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Japanese Person

Japanese person

The Japanese (日本人, Nihon-jin) are the Yamato, Ainu, Ryukyuans, Uilta and Nivkhs of the Japanese Archipelago. While most Japanese live on the islands, some emigrated, predominantly to Hawaii, the west coast of the United States and Canada, Latin America (particularly, Brazil), and Russia, (particularly, Sakhalin and Primorsky Krai).

Origins

Archeological evidences show that Stone Age people lived in Japan between 33,000 and 21,000 years ago in the Paleolithic period. Japan was then connected to Asia by land bridges, and nomadic hunter-gatherers crossed over from the continent. They left flint tools, but no evidence of permanent settlements. The most accepted theory is that present-day Japanese are descended principally from both the Jomon, a paleo-Asiatic people, and the Yayoi, a neo-Asiatic people, with cultural influences from the Korean kingdoms of Gaya and Baekje, and also from the Sui, and Tang Dynasty of China. The Ainu, Koreans, and Japanese are believed to be derived from the paleo-Turkic peoples of the Tungusic-Altaic group. The Northern Mongoloid peoples of North Asia and Central Asia, have relatively tall statures, well-defined features (such as longer noses, and higher cheekbones), and relatively hairy bodies and faces, features that are considered to define the "prototype" Mongoloid physical type. As with the Koreans, the Japanese and Ainu inherit these prototypical physical features. The Japanese trace their ancestry to the Jomon people and the Yayoi people, and then perhaps the Koreans, Mongolians, Malays, Indonesians, and Polynesians, thus making their Mongoloid traits unique. Their comparatively shorter-nosed and hairless Asian counterparts to the south, however, are believed to be due to adaptation to the damper climates, and to their mixing with Austronesian prototypes, when migrating to the Pacific Ocean.

Jomon and Ainu People

Pottery was first developed by the Jomon and Ainu people in the 14th millennium BC. The name, "Jomon" (繩紋 Jōmon), which means "cord-impressed pattern", comes from the characteristic markings found on Jomon pottery. The Jomon people were Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, though at least one middle to late Jomon site ca. 1200-1000 BC had rice agriculture (南溝手 Minami misote site). They had, very likely, migrated from Central Asia, or from the North Asia, farther north from the believed origins of the Yayoi peoples.

Yayoi and Korean People

Around 400-300 BC, the Yayoi people began to displace the Jomon. The Yayoi people were called "Wa-jin"(倭人) in the Chinese history "Gishi-Wa-jin-den"(魏志倭人伝). Yayoi language is thought to be related to the language of ancient Manchuria and northern Korea (see Fuyu languages), and many assume that modern Japanese descended from Yayoi speech. Some scholars also speculate that modern Shinto religion descended from Yayoi beliefs. Most scholars believe Yayoi culture was brought to the Japanese islands by immigrants from the Korean peninsula, most likely from Goguryeo or Baekje. The Yayoi are believed to have brought agriculture into Japan. The Jomon people accepted this new concept, yet unlike the Chinese who reared sheep and cows, they relied on fish as their main source of protein. Agriculture slowly spread, making hunting and gathering unnecessary.

Genetics and Physical Anthropology

Skeletons of the Jomon and Yayoi people have been examined, and detailed DNA studies have been made in recent years. Most Jomon and Yayoi skeletons are readily distinguishable. The Jomon people were shorter, with relatively longer forearms and lower legs, more wide-set eyes, shorter and wider faces, and much more pronounced facial topography, with strikingly raised brow ridges, noses, and nose bridges, while the Yayoi people averaged an inch or two taller, with close-set eyes, high and narrow faces, and flat browridges and noses. (Diamond 1998) Studies of teeth show two distinct patterns — sundadonty and sinodonty. The former represents Southeast Asians, Micronesians, and Polynesians, and the latter, Koreans and Manchus. The former is pre-eminent among pure-blooded Ainu and Okinawans. The teeth evidence supports the thesis that "ancient demic diffusion, commencing with the Yayoi era around 300 BC, when an immigrant population from Continental Asia entered the archipelago in north Kyushu, and expanded eastward, assimilating the aboriginal inhabitants". (Riley 2002)

Japanese people abroad

- Issei Japanese, Issei Japanese American: "issei" means 'first generation', referring to the first generation of migrants.
- Nisei Japanese, Nisei Japanese American: "nisei" means 'second generation'.
- Sansei Japanese American: "sansei" means 'third generation'.

External links

- [http://www.nig.ac.jp/index-e.html Japan National Institute of Genetics]
- [http://www.discover.com/issues/jun-98/features/japaneseroots1455/ Japanese Roots By Jared Diamond (discover.com)], [http://cwis.livjm.ac.uk/lng/teaching/japanese/japanroo.htm]
- [http://users.tmok.com/~tumble/jpp/japor.html Origin of the Japanese People and Language]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/israel/losttribes3.html Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? (pbs.org)]
- [http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200508/03/200508032242451609900090409041.html Study: Korean, Japanese DNA similar (Joongang Daily)]
- [http://www.geocities.com/valentyn_ua/Mongol.html The Homeland of Japanese People] Category:Ethnic groups of Japan ko:일본인 ja:日本人

Yamato people

The Yamato (大和) were the dominant peoples of ancient Japan, and the ancestors of most modern Japanese people. By the Nara period, they had, for the most part, subdued all non-Yamato peoples of the three main islands Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu (the Ainu of northern Honshu and Hokkaido were not subdued until much later). Most of the non-Yamato peoples of the three main islands were fully integrated by the Kamakura period, although some people believe small populations remained even until the early 20th century in the Japanese Alps and rural Kyushu.

Yamato culture

Bronze and iron implements were probably introduced from the Korean peninsula around 300 B.C. In the following centuries, due to relations with Baekje on the peninsula, mainland influence increased. Chinese influence during the early periods of Japanese development was quite extensive, and the first Japanese state of Yamato was an inheritor to many overseas traditions. In 57, Emperor Guangwu of Han sent a gold stamp to one of a king of Wa (Yamato) as a proof of subject, so in those days at least the basic chinese character were probably imported to Japan. Beginning in 300 A.D., the Yamato in the south of Honshu departed from the previous Yayoi regime by building immense tomb mounds for their aristocracy. One such tomb mound built in Nintoku. Its extant is over five football fields long and has more mass than the Egyptian Pyramid of Cheops. This kofun culture was patterned after a similar practice in Korea. [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/YAMATO.HTM] Beginning in 500 A.D., Kofun tombs were filled with armor and weapons, indicating that a new wave of cultural influence had passed over from Korea into southern Japan. The Baekje court sent to Japan Korean potters, metal workers, artists, and other craftspeople, and the Koreans imported Chinese writing into Japan. According to the Japanese chronicles, the court of the Yamato kings was based on Korean models for the titles given to the court and regional aristocrats were drawn from Korean titles.[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/YAMATO.HTM] [http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/japanese.html] In 513, the Baekje court sent a Confucian scholar to the Yamato court, and later sent an image of Buddha, some Buddhist scriptures, and a Buddhist representative. Baekje monks traveled to Japan to build temples and bronze Buddha images. The Yamato's expansion was aided occupational groups attached to the court. In the fifth century, the Be produced weapons, armour, and mirrors and constructed irrigation systems. Many of them were composed of recent migrants from Baekje and other immigrants who specialized in raising horses or ironworking; in fact, the term Be itself is of Baekje origin. In the reign of Empress Suiko (592-628), relations with Baekje broke down in the later 6th century and another wave of Koreans migrated to Japan. By extension of traditions—they had already imported from Baekje—China became a direct model.

Prince Shotoku

Following the death of the Emperor Yomei, who was a practitioner and supporter of Buddhist ideals in Japan, his sister the Empress Suiko came to power. Empress Suiko's nephew, the regent Prince Shotoku, is perhaps the most important figure of his time. The Yamato government was suffering from three major problems. First, the Yamato aristocracy itself was feuding. Secondly, an incredible number of Korea refugees were fleeing to Japan seeking sanctuary from troubles at home. Thirdly, because the Korean-Japanese treaties had been broken, Japan was suddenly without a stable ally, which placed a great amount of weight on the government's shoulders. To stabilise matters, the Yamato government sent envoys to the Chinese court, from which they obtained a great wealth of philosophical and social structure. In addition to ethics of government, they also adopted the Chinese calendar and many of its religious practices, including Chinese Buddhism and Taoism (Japanese: Onmyo). All these changes were instituted by Prince Shotoku, who also proscribed a new constitution for Japan based on the Chinese model. This came to be known as the Kenpo Jushichijo and is the earliest piece of formal Japanese writing known today. The constitution removed power from the clans (Japanese: Uji) and gave it directly to the Emperor, whose power was then stated to come from Heaven itself. In addition, prince Shotoku also built up the Buddhist Tenno-ji, an institutional complex which included libraries, hospitals, schools, colleges, and dispensaries. Throughout this entire period then, Shotoku, despite being called "Prince," was in fact the de facto ruler of Japan, and continued to be so for three decades. The constitution Shotoku had drafted was deeply Confucian, stating that harmony and moral integrity were necessary to running the state. It additionally included that the Emperor must place great value on the Three Treasures of Buddhism—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and that it was the responsibility of the emperor, given heavenly appointment, to look after the welfare of his people. The constitution in fact was not written in the spirit of applying the law, but rather became a treatise on moral and spiritual conduct. After prince Shotoku's death in 662, the Soga clan's ambitious nature eventually lead to a coup against their stewardship of Imperial affairs. Following the Soga's execution of Shotoku's heir, the Yamato court had the Soga leadership executed, followed by the succession of Emperor Kotoku. Emperor Kotoku was, like Shotoku, a devout Buddhist, and removed the exclusive control of sponsorship from the Soga clan, placing it then under government sponsorship directly. This and other such reformations came to be known as the Taika Reform Edicts of 645 A.D. It was during this period that the emperor's power and ideals of heavenly appointment became fully consolidated, and ensured Japan's imperial heritage.

External links

- [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/SHOTOKU.HTM Prince Shotoku]
- [http://theosophy.org/tlodocs/teachers/PrinceShotoku.htm Prince Shotoku]
- [http://www.japan-101.com/history/history_period_yamato.htm Yamato Period]
- [http://www.japan-101.com/history/history_period_asuka.htm Asuka Period]
- [http://www.japan-101.com/history/history_period_kofun.htm Kofun Period]
- [http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/horyuji.html Horyu-ji Temple]
- [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/CONST.HTM Kenpo Jushichijo] ko:야마토 민족 ja:大和民族 Category:Ethnic groups of Japan Category:Ancient Japan

Ainu people

The Ainu (pronounced , "eye-noo", アイヌ / aynu) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, the northern part of Honshu in Northern Japan, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. The word "ainu" means "human" in the Ainu language; Emishi, Ezo or Yezo (蝦夷) are Japanese terms; and Utari, ウタリ, (meaning "comrade" in Ainu) is now preferred by some members. There are most likely over 150,000 Ainu today, however the exact figure is not known as many Ainu hide their origins or in many cases are not even aware of them, their parents having kept it from them so as to protect their children from racism.

Origins

The origins of the Ainu are uncertain. Some commentators believe that they derive from an ancient proto-Asian stock that may have occupied most of Asia before the Han expansion (see Jomon people). Various other Asian indigenous peoples, from the Ryukyus to Taiwan are also thought to be related to them. In the early 20th century anthropologists debated what typological classification (such as Mongoloid or Caucasoid) the Ainu belonged to. The typological models of racial classification in use at that time have since undergone significant revision, in the light of developments in fields such as genetics. Many physical characteristics which had been employed to distinguish "Mongoloid", "Caucasoid" or other racial-types are viewed by many contemporary authorities to arise more typically from climatic or environmental selection, rather than necessary indicators of relatedness/distinctiveness. While a minority still hold to the view that race typology usefully reflects underlying biological differences, the classification of "Mongoloid" versus other groups is mostly seen as being problematic. The prevailing mythology in Japan has been of the Ainu as a race of "noble savages," a proud but reclusive culture of hunter-gatherers. That this mythology made it easier to expropriate their lands is unquestioned. In fact, the Ainu were farmers from the earliest centuries of the Common Era.[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hokkaido/ainu.html]

North American Connection

In the late 20th Century, much speculation arose that the Ainu may have been one of the first groups to settle North America. This theory is based largely on skeletal and cultural evidence among tribes living in the western part of North America and certain parts of Latin America. It is quite possible that North America had several peoples among its early settlers--the Ainu being one of them, perhaps even the first. The most well known instance supporting this theory is probably Kennewick Man.

History

At first, contact with the Japanese people was friendly and both were equals in a trade relationship. However, eventually the Japanese started to dominate the relationship, and soon established large settlements on the outskirts of Ainu territory. As the Japanese moved north and took control over their traditional lands, the Ainu often gave up without resistance, but there was occasional resistance as exemplified in wars in 1457, 1669, and 1789, all of which were lost by the Ainu. Japanese policies became increasingly aimed at assimilating the Ainu in the Meiji period, outlawing their language and restricting them to farming on government-provided plots. Ainu were also used in near-slavery conditions in the Japanese fishing industry. The island of Hokkaido was called Ezo or Ezo-chi during the Edo period. Its name was changed to Hokkaido during the Meiji Restoration as part of the programme to "unify" the Japanese national character under the aegis of the Emperor, thus reducing the local identity and autonomy of the different regions of Japan. As Japanese citizens, the Ainu are now governed by Japanese laws (though one Ainu man was acquitted of murder because he asserted that he was not a Japanese citizen and the judge agreed) and judged by Japanese tribunals, but in the past, their affairs were administered by hereditary chiefs, three in each village, and for administrative purposes the country was divided into three districts, Saru, Usu and Ishikari, which were under the ultimate control of Saru, though the relations between their respective inhabitants were not close and intermarriages were avoided. The functions of judge were not entrusted to these chiefs; an indefinite number of a community's members sat in judgement upon its criminals. Capital punishment did not exist, nor was imprisonment resorted to, beating being considered a sufficient and final penalty, except in the case of murder, when the nose and ears of the culprit were cut off or the tendons of his feet severed. Intermarriages between Japanese and Ainu are not infrequent, and at Sambutsu especially, on the eastern coast, many children of such marriages may be seen. Today, many Ainu dislike the term Ainu and prefer to identify themselves as Utari (comrade in the Ainu language). In official documents both names are used.

Geography

For historical reasons (primarily the Russo-Japanese War), nearly all Ainu live in Japan. There is, however, a small number of Ainu living on Sakhalin, most of them descendants of Sakhalin Ainu who were evicted and later returned. There is also an Ainu minority living at the southernmost area of the Kamchatka Peninsula and on the Kurile Islands. However, the only Ainu speakers remaining (besides perhaps a few partial speakers) live solely in Japan. There, they are concentrated primarily on the southern and eastern coasts of the island of Hokkaido. Due to intermarriage with the Japanese and ongoing absorption into the predominant culture, few living Ainu settlements exist. Many "authentic Ainu villages" advertised in Hokkaido are simply tourist attractions.

Language

The Ainu language is significantly different from Japanese in its syntax, phonology, morphology, and vocabulary. Although there have been attempts to show that they are related, the vast majority of modern scholars reject that the relationship goes beyond contact, i.e., mutual borrowing of words between Japanese and Ainu. In fact, no attempt to show a relationship with Ainu to any other language has gained wide acceptance, and Ainu is currently considered to be a language isolate.

Culture

Traditional Ainu culture is quite different from Japanese culture. Never shaving after a certain age, the men had full beards and moustaches. Men and women alike cut their hair level with the shoulders at the sides of the head, but trimmed it semicircularly behind. The women tattooed their mouths, arms, clitorides, and sometimes their foreheads, starting at the onset of puberty. The soot deposited on a pot hung over a fire of birch bark was used for colour. Their traditional dress is a robe spun from the bark of the elm tree. It has long sleeves, reaches nearly to the feet, is folded round the body, and is tied with a girdle of the same material. Women also wear an undergarment of Japanese cloth. In winter the skins of animals were worn, with leggings of deerskin and boots made from the skin of dogs or salmon. Both sexes are fond of earrings, which are said to have been made of grapevine in former times, as also are bead necklaces called tamasay, which the women prized highly. Their traditional cuisine consists of the flesh of bear, fox, wolf, badger, ox or horse, as well as fish, fowl, millet, vegetables, herbs, and roots. They never ate raw fish or flesh, but always either boiled or roasted it. Their traditional habitations were reed-thatched huts, the largest 20 ft. square, without partitions and having a fireplace in the centre. There was no chimney, but only a hole at the angle of the roof; there was one window on the eastern side and there were two doors. The house of the village head was used as a public meeting place when one was needed. Instead of using furniture, they sat on the floor, which was covered with two layers of mats, one of rush, the other of flag; and for beds they spread planks, hanging mats around them on poles, and employing skins for coverlets. The men used chopsticks when eating; the women had wooden spoons. Ainu cuisine is making a comeback with the opening of restuarants in Tokyo and Hokkaido.

Religion

The Ainu believe in Animism, or that everything in nature has a kamuy (spirit or god) on the inside. There is a hierarchy of the kamuy. The most important is grandmother hearth (fire), then kamuy of the mountain (animals), then kamuy of the sea (sea animals), lastly everything else. They have no priests by profession. The village chief performs whatever religious ceremonies are necessary; ceremonies are confined to making libations of rice beer, uttering prayers, and offering willow sticks with wooden shavings attached to them. These sticks are called Inau (singular) and nusa (plural). They are placed on an altar used to sacrifice the heads of killed animals. The Ainu people give thanks to the gods before eating and pray to the deity of fire in time of sickness. They believe their spirits are immortal, and that their spirits will be rewarded hereafter by ascending to kamuy mosir (Land of the Gods). Some Ainu in the north are members of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Sport

The Ainu excel at many competitive physical activities. Due to their taller physical build, the Ainu have outshone the ethnic Japanese in typically Western sports like baseball, football (soccer), and track and field events. This has engendered much resentment from the ethnic Japanese but the athletic feats of the Ainu people are still celebrated throughout Asia nonetheless (Fitzhugh, 364-366)

Institutions

There are many different organizations of Ainu trying to further their cause in many different ways. There is an umbrella group of which most Hokkaido Ainu and some other Ainu are members, called the Hokkaido Utari Association, originally controlled by the government with the intention of speeding Ainu assimilation and integration into the Japanese nation-state but which now operates mostly independently of the government and is run exclusively by Ainu. Hokkaido Utari Association

Subgroups

- Tohoku Ainu (from Honshu, no known living population)
- Hokkaido Ainu
- Sakhalin Ainu
- Kuril Ainu (no known living population)
- Kamchatka Ainu
- Amur Valley Ainu (probably none remain)

References

- Article on the Ainu in Japan's Minorities: The Illusion of Homogeneity.
- Kayano, Shigeru. Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir (1994). Translated by Kyoko Selden and Lili Selden. Foreword by Mikiso Hane. Transitions--Asia and Asian America series. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
-

External links

- [http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/english/english.html The Ainu Museum]
- [http://www.ainu-assn.or.jp/ Nippon Utari Kyokai]
- [http://www.molli.org.uk/explorers/the_regions/north_america.asp Ainu-North American cultural similarities]
- [http://www.rgj.com/news/specials/story9.html Spirit Cave Man May Rewrite Continent's History] Category:Indigenous peoples of Asia Category:Indigenous peoples of East Asia Category:Ethnic groups of Japan ko:아이누족 ja:アイヌ simple:Ainu th:ชาวไอนุ

Nivkhs

The Nivkhs (also Nivkh or Gilyak; ethnonym: Nivxi; language, нивхгу - Nivxgu) are an indigenous people inhabiting the region of the region of the Amur River estuary and on nearby Sakhalin Island. They numbered about 4,600 in the late 20th century. Most speak Russian, though about 10 percent speak the Nivkh language. For many centuries the Nivkhs were tributary to the Manchu empire. After the Treaty of Nerchinsk, 1689 they functioned as intermediaries between the Russians, Manchu and Japanese, these last via their vassals, the Ainu. Their lands extended along the northern coast of Manchuria from the Russian fortress at Tugur eastward to the mouth of the Amur at Nikolayevsk, then south through the Straits of Tatary as far as De Castries Bay. The Nivkhs suffered severely from the Cossack conquest and imposition of the Tsarist Russian penal policy which turned the whole island of Sakhalin into a penal settlement. There followed two occupations by the Japanese in 1904-5 and 1920-5, plus the Russian Revolution, Stalin's witch-hunts and the collectivizations, with the Nivkh being used as a 'model' nation that had gone directly from the stone age to socialism. Despite these vicissitudes, the Nivkhs nation survived. After the Russian revolution, a Gilyak Autonomous Okrug was created during the 1920s straddling the Tatar Strait. Chuner Taksami is the first modern literary figure. In the post-Soviet Russian commonwealth of nations they have fared better than the Ainu or the Kamchadals but nothing like as well as the Chukchi or the Tuvans. At present, the Nivkhs living in the North of Sakhalin island see their future threatend by the giant offshore oil extraction projects known as Sakhalin I and Sakhalin II. The projects are operated by Exxon and a consortium known as Sakhalin Engergy Ltd., led by Anglo-Dutch corporation Shell. Since January 2005 the Nivkh, led by their elected leader Alexey Limanzo have engaged in non-violent protest actions, demanding an independent ethnological assessment of Shell's and Exxons plans. Solidarity actions have been staged in Moscow, New York and later in Berlin.

References

- Anton Chekhov: "Ostrov Saxalin" Eng. transl. Brian Reeve, Cambridge 1993.
- Bruce Grant: "In the Soviet House of Culture" , Princeton 1995.
- Lev Shternberg: "The Social Organization of the Gilyak", Seattle 1999.

External links

- [http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/nivkhs.shtml The Nivkhs] from The Red Book
- [http://web.archive.org/web/20040218150608/http://odur.let.rug.nl/~bergmann/russia/languages/nivkh.htm The Nivkh People and Language] (Internet Archive, Feb 18, 2004)
- [http://ext-web.edu.sgu.ac.jp/hidetos/ Sound Materials of the Nivkh Language] The World's Largest Sound Archive of the Nivkh Language on the Web
- http://www.pacificenvironment.org/russia/sakhalin/index.html Shell Oil on Sakhalin - Putting Profits before People and the Environment Category:Ethnic groups of Russia Category:Indigenous peoples of North Asia Category:Manchuria ko:니브히족 ja:ニヴフ

Japanese Archipelago

The Japanese Archipelago which forms the country of Japan extends from north to south along the eastern coast of the Eurasian Continent, the western shore of the Pacific Ocean. It consists of more than 1000 islands, including the four Main Islands (in descending order from North to South): # Hokkaido (Farthest North) # Honshu # Kyushu # Shikoku (Farthest South; i.e.: Its highest point is farther south than the highest points of all the others) Category:Archipelagoes Category:Islands of Japan ko:일본 열도 ja:日本列島

Emigration

Emigration is the act and the phenomenon of leaving one's native country to settle abroad. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of state boundaries or within one state, is termed migration. There are many reasons why people might choose to emigrate. Some for political or economic reasons. Some might have found a spouse while visiting another country and emigrate to be with them. Many older people living in rich nations with cold climates will choose to move to warmer climates when they retire. climate, commemorating the thousands of emigrants who left the country to start a new life in the United States. ]] Many political or economic emigrants move together with their families toward new regions or new countries where they hope to find peace or job opportunities not available to them in their original location. Throughout history a large number of emigrants return to their homelands, often after they have earned sufficient money in the other country. Sometimes these emigrants move to countries with big cultural differences and will always feel as guests in their destinations, and preserve their original culture, traditions and language, sometimes transmitting them to their children. The conflict between the native and the newer culture may easily create social contrasts, generally resulting in an uncomfortable situation for the "foreigners", who have to understand legal and social systems sometimes new and strange to them. Often, communities of emigrants grow up in the destination areas, collecting immigrants of common provenance, also to help for integration. Emigration had a profound influence on the world in the 19th and the 20th century, when hundreds of thousands of poor families left Western Europe for the United States, South America and Australia. Even though definitions may be vague and vary somewhat, emigration/immigration should not be confused with the phenomenon of involuntary migration, such as instances of population transfer or ethnic cleansing. Motives to migrate can be either incentives attracting you away, known as pull factors, or circumstances encouraging a person to leave, known as push factors, for example:

Push factors

- War or other armed conflict
- Famine or drought
- Disease
- Political reasons
- Religious intolerance
- Natural disasters These factors generally do not affect people in developed countries; even a natural disaster is unlikely to cause out-migration.

Pull factors

- Adventure,
- Higher incomes,
- Better medical facilities,
- Better education facilities,
- Family reasons,
- Political stability,
- Religious tolerance,
- Often these are based on perceptions rather than realistic information, If the migration is dominated by pull factors, it is voluntary migration. If it is based on push factors it is forced migration.

Hawaii

Hawaii (Hawaiian/Hawaiian English: Hawaii, with the okina; also, historically, the Sandwich Islands) is the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Admitted on August 21, 1959, Hawaii constitutes the 50th state of the United States and is situated 2500 miles from the mainland. It is the southernmost part of that country. As of the 2000 U.S. Census it had a population of 1,211,537 people. Honolulu is the largest city and the state capital. Hawaiis the most recently admitted state of the United States. In addition to possessing the southernmost point in the United States, it is the only state that lies completely in the tropics. As one of two states outside the contiguous United States (the other being Alaska), it is the only state without territory on the mainland of any continent and it is the only state that continues to grow due to active lava flows, most notably from Kīlauea. Ethnically, Hawaii is the only state that has a majority group that is non-white (and one of only four in which non-Hispanic whites do not form a majority) and has the largest percentage of Asian Americans. For various reasons, Hawaii is considered the endangered species capital of the United States.

Symbols

The state constitution and various other measures of the Hawaii State Legislature established official symbols meant to embody the distinctive culture and heritage of Hawaii. These include a state bird, state fish, state flower, state gem, state mammal, state tree and the state muffin, though only a few other states share this symbol, like Washington. Included are the two statues representing Hawaii in the United States Capitol. The primary symbol is the state flag, Ka Hae Hawaii, influenced by the British Union Flag and features eight horizontal stripes representing the eight major Hawaiian Islands. The constitution declares the state motto to be Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Āina i ka Pono, a pronouncement of King Kamehameha III meaning, "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." It was also the motto of the kingdom, republic and territory. The official languages are Hawaiian and Hawaiian English. Hawaiian Pidgin is an unofficial language. The state song is Hawaii ponoi, written by King Kalākaua and composed by Henri Berger. Hawaii Aloha is the unofficial state song, often sung in official state event. Image:Nene.neck.arp.600pix.jpg|Hawaiian Goose
Nēnē
State Bird Image:Humuhumunukunukuapuaa.jpg|Reef Triggerfish
Humuhumunukunukuāpua'a
State Fish Image:Maohauhele.jpg|Hawaiian Hibiscus
Mao hau hele
State Flower Image:Aleuritesmoluccana1web.jpg|Candlenut
Kukui
State Tree Image:Humpback Whale underwater shot.jpg|Humpback Whale
Koholā kuapio
State Mammal Image:Fatherdamienstatue2.jpg|Father Damien Statue
State Capitol Image:Kamehamehastatue.jpg|Kamehameha Statue
Aliiolani Hale - State Supreme Court

Geography

Main article: Hawaiian Islands Nineteen islands and atolls extending across a distance of 2,400 km (1,500 mi) comprise the Hawaiian Archipelago. The main islands are the eight high islands at the southeastern end of the island chain. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Kahoolawe, Maui and the Island of Hawaii. All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor through a vent described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. This explains why only volcanoes on the southern half of the Island of Hawaii are presently active. The last volcanic eruption outside the Island of Hawaii happened at Haleakalā on Maui in the late 18th century. The newest volcano to form is Lōihi, deep below the waters off the south coast of the Island of Hawaii. The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the wide range of environments to be found on high islands located in and near the tropics, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and fauna. The volcanic activity and subsequent erosion created impressive geological features. Those conditions make Mount Waialeale the wettest place on earth; it averages 11.7 m (460 in) of rain annually. The movement of the Hawaiian royal family from the Island of Hawaii to Maui and subsequently to Oahu explains why certain population centers exist where they do today. The largest city, Honolulu, was the one chosen by King Kamehameha III as the capital of his kingdom due to the natural harbor there, the present-day Honolulu Harbor. Other large cities and towns include Hilo, Kahului and Līhue. Image:Niihausatellite.jpg|Niihau Image:Kauai from space oriented.jpg|Kauai Image:Oahu.jpg|Oahu Image:Maui.jpg|Maui Image:Molokaifromsatellite.jpg|Molokai Image:Lanaisatellite.jpg|Lānai Image:Kahoolawesatellite.jpg|Kahoolawe Image:STS61A-50-57.jpg|Hawaii

Climate

The Climate of Hawaii is typical of tropical areas. It is famous for being warm throughout the whole year; during the summer, the temperature may reach to around 90 degrees Farenheit. Though people who live in Hawaii often complain about the heat, tourists generally enjoy the warm weather, as many of them come from locations of colder climates. Thus, Hawaii has become a popular tourist destination in the wintertime, when the Hawaiian weather would be above 70 degrees Farenheit. Hawaii is also popular with tourists in the summer because it does not suffer from the same heat waves that occur in the continental North America -- Hawaii has tradewinds which keep excess heat away. The main portions of Oahu can be divided into Windward and Leeward sections, divided by a mountain range. The Windward side enjoys more rain. However the Leeward side's drier climate has benefitted toward the plantation industries.

History

Hawaiian antiquity

Main article: Ancient Hawaii, Hawaiian mythology, Polynesian mythology Anthropologists believe that Polynesians from the Marquesas and Society Islands first populated the Hawaiian Islands in approximately 300AD, followed by Tahitian settlers in approximately 1300AD who conquered and eliminated the original inhabitants of the islands. These Tahitian conquerors preserved memories of their migrations orally through genealogies and folk tales, like the stories of Hawaiiloa and Paao. Relations with other Polynesian groups were sporadic during the early migratory periods, and Hawaii grew from small settlements to a complex society in near isolation. Voyaging between Hawai'i and the South Pacific apparently ceased with no explanation several centuries before European arrival. Local chiefs called alii ruled their settlements and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Warfare was endemic. The general trend was towards chiefdoms of increasing size, even encompassing whole islands. Vague reports by various European explorers suggest that Hawaii was visited by foreigners well before the 1778 arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook. Historians credited Cook with the discovery after he was the first to plot and publish the geographical coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands. Cook named his discovery the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his sponsors, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.

Hawaiian kingdom

Main article: Kingdom of Hawaii After a series of battles that ended in 1795 and peaceful cession of the island of Kauai in 1810, the Hawaiian Islands were united for the first time under a single ruler who would become known as King Kamehameha the Great. He established the House of Kamehameha, a dynasty that ruled over the kingdom until 1872. One of the most important events during those years was the suppression of the Hawaii Catholic Church. That led to the Edict of Toleration that established religious freedom in the Hawaiian Islands. The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V who did not name an heir resulted in the election of King Lunalilo. After him, governance was passed on to the House of Kalākaua. However, local businessmen effectively rendered the monarchy powerless by enacting the Bayonet Constitution. Among other things, it stripped the king of his administrative authorities, eliminated voting rights for all Asians, and required specific income and property requirements for all other European and native Hawaiian voters, essentially limiting the electorate to elite native Hawaiians and Europeans. King Kalākaua reigned until his death in 1891. His sister, Liliuokalani, succeeded him to the throne and ruled until her dethronement in 1893, a coup d'état orchestrated by local businessmen and government officials with the help of an armed militia The Honolulu Rifles, instigated by the Queen's threat to abrogate the constitution. Governance was again passed, this time into the hands of a provisional government and then to an independent Republic of Hawaii. During the kingdom era and subsequent republican regime, Iolani Palace — the only official royal residence in the United States today — served as the capitol buildings. Image:Kamehamehaportrait.jpg|Kamehameha Image:Kamehamehaii.jpg|Kamehameha II Image:Kamehamehaiii.jpg|Kamehameha III Image:Alexanderliholiho.jpg|Kamehameha IV Image:Kamehamehav.jpg|Kamehameha V Image:Williamcharleslunalilo.jpg|Lunalilo Image:Kalakauapainting.jpg|Kalākaua Image:Liliuokalani2.jpg|Liliuokalani

Hawaiian territory

Main article: Territory of Hawaii The Newlands Resolution was passed on July 7, 1898, formally annexing Hawaii as a United States territory. In 1900, it was granted self-governance and retained Iolani Palace as the territorial capitol building. Though several attempts were made to achieve statehood, Hawaii remained a territory for sixty years. Plantation owners, like those that comprised the so-called Big Five, found territorial status convenient, enabling them to continue importing cheap foreign labor; such immigration was prohibited in various other states of the Union. The power of the plantation owners was finally broken by activist descendants of original immigrant laborers. Because they were born in a United States territory, they were legal U.S. citizens. Expecting to gain full voting rights, they actively campaigned for statehood for the Hawaiian Islands. In March 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Admission Act and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law. (The act excluded Palmyra Atoll, part of the Kingdom and Territory of Hawaii, from the new state.) On June 27 of that year, a plebiscite was held asking Hawaiians to vote on accepting the statehood bill. Hawaii voted 17 to 1 to accept. On August 21, church bells throughout Honolulu were rung upon the proclamation that Hawaii was finally the 50th state of the Union.

Hawaiian statehood

After statehood, Hawaii quickly became a modern state with a construction boom and rapidly growing economy. The Hawaii Republican Party, which was strongly supported by the plantation owners, was voted out of office. In its place, the Democratic Party of Hawaii dominated state politics for forty years. The state also worked toward restoring the native Hawaiian culture. The Hawaii State Constitutional Convention of 1978 heralded what some called a Hawaiian renaissance. Its delegates created programs that sought to revive the indigenous Hawaiian language and culture. In addition, they sought to promote native control over Hawaiian issues by creating the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Languages

Main articles: Hawaiian language, Hawaiian English The state of Hawaii has two official languages as prescribed by the Constitution of Hawaii adopted at the 1978 constitutional convention: Hawaiian and English. Article XV, Section 4 requires the use of Hawaiian in official state business such as public acts, documents, laws and transactions. Standard Hawaiian English, a subset of American English, is also commonly used for other formal business. Hawaiian is legally acceptable in all legal documents, from depositions to legislative bills. The third and fourth most spoken languages are Tagalog and Japanese, respectively.

Origins

Before the arrival of Captain James Cook, the Hawaiian language was purely a spoken language. The first written form of Hawaiian was developed by American Protestant missionaries in Hawaii during the early 19th century. The missionaries assigned letters from the English alphabet that roughly corresponded to the Hawaiian sounds. Later, additional characters were added to clarify pronunciation. The okina indicates a glottal stop while the macron called kahakō signifies a long vowel sound. When a Hawaiian word is spelled without any necessary okina and kahakō, it is impossible for someone who does not already know the word to guess at the proper pronunciation. Omission of the okina and kahakō in printed texts can even obscure the meaning of the word. For example, the word lanai means stiff-necked. However, when spelled as lānai it means veranda while Lānai refers to an island. This can be a problem in interpreting 19th century Hawaiian texts recorded in the older orthography. For these reasons, careful writers use the modern Hawaiian orthography.

Revival

As a result of the constitutional provision, interest in the Hawaiian language was revived in the late 20th century. Public and independent schools throughout the state began teaching Hawaiian language standards as part of the regular curricula, beginning with preschool. With the help of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, also created by the 1978 constitutional convention, specially designated Hawaiian language immersion schools were established where students would be taught in all subjects using Hawaiian. Also, the University of Hawaii System developed the only Hawaiian language graduate studies program in the world. Municipal codes were altered in favor of Hawaiian place and street names for new civic developments.

Pidgin

Over the course of Hawaiian history, a third language was developed that is in common use throughout the state today. Originally considered a mere dialect of Hawaiian English, cultural anthropologists have recently reached consensus that Hawaiian Pidgin is a distinct language on its own. Hawaiian Pidgin finds its origins in the sugarcane and pineapple plantations as laborers from different cultures were forced to find their own ways of communicating and understanding each other. Laborer emigrants from different countries — China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Portugal — began composing their own words and phrases based on their own language traditions, which merged with Hawaiian and Hawaiian English.

Debates

A somewhat divisive political issue that has arisen since the Constitution of Hawaii adopted Hawaiian as an official state language is the exact spelling of the state's name. As prescribed in the Admission Act of 1959 that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government recognizes Hawaii to be the official state name. However, many state and municipal entities and officials have recognized Hawaii to be the correct state name. Official government publications, as well as department and office titles, use the traditional Hawaiian spelling. Private entities, including local mass media, also have shown a preference for the use of the okina. While in local Hawaiian society the spelling and pronunciation of Hawaii is preferred in nearly all cases, even by standard English speakers, the federal spelling is used for purposes of interpolitical relations between other states and foreign governments. The nuances in the Hawaiian language debate are often not obvious or well-appreciated outside Hawaii. The issue has often been a source of friction in situations where correct naming conventions are mandated, as people frequently disagree over which spelling is correct or incorrect, and where it is correctly or incorrectly applied.

Government

The state government of Hawaii is modeled after the federal government with adaptations originating from the kingdom era of Hawaiian history. As codified in the Constitution of Hawaii, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is led by the Governor of Hawaii and assisted by the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, both elected on the same ticket. The governor, in residence at Washington Place, is the only public official elected for the state government in a statewide race; all other administrators and judges are appointed by the governor. The lieutenant governor is concurrently the Secretary of State of Hawaii. Both the governor and lieutenant governor administer their duties from the Hawaii State Capitol. The governor and lieutenant governor oversee the major agencies and departments of the executive of which there are twenty. The legislative branch consists of the Hawaii State Legislature — the twenty-five members of the Hawaii State Senate led by the President of the Senate and the fifty-one members of the Hawaii State House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House. They also govern from the Hawaii State Capitol. The judicial branch is led by the highest state court, the Hawaii State Supreme Court, which uses Aliiolani Hale as its chambers. Lower courts are organized as the Hawaii State Judiciary. The state is represented in the Congress of the United States by a delegation of four members. They are the senior and junior United States Senators, the representative of the First Congressional District of Hawaii and the representative of the Second Congressional District of Hawaii. Many Hawaii residents have been appointed to administer other agencies and departments of the federal government by the President of the United States. All federal officers of Hawaii administer their duties locally from the Prince Kuhio Federal Building near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor. Hawaii is primarily dominated by the Democratic Party and has supported Democrats in 10 of the 12 presidential elections in which it has participated. In 2004, John Kerry won the state's 4 electoral votes by a margin of 9 percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county in the state supported the Democratic candidate. The Prince Kuhio Federal Building also houses agencies of the federal government such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the United States Secret Service. The building is the site of the federal courts and the offices of the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, principal law enforcement officer of the United States Department of Justice in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii. Image:Lindalingle.jpg|Linda Lingle
Governor
(Republican) Image:Jamesaiona.jpg|James R. Aiona, Jr.
Lieutenant Governor
(Republican) Image:Bunda.jpg|Robert Bunda
Senate President
(Democrat) Image:Daniel Inouye.jpg|Daniel Inouye
U.S. Senator
(Democrat) Image:Daniel Akaka.jpg|Daniel Akaka
U.S. Senator
(Democrat) Image:Neilabercrombie.jpg|Neil Abercrombie
U.S. Representative
(Democrat) Image:Edcaseofficial.jpg|Edward Case
U.S. Representative
(Democrat) Image:Mayorharrykim.jpg|Harry Kim
Mayor of Hawaii
(Nonpartisan) Image:Mufihannemann.jpg|Mufi Hannemann
Mayor of Honolulu
(Nonpartisan) Image:Bryanjbaptiste.jpg|Bryan J. Baptiste
Mayor of Kauai
(Nonpartisan) Image:Mayoralanarakawa.jpg|Alan Arakawa
Mayor of Maui
(Nonpartisan) Unique to Hawaii is the way it has organized its municipal governments. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaii except the City & County of Honolulu. All other municipal governments are administered at the county level. The county executives are the Mayor of Hawaii, Mayor of Honolulu, Mayor of Kauai and Mayor of Maui. All mayors in the state are elected in nonpartisan races. The officers of the federal and state governments have been historically elected from the Democratic Party of Hawaii and the Hawaii Republican Party. Municipal charters in the state have declared all mayors to be elected in nonpartisan races.

Economy

The history of Hawaii can be traced through a succession of dominating industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood was achieved in 1959, tourism continues to be the largest industry in Hawaii, contributing 24.3% of the Gross State Product (GSP) in 1997. Most recently, new efforts were created to diversify the economy. The total gross output for the state in 2003 was USD $47 billion. Per capita income for Hawaii residents was USD $30,441. Industrial exports from Hawaii include food processing and apparel. However, because of the considerable shipping distance to markets on the west coast of the United States and ports of Japan, these industries play a small role in the Hawaii economy. The main agricultural exports are nursery stock and flowers, coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugar cane. Agricultural sales for 2002, according to the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service, were USD $370.9 million from diversified agriculture, USD $100.6 million from pineapple, and USD $64.3 million from sugarcane. Hawaii is known for its relatively high per capita state tax burden. In the years 2002 and 2003, Hawaii residents had the highest state tax per capita at USD $2,757 and USD $2,838 respectively. This rate can be explained partly by the fact that services such as education, health care and social services are all rendered at the state level — as opposed to the municipal level as all other states. Also, millions of tourists contribute to the collection figure by paying the general excise tax and hotel room tax. Therefore, not all the taxes collected come directly from residents. However, business leaders have often considered the state's tax burden as being too high, contributing to both higher prices and the perception of an unfriendly business climate [http://starbulletin.com/2004/05/21/news/story1.html]. For more information about commercial industries in Hawaii, see the list of businesses in Hawaii.

Education

Main article: Hawaii State Department of Education Hawaii is currently the only state in the union with a unified school system statewide. It is also the oldest public education system west of the Mississippi River. Policy decisions are made by the fourteen-member state Board of Education, with thirteen members elected for four-year terms and one non-voting student member. The Board of Education sets statewide educational policy and hires the state superintendent of schools, who oversees the operations of the state Department of Education. The Department of Education is also divided into seven districts, four on Oahu and one for each of the other counties. The structure of the state Department of Education has been a subject of discussion and controversy in recent years. The main rationale for the current centralized model is equity in school funding and distribution of resources: leveling out inequalities that would exist between highly populated Oahu and the more rural Neighbor Islands, and between lower-income and more affluent areas of the state. This system of school funding differs from many localities in the United States where schools are funded from local property taxes. However, policy initiatives have been made in recent years toward decentralization. Current Governor Linda Lingle is a proponent of replacing the current statewide board with seven elected district boards. The Democrat-controlled state legislature opposed her proposal, instead favoring expansion of decision-making power to the schools and giving schools more discretion over budgeting. Political debate of structural reform is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Schools and academies

Hawaii has the distinction of educating more students in independent institutions of secondary education than any other state in the United States. It also has four of the largest independent schools: Mid-Pacific Institute, Iolani School, Kamehameha Schools and Punahou School. Other popular independent schools include: Hawaii Baptist Academy, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Maryknoll School, St. Andrew's Priory, and Saint Louis School. A highly rated public high school often cited as comparable to the state's independent schools is Moanalua High School. It should be noted that independent and charter schools can select their students, while the regular public schools must take all students in their district. For a comprehensive list of independent schools, see the list of independent schools in Hawaii. For a comprehensive list of public schools, see the list of public schools in Hawaii.

Colleges and universities

Graduates of institutions of secondary learning in Hawaii often either enter directly into the workforce or attend colleges and universities. While many choose to attend colleges and universities on the mainland or elsewhere, most choose to attend one of many institutions of higher learning in Hawaii. The largest of these institutions is the University of Hawaii System. Its main campuses are in Hilo, Manoa and West Oahu. Students choosing private education attend Brigham Young University Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University and University of the Nations. The Saint Stephen Diocesan Center is a seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. For a comprehensive list of colleges and universities, see the list of colleges and universities in Hawaii.

Problems

Public schools in Hawaii have to deal with large populations of children of non-native English speaking immigrants and a culture that is different in many ways from mainland US, where most of the course materials come from and where most of the standards for schools are set. The public elementary, middle, and high school scores in Hawaii tend to be below average on national tests as mandated under the No Child Left Behind Act. Some of this can be attributed to the Hawaii State Board of Education requiring all eligible students to take these tests and reporting all student test scores unlike, for example, Texas and Michigan. Results reported in August 2005 indicate that two-thirds of Hawaii's schools failed to reach federal minimum performance standards in math and reading (of 282 schools across the state, 185 failed [http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/education/4870699/detail.html]). On the other hand, results of the ACT college placement tests show that Hawaii class of 2005 seniors scored slightly above the national average (21.9 compared with 20.9) (Honolulu Advertiser, Aug. 17, 2005, p. B1). It should be noted that fewer students take the ACT examination than take the more widely accepted SAT examination. On the SAT Hawaii's college bound seniors tend to score below the national average except in math. Hawaii, like all other states in the United States, is struggling to provide educational services in its public schools with shrinking budgets.

Media

Newspapers

Two major competing Honolulu-based newspapers serve all of Hawaii. The Honolulu Advertiser is owned by Gannett Pacific Corporation while the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is owned by Black Press of British Columbia in Canada. Both are two of the largest newspapers in the United States, in terms of circulation. Other locally published newspapers are available to residents of the various islands. The Hawaii business community is served by the Pacific Business News and Hawaii Business Magazine. The largest religious community in Hawaii is served by the Hawaii Catholic Herald. Honolulu Magazine is a popular magazine that offers local interest news and feature articles. Apart from the mainstream press, the state also enjoys a vibrant ethnic publication presence with newspapers for the Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Native Hawaiian communities. In addition, there is an alternative weekly, the Honolulu Weekly.

Television

All the major television networks are represented in Hawaii through KFVE (WB network affiliate), KGMB (CBS network affiliate), KHET (PBS network affiliate), KHNL (NBC network affiliate), KHON (Fox network affiliate), KIKU (UPN network affiliate) and KITV (ABC network affiliate), among others. From Honolulu, programming at these stations is rebroadcast to the various other islands via networks of satellite transmitters. Until the advent of satellite, most network programming was broadcast a week behind mainland scheduling. The various production companies that work with the major networks have produced television series and other projects in Hawaii. Most notable were police dramas like Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O. Currently, the hit TV show Lost is filmed in the Hawaiian Islands. A comprehensive list of such projects can be seen at the list of Hawaii television series.

Film

Hawaii a growing film industry administered by the state through the Hawaii Film Office. Several television shows, movies and various other media projects were produced in the Hawaiian Islands taking advantage of the natural scenic landscapes as backdrops. Notable films produced in Hawaii or were inspired by Hawaii include Hawaii, Blue Hawaii, From Here to Eternity, South Pacific, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Outbreak, Waterworld, Six Days Seven Nights, George of the Jungle, 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbor, Blue Crush and Lilo & Stitch. Hawaii is home to a prominent film festival known as the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Culture

:Main article: Culture of Hawaii The aboriginal culture of Hawaii is Polynesian. Hawaii represents the northernmost extension of the vast Polynesian triangle of the south and central Pacific Ocean. While traditional Hawaiian culture remains only as vestiges influencing modern Hawaiian society, there are reenactments of ancient ceremonies and traditions throughout the islands. Some of these cultural influences are strong enough to have impacted the culture of the United States at large, including the popularity (in greatly modified form) of luaus and hula.
- Customs and etiquette in Hawaii
- Folklore in Hawaii
- Hawaiian mythology
- List of Hawaii state parks
- List of Hawaii State Landmarks
- List of Hawaii-related topics
- Literature in Hawaii
- Music of Hawaii
- Polynesian mythology
- Tourism of Hawaii

Demographics

As of 2004, the population of Hawaii was 1,262,840. The population of Hawaii is approximately 1.2 million, while the de facto population is over 1.3 million due to military presence and tourists. Oahu is the most populous island, with a population of just under one million. Hawaii was the first majority-minority state in the United States since the early twentieth century. According to the 2000 Census, 6.6% of Hawaii's population identified themselves as Native Hawaiian, 24.3% were White or Caucasian, including Portuguese and 41.6% were Asian, including 0.1% Asian Indian, 4.7% Chinese, 14.1% Filipino, 16.7% Japanese, 1.9% Korean and 0.6% Vietnamese. 1.3% were other Pacific Islander which includes Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, Maori and Micronesian, and 21.4% described themselves as mixed (two or more races/ethnic groups). 1.8% were Black or African American and 0.3% were Native American and Alaska Native. The second group of foreigners to arrive upon Hawaii's shores, after the Europeans, were the Chinese. Chinese employees serving on Western trading ships disembarked and settled starting in 1789. In 1820 the first American missionaries arrived in Hawaii to preach Christianity and teach the Hawaiians what the missionaries considered "civilized" ways. A large proportion of Hawaii's population has become a people of Asian ancestry (especially Chinese, Japanese and Filipino), many of whom are descendants from those waves of early foreign immigrants brought to the islands in the nineteenth century, beginning in the 1850's, to work on the sugar plantations. The first Japanese arrived in Hawaii on February 9, 1885. The largest city is the capital, Honolulu, located along the southeast coast of the island of Oahu. Other populous cities include Hilo, Kāneohe, Kailua, Pearl City, Kahului, and Kailua-Kona. As of 2000, 73.4% of Hawaii residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 7.9% speak Pacific Island languages. Tagalog is the third most spoken language at 5.4%, followed by Japanese at 5.0% and Chinese at 2.6%.
- Religion
- Christian = 68%
- Protestant = 42%
- Congregational/United Church of Christ= 3%
- Baptist = 2%
- Methodist = 2%
- Catholic = 24%
- Mormon = 2%
- Agnostic/non-religious = 18%
- Buddhist = 9%
- Other(e.g. Shinto, Tao, pagan) = 5%
- See also: Richest Places in Hawaii

Famous people from Hawaii

The list of famous people from Hawaii is a comprehensive, alphabetized list of persons who have achieved fame that presently or at one time claimed Hawaii as their home. Separate registers of members of the Hawaiian royal family and Hawaii politicians are also available. Image:Fatherdamien.jpg|Father Damien
Beatified towards sainthood by Pope John Paul II Image:Mothermariannecope.jpg|Mother Marianne Cope
Beatified towards sainthood by Pope Benedict XVI Image:Fong.jpg|Hiram Fong
First Chinese American and Asian American elected United States Senator Image:Dukesurfer.jpg|Duke Kahanamoku
Inventor of modern surfing and 1912, 1920 and 1924 Olympics champion Image:Georgeariyoshi.jpg|George R. Ariyoshi
First Japanese American and Asian American elected governor in the United States Image:Ericshinseki.jpg|Eric Shinseki
First Japanese American and Asian American member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Image:Ben cayetano adresses legislature.jpg|Ben Cayetano
First Filipino American and second Asian american elected governor in the United States

External links

-
- [http://www.state.hi.us Official state homepage]
- [http://www.gohawaii.com Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau]
- [http://www.hawaiianswers.com HawaiiAnswers.com] - a FAQ repository for Hawaii
- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=15304 Satellite image of Hawaiian Islands] at NASA's Earth Observatory
- [http://www.google.com/maps?ll=20.731201,-157.675781&spn=5.218506,8.107910&t=k&hl=en Google maps]
- [http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/lacroix.hawaii.history Economic History of Hawaii]
Category:States of the United States zh-min-nan:Hawai‘i ja:ハワイ州 ko:하와이 주 simple:Hawaii th:มลรัฐฮาวาย

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with claims extending to the North Pole. The northern-most country on the mainland of North America, Canada has land borders only with the United States. Governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation of ten provinces with three territories. Initially constituted in 1867, the country's constitution was patriated in 1982 from the United Kingdom. Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle Jean. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Paul Martin; his minority government recently lost a vote of non-confidence in the Canadian House of Commons and asked for the dissolution of the Parliament by the Governor General, who then issued a Royal proclamation authorising the issue of election writs, and stating a federal election will take place on 2006 January 23. Canada's official languages are English and French. As of 2005, its official population estimate is approximately 32.4 million ^{[http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm]}.

Overview

The capital city is Ottawa, Ontario, the seat of Canada's Parliament. The Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Loyal Opposition, and the Speaker of the House of Commons have official residences in the National Capital Region.National Capital Region, Ontario.]] Originally a union of British colonies with significant French influence and entitled as a "dominion", Canada is a founding member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La Francophonie. Canada defines itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English is the official (and majority) language in most provinces of Canada.
- French is the official language of Quebec, an official language of New Brunswick, and is spoken in various areas throughout the country.
- Several Aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories; Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut and has official status there. Canada is a technologically advanced and industrialized nation. It is a net exporter of energy because of its large fossil fuel deposits, nuclear energy generation, and hydroelectric power capacity. Its diversified economy relies heavily on an abundance of natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States, with which it has had a long and complex relationship. Canada has ten provinces and three territories: Canada's major cities that are not capital cities include Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.

Canada's name

The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, which means "village" or "settlement". In 1535, locals used the word to tell Jacques Cartier the way to Stadacona, site of present-day Quebec City. Cartier used Canada to refer not only to Stadacona, but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona; by 1547, maps began referring to this and the surrounding area as Canada.

History

Aboriginal tradition holds that the First Peoples have inhabited parts of what is now called Canada since the dawn of time. Archaeological records show that these lands have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Several Viking expeditions occurred circa AD 1000, with evidence of settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. British claims to North America date from 1497, when John Cabot reached what he called Newfoundland, though it is unclear whether Cabot landed in current Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Maine. French claims date from explorations by Jacques Cartier (from 1534) and Samuel de Champlain (from 1603). Neither Cabot's nor Cartier's explorations left any permanent settlers behind. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1604, French settlers were the first Europeans to settle permanently in what is now Canada. After an unsuccessful winter in St. Croix Island (today in Maine), they settled Port-Royal in what is now the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, but moved to found Quebec City in 1608. The current Acadians are descendants of settlers who came later in the same century and re-founded Port-Royal. New France was generally the name given to the French colonies of Canada and Acadia (and later Louisiana).Louisiana, depicts British General Wolfe's final moments during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.]] British settlements were established along the Atlantic seaboard and around Hudson Bay. As these colonies expanded, a struggle for control of North America took place between 1689 and 1763 (see French and Indian Wars), exacerbated by wars in Europe between France and Great Britain. France progressively lost territory to Great Britain, surrendering peninsular Nova Scotia in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the remainder of New France including what was left of Acadia in the Treaty of Paris (1763). During and after the American Revolution approximately 70,000 [http://www.uelac.org/whatis.html] Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies. Of these, roughly 50,000 United Empire Loyalists [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0850061.html] settled in the British North American colonies which then consisted of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Province of Quebec, and Prince Edward Island (created 1769). To accommodate the Loyalists, Britain created the colony of New Brunswick in 1784 from part of Nova Scotia, and divided Quebec into Lower Canada and Upper Canada under the Constitutional Act of 1791. The War of 1812 began when the U.S. attacked British forces in Canada in an attempt to end British influence in North America (and particularly, the British seizures of American merchant ships in the Atlantic). In April 1813, U.S. forces burned York (now Toronto). The British/Canadians retaliated with the burning of Washington (DC) in a surprise attack in August 1814, but were subsequently turned back at Plattsburgh, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. It was only after the French and Napoleonic wars ended in Europe that large-scale immigration to Canada resumed. The Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada, with the Act of Union (1840) in an attempt to assimilate the French Canadians. Once the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel north as its border with western British North America, the British government created the colonies of British Columbia in 1848 and Vancouver Island in 1849. By the late 1850s, politicians in the Province of Canada had launched a series of western exploratory expeditions with the intention of assuming control of Rupert's Land (administered by the Hudson's Bay Company) and the Arctic. In 1864 and 1866, British North American politicians, in what became known as the Great Coalition, held three conferences to create a federal union. Spearheaded by John A. Macdonald, on July 1, 1867, three colonies—Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were granted a constitution, the British North America Act, by the United Kingdom, creating the Dominion of Canada. The term "Canadian Confederation" refers to this 1867 unification of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East or Lower Canada), and Ontario (formerly Canada West or Upper Canada). The remaining British colonies and territories soon joined Confederation. By 1880 Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949. (It should be noted that, although part of Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan did not gain Provincial status until 1905.) Newfoundland and Labrador In 1919, Canada became a member of the League of Nations and, in the Imperial Conference of 1926, Canada assumed full control of its own through the Balfour Declaration. In 1927, Canada appointed its first ambassador to a foreign country, the