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Ethno-Cultural Arts and Acculturation

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Ethno-Cultural Arts and Acculturation Ancient Ways in Current Days: Ethno-cultural Arts and Acculturation By Stephen H. Fox A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology Victoria University of Wellington 2010 ii Abstract This research investigates the benefits of traditional/ethnic arts participation on well- being for immigrant and ethnic minority groups. While arts programs are increasingly seen as beneficial, little empirical evidence exists to support this belief, especially regarding ethnic groups in cross-cultural transition and multicultural environments. Three phases of research were undertaken, the first being qualitative, followed by two quantitative studies. Study 1 was a qualitative research into feelings of migrant and minority artists about how their arts practices affected their lives and acculturation processes. Practitioners from a number of ethno-cultural groups of both traditional and contemporary/Western arts were included to determine whether there were differences in effects of practices between those categories. Several broad themes emerged specific to the traditional/ethnic arts category, providing strong evidence for distinction between ethnic and contemporary/Western arts in effect for ethnic peoples: Cultural knowledge, the learning of cultural history, behaviours, and mores, Connectedness, the feeling of connection to family, peers, and community, as well as to other ethnic communities, Ethnic identity development, the sense of belongingness and meaning arising from ethno-cultural group membership. Study 2 examined data from longitudinal study of New Zealand youth (Youth Connectedness Project), specifically addressing differences based on arts participation for Maori and Pasifika (Polynesian) youth. Results demonstrated that youth who participated in any arts reported greater connectedness and well-being over those who participated in no arts, and that youth who participated in traditional Polynesian cultural arts had the highest ethnic identity scores. The processes involved were modelled and tested with path modelling. Study 3 was designed to investigate components of ethnic arts practices iii to understand why and how the improvements in ethnic identity, connectedness, and well-being observed in the previous studies come about. Participants were recruited internationally, from a wide range of ethnicities and arts practices. The outcomes of this study include construction of cross-cultural measure of traditional arts participation factors and a structural equation which models the process by which Well-Being is enhanced. Factors arising in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the scale were centrality, pride, belongingness, and cultural knowledge. In the process model tested, level of traditional/ethnic arts participation positively influenced levels of Connectedness and Ethnic Identity, which both served as mediators between level of traditional arts participation and increased Well-Being outcomes. In summary, these studies demonstrate that there are specific individual and group level benefits from participation in traditional arts for members of ethnic cultures and their communities. These benefits operate through enhancement of ethnic identity and connectedness, which in turn positively influence well-being outcomes. The results suggest that public support of such arts and programs which include such arts would lead to better adaptation outcomes for immigrant and ethnic minority groups. iv Preface The broad subject of this research regards the benefits of traditional arts participation for those experiencing inter-cultural contact. It is an investigation of processes I have been observing for years in my life as an artist and musician, but which have not been explicated in the world of psychology. I offer, to set the tone for what will follow, a brief view of the experiences and observations that lead me to pursue this particular avenue of inquiry. I became interested in culture as an adolescent reading about ancient civilizations and, later, listening to the music of other cultures. As an adult, in addition to playing rock, jazz, and reggae as a professional musician and completing a Bachelor‘s degree in Western music, I have been fortunate enough to collaborate and perform with musicians of several other cultures and to formally study Indonesian gamelan (the classical orchestra of that culture), Japanese taiko (a modern extrapolation of Japanese festival drumming, and Okinawan kotan (their classical court music). Over the past several years I have shared stages with West Africans numerous times, a world renowned taiko master, dear Maori mates, and many others, some of whom have become close friends. As a composer for film, I have brought in players from Korea and Japan, Western classical orchestra, and Hawaiian traditional and contemporary music, to name a few. As a journalist, I interviewed musicians from every continent, including players from Hawaiian, Cuban, Native Americans, Indian, Japanese, Balkan, and African traditions, among others. In these experiences, these artists and I have normally had a marvellous flow of communication and a deep mutual respect, sharing love of music and a kinship as v players. I would not say, however, that music is a universal language. I have also been struck by how differently we approach learning and making music, and how different the underlying cognitive structures of musical systems can be. I came to realize that this reflected the world view of their cultures, as well as particulars of social structures, aesthetics, and behavioural norms. At times being thrown suddenly in front of an audience with little or no preparation, I had to learn to quickly and efficiently grasp both the musical elements and the interaction styles of my fellow performers. When I came to the study of cultural psychology as an older graduate student, I was at times struck by the way the study of culture was approached: things I took for granted were unknown, and practice of scientific research methods in the academic setting comprised a culture foreign to me. In terms of the latter, I have gradually learned the language and customs. Regarding the former, this thesis is a first step toward bringing matters self-evident to many artists into the purview of psychology. Among those are certain benefits of arts participation, which I believe to vary by culture, especially between Western and traditional cultures. During my adult life, I have lived nearly 25 years in Hawai‗i, which has a strong indigenous culture (if a bit commercialized for the tourists) and a host of other ethnic groups, with no majority culture. While the islands are not a utopia without intercultural conflict, particularly those stemming from the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and continued socio-economic domination of the Hawaiian peoples by the United States, they stand as a shining example of multicultural harmony and tolerance. Religions are myriad. Intermarriage raises no eyebrows, and could be considered a norm. Honolulu, particularly, hosts massive festivals of vi Hawaiian music and hula, festivals of Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, and Greek cultures, and Native American powwows, to name a few. The participants in these cultural activities especially came to mind when I arrived in New Zealand to study and was searching for a topic in the area of acculturation to research. Acculturation is the process experienced in inter-cultural contact, and its study is usually directed toward understanding how to facilitate adaptive outcomes. In Hawai‗i‘s complex cultural mix, the cultural arts participants seem quite well adapted. There are dozens if not hundreds of official and unofficial hula halau for the study and practice of hula, as well as schools and groups dedicated to Chinese lion dance, Japanese taiko drumming or ikebana, Korean dance, etc. in Hawai‗i. The practitioners of these arts have usually impressed me as the best and the brightest of the multicultural Hawaiian milieu. They know their culture and who they are as members of their culture(s), and they are confident and self-assured in their practice. It seems reasonable that it is their arts participation helps them to adapt and flourish. This research seeks to investigate whether or not this is true: does participating in the arts of one‘s heritage culture beget certain advantages, are there particular psychological benefits arising in arts processes, and can these benefits be tested and demonstrated? vii Acknowledgements Firstly, I must thank my primary advisor, Dr. Colleen Ward, who has guided my acculturative experience as an artist entering the culture of science. Her commentaries later in the process, especially, proved inestimably valuable in making this a coherent psychology thesis. My secondary advisor, Dr. Marc Wilson, has also provided marvellous advice and encouragement, especially when I was floundering in a sea of seemingly incoherent qualitative data. I must thank Dr. Paul Jose, who very kindly provided a beautiful set of longitudinal data, as well as a swift and effective education in the mysterious worlds of advanced analyses such as structural equation modelling. I must also thank Dr. Anthony Marsella, who granted me (a humble musician) initial entre to the gated city of psychology for my Master‘s matriculation. I turn now to my family. My departed father dearly wished to see what would come of my PhD, and I hope he would be proud of this research. My mom has always been an unfailing well-spring of supportiveness. To my sister, I give my love: you may not always know what to make of me, but you‘re always with me. Also a constant presence, though she has been gone for a couple of decades, is my grandmother, Amelia Manning, an amazingly wise woman. Nani and Zoe are the more recent lights in my life. Zoe is a tiny gem of amazing intelligence and coolness, and Nani has unfailingly encouraged me never to give up, painstakingly helping to edit and format this and the Master‘s thesis. To my older children, Aaron and Amber, now living their adult lives, I hope I provide at least a measure of inspiration that all things are possible and perseverance can pay off.
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