Cultural Presumptuousness

Last November the Federated States of Micronesia celebrated Thanksgiving day, along with the United States of America. The holiday that awkwardly celebrates the arrival and welcoming of European settlers on the East coast of North America. The holiday that celebrates a time, an event, and people that never had any connection whatsoever to these small island nations, save a few unfortunate historical parallels. And yet, much to our dismay and outrage as cultural sensitive and humble Americans (and Canadians), the FSM celebrated American Thanksgiving once again last November, and did so with little reservation.

“What an example of cultural imperialism!” we cried. “This is so absurdly inappropriate, a stunning example of the negative effects of American cultural influence on weaker, smaller cultures. What an atrocity! An embarrassment!” We fumed, we talked, we threw up our hands. “Why did Americans ever come in the first place?”

However, after having a couple of conversations and observing the Thanksgiving Masses, it became clear that the Chuukese at least have made the holiday their own. Thanksgiving is a meaningful, powerful and beautiful holiday here in Chuuk. There is no celebration of pilgrim landings – there is a celebration instead of thing people here have to be thankful for. It is a celebration of family, of friends, of fish to eat, breadfruit to pound, islands to live on, of life. It is also a very religious holiday – a celebration of God and her loving presence in everything.

Above all, Thanksgiving in Chuuk is a holiday infused with meaning for the Chuukese, and one that is heeded with respect and reverence. For the Chuukese, it is a time to stop, contemplate, and give thanks to the many things we spend the majority of our lives taking for granted. The timing, to be sure, is more than a little irrelevant for the Chuukese, and for Micronesians, but the day and month is, in the end, of little consequence. For Chuuk, and presumably for the greater FSM, the essence of the holiday has nothing to do with pilgrims, Native Americans or rich forested coasts. Chuukese, and presumably Micronesians in general, have taken the holiday and made it their own, made it something meaningful and consequential to themselves. It is an American holiday, to be sure, but it has also become a Chuukese one, a Micronesian one.

Which brings me to the point. If we go back a couple of paragraphs we can read about our cries of indignation. Cries, I’ve since realized, that were based in a subtle, but fundamental and dangerous cultural arrogance on our part. We assumed that anything American was forced on these islands and that these islands really had no say in the matter. More sharply, we assume that the power of American culture is so great that the people of FSM, and the people of Chuuk, could do nothing in the face of it. That it’s power is so great as to take away the ability of Micronesians, of Chuukese, to think for themselves.

We assumed that the Chuukese were not thinking for themselves. That they were following blindly, ambiguously, superficially. And yet the truth is very different. Chuuk saw something good, and adopted it. The FSM saw something good, and adopted it. This country is full of free thinking, intelligent people. While other forms of cultural influences are more nuanced, complicated, and hard to navigate, the celebration of Thanksgiving Day is a simple choice. And it is one that was made, quite explicitly, quite simply. The national government asked itself, does the FSM want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day? The State government of Chuuk asked itself, does Chuuk want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day? Both said yes. So who are we to say no?

And this kind of cultural arrogance can be pervasive. The idea that American, or Western culture is so strong as to strip people of the ability to think for themselves. Such a fundamental assumption is extraordinarily disempowering. Such an assumption strips even more meaning from the very lives we pity for their superficiality, their loss of meaning.

One can see this globally in Christianity. Christianity spread through the missionary work of millions of ministers, priests, and lay people. Christianity spread through an effort to “save the pagans” or to “save the heathens.” There’s no denying or hiding this. And yet it would be well to remember that Christianity in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, it is something quite beautiful. And presumably this is what millions of people saw, despite the potential arrogance of the missionaries themselves. You could never go up to a Ghanaian, or an Indian, or a Chuukese Christian and say, “the only reason you believe in Christianity is because of historical cultural imperialism,” because this would be an insult to their intelligence and a devaluing of their spiritual life. So why do we think such things?

I am not saying that the weight and power of American and/or Western culture is inconsequential. I am saying that we would do well to humble ourselves a little bit when we think about our influence on cultures abroad. That, in the end, people think for themselves and that, in the end, if they decide they don’t like something American, or something Western, they won’t buy into it. To not give people of other cultures the final say is arrogant, disempowering, and insulting.

That, in the end, the Chuukese celebrate Thanksgiving Day late in November not just because it is a random American holiday, but because they want to. Needless to say, our cries were effectively silenced.

Will You Marry Me?

3^rd period. Right after lunch. 10 minutes into class. Junior English Skills in 11 Maroon. We had just finished our daily journal entry, about our strengths and weaknesses in public speaking, and were transitioning into a lesson on building a speech when it began.

There are two doors in each of our classrooms. One at the front, and one at the back. Kendall, one of the best Junior students, and David Mersai, a smart but lazy joker of a student, had just stepped out of the back door into the hall. I called to them, told them to come back inside. They seemed to be assenting, as they walked to the front door (there are windows between the classroom and the hall) to re-enter the classroom.

Then, Kendall got down on his hands and knees and started crawling into the classroom. David followed close behind him, crouched very, very low. This is the way Chuukese pay ultimate respect to someone, or to a group of people. Why they were doing this here and now, I had no idea.

He sat himself in front of TJ, who happens to be a phenomenal actor (and volleyball player). “Tirow om,” he said – a very, very humble “excuse me.” And he began speaking to TJ. Nelly, one of my best female students, translated for me (yes, they were speaking Chuukese in an English skills class). Kendall was pretending to be David’s father, having come to TJ to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage for his son. As he was speaking, slowly and with great humility, another two of my best female students – Jessica and Hiromy – sat down beside TJ as his wife and wife’s sister. Soon, Ariel joined the group, sitting between TJ and Jessica (husband and wife) as the daughter.

So, we have a father and son, meeting with two parents, their daughter and an aunt, discussing the marriage of the daughter and son. And they went through the entire ceremony, and they did it with commitment. Jessica was holding her daughter, crying at the idea of losing her. TJ was warning Kendall of all his daughters negative attributes, Kendall was assenting regardless. Kendall promised the protection of TJ’s daughter. He also put to ease many of Jessica’s worries and fears for her daughter. Hiromy comforted Jessica, as Jessica in turn caressed Ariel, the daughter it seems she was going to lose so soon. At last, an agreement was made, Kendall made excuses for himself and David, and the two crawled back out the front door.

This was all with impressive authenticity. I have no idea how it was pulled off. I have no idea how these students were able to take ten minutes of class to do an impromptu performance of a marriage request, in Chuukese no less, without any hint of disrespect to myself or the class. We were discussing speeches, so the event was not unrelated, and we were able to accomplish the lesson in spite of all this, but still. I personally thought it was great because I had a chance to see a thorough presentation of the Chuukese proposal ceremony. And everyone in the class was engaged throughout – no one’s mind wandered, no one was bored. They threw in a couple of jokes, but the overall mood was solemn, respectful, and, well, impressively authentic.

I’m going to miss these kids…