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FOLKLORE AS RESISTANCE IN POSTCOLONIAL NARRATIVES AND CULTURAL PRACTICES: HAWAIIAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN, AND IRAQI A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH JULY 2019 By Dhiffaf al-Shwillay Dissertation Committee: kuʻualoha hoʻomanawanui, Chairperson Ibrahim G. Aoude Cristina Bacchilega Jack Taylor Hamid Pourjalali (UR) Keywords: Folklore, Resistance Narratives, American literature, Postcolonial theory, Postcolonial novels, Hawaiian (Kānaka Maoli) Moʻolelo/Folklore, African American Folklore and Vernacular, Iraqi contemporary literature, Iraqi Folklore/ al-Turath al-Sha’abi © 2019 Dhiffaf al-Shwillay Al-Shwillay 2 Abstract Colonialism radically transformed the cultures of colonized peoples, often rupturing Indigenous traditions and folklore. Whether creating colonial discourse, promoting orientalist literature, advocating western educational institutions, or through biased media representations, imperial powers systematically oppressed Indigenous and Native peoples. Subjugated communities, however, created, and still form postcolonial discourse from their knowledge systems. This discourse insists on Indigenous and Native culture as central to Indigenous and Native peoples identity. This study examines the postcolonial literature of three groups: Kānaka Maoli, African Americans, and Iraqis. The scope of this dissertation scrutinizes how folklore is employed as resistance in the postcolonial literature of Kānaka Maoli, African Americans, and Iraqis. Folklore as Resistance in Postcolonial Narratives and Cultural Practices: Hawaiian, African American, and Iraqi focuses on the centrality of folklore and cultural histories in the literature of these three groups. Kānaka Maoli emphasize the mo’olelo (hi/story) in their literature. Moʻolelo acts not only as a means to pass down hi/story and culturally significant stories from generation to generation (a genealogy) but also as a mode of resistance to hegemonic and imperial powers. Moʻolelo are not merely legends or myths; instead, they represent ancestral knowledge and connection to Kānaka history. Kānaka Maoli claim and revive ancestral moʻolelo in their literature and cultural performance to illuminate their relationship to place, ʻāina, and their country, the Hawaiian Kingdom. In this work, Dhiffaf al-Shwillay suggests that there are similar tendencies in the literature of Kānaka Maoli, African American, and Iraqis. The folklore and literature of these groups signify the histories of oppression and/or colonization and its aftermath. Al-Shwillay Al-Shwillay 3 finds that Kānaka Maoli, African American, and Iraqi folklore in literature can be read as resistance to orientalism, oppression, and stereotyping. Following the trajectory of the historical and cultural context for the literary productions of these three communities, she offers analysis and reading of Sage Takehiro, Dana Naone Hall, Haunani-Kay Trask, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Zora Neale Hurston, Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, and Selim Matar. This dissertation concludes by emphasizing the dynamic political and cultural value of moʻolelo and folklore in postcolonial narratives. Al-Shwillay asserts that literature that draws upon folklore and cultural histories transmits evidence of oppressive powers and, crucially, resistance. In this mode of examination of postcolonial literature, al-Shwillay asserts that folklore records the resistance of peoples through their literary production. Folklore carries the knowledge of ancestors, cultural, and history. Al-Shwillay 4 Acknowledgements Many people deserve my sincere thanks and appreciation for their help and assistance in the completion of this dissertation. First, I can never fully express my gratitude and respect for my advisor, Professor kuʻualoha hoʻomanawanui. Without her intellectual guidance, I could not have finished this dissertation. She encouraged my research on the three groups (Kānaka Maoli, African American, and Iraqi folklore). It was an honor to work with Professor hoʻomanawanui. I am grateful to the intellectual guidance and administration and care of Professor Cristina Bacchilega, Professor Ibrahim G. Aoude, and Professor Jack Tylor. They extended my intellectual boundaries, and they deserve my earnest gratitude for their valuable theoretical and methodological suggestions. Many thanks to my committee member and university representative Professor Hamid Pourjalali. Special thanks to The Higher Committee for Education Development in Iraq (HCED) for sponsoring my Ph.D program for more than six years. Without their help, I would not have realized my studies or degree. There are others who directly and indirectly helped me in the completion of this dissertation. Besides the committee members, three people deserve my heartfelt gratitude Professor Paul Lyons, Professor Laura Lyons, and Dr. Joel Weaver. Thank you to Selim Matar for the hours of intellectual conversation on the history of Iraq and his work. Thank you for your support and encouragment, Selim. Additionally, I am grateful for The Writing Center at the department of English for their help and support. The Writing Center was, and is always, my intellectual space. Many thanks to Professor Georganne Nordstrom and to all the young intellectuals in The Writing Center. I am also particularly thankful to Dr. Raindrop Wright for Al-Shwillay 5 her ken editorial and critical eye. Her motivation and support helped to bring my dissertation to light. Finally, and most importantly, thank you to my daughters, Enji and Fatima al-Jbara who constantly give me joy and motivation in all aspects of life. I appreciate you, my daughters. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you for knowing the importance of all the books I read late into the night and in the early morning. Thank you for growing with me. Thank you (Shukran) Enji and Fatima. Me ke aloha, Dhiffaf Al-Shwillay 6 Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... 4 Foreword ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction: Folklore as Resistance in Cultural Productions by Hawaiian (Kānaka Maoli), African Americans, and Iraqis ............................................................................................................. 11 I. Folklore and Folkways ................................................................................................................................. 14 II. Postcolonialism ............................................................................................................................................. 22 Chapter One: Pacific Passages of Resistance .................................................................................... 33 Situating Hawai‘i in Postcolonial Discourse: A Historical Sketch ........................................................ 33 American Capitalism Intervenes: Obstruction of Kinship Systems ..................................................... 36 Colonial Literature: Before/During the Annexation of Hawai‘i............................................................ 38 Power, Land Theft, and the Colonizers’ Desire ......................................................................................... 43 Aloha ʻᾹina: Against the U.S. Navy at the Sacred Island of Kaho‘olawe ........................................... 46 Subverting Western Negligence of Kānaka Maoli Literature ................................................................ 50 Politics in Poetics: The Recognition of Ancestors in Contemporary Compositions ......................... 55 Recalling the Voices of Ancestors: Decolonization and Kānaka Maoli Writing Traditions .......... 56 Modern Kānaka Maoli Resistance Literature............................................................................................ 59 Feminist Voices in Kānaka Maoli Resistance Literature ........................................................................ 62 Art Informs Cultural Studies: Cultural Studies Informs Art ................................................................ 63 Concluding Remarks: Hawaiian Protocol and knowledge in context of Resistance ........................ 69 Chapter Two: African American Folklore in Resistance ................................................................ 70 The Genesis of an African American Folklorist and Writer: Zora Neale Hurston .......................... 71 Harlem Renaissance: A Platform of Resistance ........................................................................................ 73 Folklore and Resistance in Hurston’s Writing ........................................................................................... 77 Beyond Racism: Internalized Battles............................................................................................................ 87 Progressive Traditions in Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God .................................................. 93 “Pheoby, you got tuh go there tuh know there”: Journey as Psychic Decolonization ..................... 94 “He could be a bee to a blossom”: Nature as Inspiration and Strength