of people who chose to live in the same area because of being suitable for life, having many chances for jobs and prosperious consumption and manifacturing. Sometimes this groups of people adapt to the situation but sometimes they create contrariness and clashes.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays