>> This is around twenty-five different kinds of *cool!* <<
Yay!
>>I have a case of the major warm fuzzies, and I can't entirely articulate why. <<
Maybe because haka can have words in it, but is primarily about expression emotion through dance moves.
>> If I say that the idea of a group of people unifying in song/dance in response to a challenge really appeals somehow, <<
There are equivalents elsewhere, too. Different versions appear throughout much of Oceania. Some Native American cultures use communal song/dance for very similar purposes including ceremonies and war posturing. In the Great Plains cultures, the most prestigious form of counting coup was to strike an enemy without injuring him, because it was riskier than killing from a distance or clobbering him flat. Much later, breakdancing evolved in city gangs as a nonviolent alternative to armed conflict.
>>am I crowding in on a culture that I have no claim to? <<
My thoughts on the issue of cultural blending, assimilation, and appropriation include:
* When people meet, they trade ideas. They just do. The only way to avoid this is to avoid people. A bunch of cultures have tried that. It tends not to work well due to having many drawbacks which usually outweigh the benefits.
* Familiarity favors acceptance. Isolation favors hostility. People are more likely to raise a fuss over something they view as alien and threatening than something they recognize. Cross-cultural sharing leads to higher recognition, and furthermore, it's about the only thing that causes a dominant group to know anything about a less powerful group.
* Good ideas deserve to spread. Some good ideas occur in many places, but others are scarcer. Swap around. MOAR GOODEEZ for everyone!
* Colonialism and racism are massive problems that caused a lot of historic damage and continue to make life difficult today, for everyone, but especially for the descendants of people who were overrun. Fixing even small parts of this is very difficult.
* Understand that this can make people very touchy due to inherited or personal trauma, which can happen on both sides of a divide.
* If you take what you want from anywhere and walk away without giving anything back, that is stealing and it is not ethical. If you take things that you find useful, and in return you support the culture that made them, then both parties benefit from the exchange. So for instance, I write about wolves, and I support activism to protect living wolves in their natural habitat. I write about many different cultures, and I support people's sovereignty; I'm particularly encouraging of heritage languages.
* Respect also matters. Some renditions are well done and presented sincerely; others are sloppy or deliberately insulting. Hurting people on purpose is not okay, and hurting them accidentally isn't great either. This can mean that some things are okay to borrow and others really aren't. People put crosses on everything and many a non-Christian has a Buddy Christ bopping along on their dashboard, but you don't usually see anyone other than the Pope in a Pope hat. I really admire the Maori solution of distinguishing between official tattoos and decorative ones.
Thank you!
Yay!
>>I have a case of the major warm fuzzies, and I can't entirely articulate why. <<
Maybe because haka can have words in it, but is primarily about expression emotion through dance moves.
>> If I say that the idea of a group of people unifying in song/dance in response to a challenge really appeals somehow, <<
There are equivalents elsewhere, too. Different versions appear throughout much of Oceania. Some Native American cultures use communal song/dance for very similar purposes including ceremonies and war posturing. In the Great Plains cultures, the most prestigious form of counting coup was to strike an enemy without injuring him, because it was riskier than killing from a distance or clobbering him flat. Much later, breakdancing evolved in city gangs as a nonviolent alternative to armed conflict.
>>am I crowding in on a culture that I have no claim to? <<
My thoughts on the issue of cultural blending, assimilation, and appropriation include:
* When people meet, they trade ideas. They just do. The only way to avoid this is to avoid people. A bunch of cultures have tried that. It tends not to work well due to having many drawbacks which usually outweigh the benefits.
* Familiarity favors acceptance. Isolation favors hostility. People are more likely to raise a fuss over something they view as alien and threatening than something they recognize. Cross-cultural sharing leads to higher recognition, and furthermore, it's about the only thing that causes a dominant group to know anything about a less powerful group.
* Good ideas deserve to spread. Some good ideas occur in many places, but others are scarcer. Swap around. MOAR GOODEEZ for everyone!
* Colonialism and racism are massive problems that caused a lot of historic damage and continue to make life difficult today, for everyone, but especially for the descendants of people who were overrun. Fixing even small parts of this is very difficult.
* Understand that this can make people very touchy due to inherited or personal trauma, which can happen on both sides of a divide.
* If you take what you want from anywhere and walk away without giving anything back, that is stealing and it is not ethical. If you take things that you find useful, and in return you support the culture that made them, then both parties benefit from the exchange. So for instance, I write about wolves, and I support activism to protect living wolves in their natural habitat. I write about many different cultures, and I support people's sovereignty; I'm particularly encouraging of heritage languages.
* Respect also matters. Some renditions are well done and presented sincerely; others are sloppy or deliberately insulting. Hurting people on purpose is not okay, and hurting them accidentally isn't great either. This can mean that some things are okay to borrow and others really aren't. People put crosses on everything and many a non-Christian has a Buddy Christ bopping along on their dashboard, but you don't usually see anyone other than the Pope in a Pope hat. I really admire the Maori solution of distinguishing between official tattoos and decorative ones.